In the Dominican Republic last Friday, the National Tobacco Institute (INTABACO), the Attorney General’s Department, and Dominican state security institutions impounded 2,871 boxes of counterfeit cigars from tourist centers and stores in that nation.

The latest raids, part of a crack-down by Dominican authorities, netted 40,000 cigars counterfeiting famous brands that included Romeo y Julieta, Cohiba, Montecristo, Davidoff, Partagas, Gloria Cubana, Macanudo, Punch, Troya, and others. The cigars were seized in shopping centers, stores, beaches and tourist plazas in Santo Domingo, Bayahibe, Higuey and Bavaro.

Yesterday, on August 9, INTABACO incinerated 7,000 boxes of confiscated cigars, most with fake Cuban brand labels, seized in this most recent round of raids. The incineration took place in a lot next to INTABACO’s offices, located in the community Villa González, in this northern province.

INTABACO director Adalberto Rosa said that with these actions against the fake cigars, the national tobacco sector will obtain a market free from irregularities that will allow the development of healthy business practices. “These actions represent a hard blow for the cigar forgers who have affected the image of the Dominican Republic abroad,” he said.

Would that it was true and it was that easy.

More on the counterfeit cigar problem after the jump.

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A special announcement from the Fuente and Newman families:

“We are pleased to announce the eighth annual Cigar Family Celebration in the Dominican Republic from February 21-25, 2006. Our annual gathering of CFC members last came to the Dominican Republic in 2004, and we are excited to return in 2006. This year the headquarters of CFC 2006 will be based at the Gran Flamenco Beach resort in Puerto Plata.

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If you like the Cusano 18 or the Cusano Corojo cigars as I do, then you have two guys to thank.

Two Guys Smoke Shop in New Hampshire.

The Fall issue of Smoke Magazine has a condensed version of the story. Michael Chiusano, the man who developed the Cusano line and branded it with an easier-to-spell-and-pronounce phonetic version of his family name explains, “I thought I was just going to make 50 boxes and send them to my customers in the investment business as sort of a thank you.” That’s not how it turned out, fortunately.

Michael, prior to creating one of the hottest cigar companies around, worked as a money manager for Shearson Lehman and later started his own investment firm. Cigars were a hobby and diversion for him, not a business. Then, on a trip to the Dominican Republic in 1995 to help set up financing for a sugar cane maufacturer, Chiusano was given a locally made cigar as a gift by a family member of the plantation owner. The tobacco for the cigar had been grown on spent sugar cane land, and processed in their own factory. Michael smoked the cigar a few days later and was amazed at how good the flavor and draw was.

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