HOGANSBURG, N.Y. – On the St. Regis Mohawk Indian reservation close to the Canadian border, Another Dam Cigarette Store offers tax-free smokes to hoards of shoppers. One of the most popular brands is Braves, produced by factory not licensed by the federal government, the Albany Times Union reports.

“All illicit tobacco business is growing dramatically,” Thomas Lesnak, a retired ATF senior agent who tracked cigarette smugglers, told the Times Union.

Contributing to the problem is that the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has withdrawn from many cases involving tobacco. “New York is a very unique state when it comes to cigarettes,” ATF agent Steve Dickey told the news source, adding, “It's a high-tax, low-enforcement state with many Native American tribes with various treaties. It's a politically sensitive, sometimes ticking time bomb.”

Meanwhile, New York’s tax department spokesman Geoffrey Gloak claimed the state is truly looking into contraband trafficking, but he didn’t provide how many investigators were on the case. Other investigators say illegal tribal smokes are sold to non-tribe members and untaxed cigarettes smuggled from down South have triggered a flood of contraband cigarettes in New York City alone.