ALBANY, NY – The 2009 Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act was expected to end (or sharply reduce) mail order deliveries from New York’s Indian reservations, but recent information reveals the practice has continued, the Associated Press reports.

As recently as last spring, at least 20 website operators on Seneca Nation territory were still distributing 1.7 tons of untaxed cigarettes a week across the U.S., according to information obtained by attorneys for New York City as part of a civil racketeering lawsuit.

Court documents show that after the law was enacted and major delivery companies (FedEx, UPS) agreed to end cigarette deliveries, some reservation-based distributors turned to new shipping companies to reach their consumers.

The practice concerns New York because buyers did not pay taxes on their purchases. Additionally, some sites did not seek age verification or legal identification.

Last month, New York City sued a Virginia-based delivery company, Lasership Inc., alleging the company helped the reservation distribute cigarettes into the city without charging the required $5.85 per pack tax. The lawsuit is seeking $80.6 million in penalties.

"We want to make it clear to the entire shipping community that anyone who participates in these illegal delivery sales into New York City will be subject to liabilities," said Aaron Bloom, one of the attorneys handling the case for New York City's Law Department.