Brussels, 11/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 5 February, the South District Court of Florida sentenced Roman Vidal to 2 years in prison and ordered him to repay $1.5 million to the European authorities. This sentence is part of the famous “Miami” case involving a Miami cigarette trafficker in the European Union. This US citizen pleaded guilty to defrauding European tax offices of more than several million euros. The director-general of OLAF (European Anti-Fraud Office), Nicholas Ilett, commented on the case and declared: “This is another fantastic result in this large-scale, complex international investigation which has been coordinated by OLAF. As well as the USA, this investigation spanned nine EU member states and several countries in Central and South America. Forty three million cigarettes were seized in the EU and 11 arrests were made”. (V.L.B./transl.fl)