OCEAN CITY — A Delaware man was arrested on a slew of charges last weekend after being found in possession of cartons of unstamped, untaxed cigarettes, a large amount of cash and a false identification.
Around 6:30 p.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a reported suspicious vehicle on 3rd Street. Upon arrival, officers observed a Dodge Magnum with temporary Texas tags parked on 3rd Street with Moussa Diarrassouba, 47, of Wilmington, Del. sitting on the sidewalk in front of the vehicle.
According to police reports, the vehicle had heavy damage to the passenger side. Officers reportedly saw marijuana in plain view within the vehicle. Initially, Diarrassouba identified himself as “Alhamdov Dembele,” and OCPD officers determined the vehicle had been registered under the name Dembele, according to police reports.
At first, Diarrassoumba told police he did not have any identification. However, OCPD officers located an Illinois driver’s license with the name Diarrassoumba and the suspect then confirmed his identity. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, OCPD officers located 49 cartons of unstamped cigarettes, 10 receipts from cigarette sales from various locations in Delaware, three laptop computers still in boxes, over $10,000 in cash and numerous receipts for wire transfers in various amounts.
Police also located a fake Pennsylvania driver’s license with Diarrassoumba’s picture, but with the name Jeffrey Stoudt. Officers also located a couple of credit cards under the name Jeffrey Stoudt. When questioned about the false identities, Diarrassoumba reportedly told police Stoudt was his friend and must have left the license and cards in his vehicle, according to police reports.
When questioned about the large amount of cash, Diarrassoumba reportedly told police he won the money in the lottery, and he was in Ocean City to visit his son, according to police reports.
Diarrassoumba later recanted his story and told police he sent his picture to somebody and they had sent him a fake driver’s license under the name Jeffrey Stoudt. The suspect also told police at first that he had bought the 49 cartons of cigarettes for friends, but later told police he had purchased the untaxed and unstamped cigarettes to resell for a profit.
A background check revealed Diarrassoumba had an extensive history of theft, forgery, tampering with identification, theft by deception and identity theft. He was arrested and charged with fraud, transporting unstamped cigarettes and possession of a false identification.
