The operation involved the Sheriff's Office in Iredell County, North Carolina, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF), Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
Detective Sergeant Robert Fromme made repeated observations of a group of men purchasing large quantities of cigarettes, often with $20,000 - $30,000 in cash.
[2] Detective Fromme continued to monitor the purchases for several months, and determined cell members were transporting the cigarette cartons across state lines, in violation of federal laws.
ATF officials informed Fromme that cigarette trafficking was likely an attempt to sell the merchandise for as much as twice the price in states such as Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania - which had considerably higher taxes on tobacco.
Some cell members fraudulently secured a $1.6 million loan from the federal government's Small Business Administration, which funded the opening of a gas station.
[1] The Iredell County Sheriff's Office signed a memorandum of understanding with the Charlotte ATF, permitting the formal collaboration between the two agencies.
The FBI, which had already been wiretapping communications of two of the cell members, apparently without the knowledge of local law enforcement, also participated in the joint operations.
"[3] The assembled joint task force penetrated the Hezbollah cell, developing more than ten informants from within the group, as well as from a pool of witnesses.
The Operation Smokescreen case is the first conviction for the violation of federal code 2339B, "Providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations".