Sheriff Wants to Give 1,500 Seized Cigars to Troops in Iraq

PONTIAC, Mich. – Normally, 1,500 cigars seized in a drug bust would be incinerated.

The Oakland County sheriff wants Michigan troops serving in Iraq to do it for him.

The county's Narcotics Enforcement Team seized the stogies during a traffic stop of a convicted drug felon in January.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Thursday the cigars were thought to be illegal Cuban cigars but they turned out to be high-quality Dominicans.

He tells the Detroit Free Press he couldn't give them away if they were Cuban cigars. He tells The Detroit News he could use help with the cost of shipping the cigars overseas.

Bouchard says the move isn't designed to encourage smoking. He hopes the smokes will provide a respite from their stressful routines.