A Danbury woman has been arrested for allegedly illegally selling cigarettes without a license.  A search warrant was obtained about 66-year old Vera Lucia Ribeiro-Menezes operating an illegal business from her Foster Street apartment. 

A lot of foot and vehicle traffic attracted the attention of police.  The apartment is directly across the street from Head Start of Northern Fairfield County, an elderly housing complex and is part of a neighborhood comprised of multifamily dwellings. 

Over the past three years, including this incident, Ribeiro-Menezes has been arrested six different times for illegally selling cigarettes and/or alcohol.  She was also charged Friday with criminal attempt to Dispense Alcohol without a Permit.

In 2018, police seized thousands of dollars in U.S. currency and a large quantity of alcohol and cigarettes.  A 2020 seizure resulted in several thousand dollars, a large quantity of alcohol, cigarettes and a small quantity of marijuana.  Friday's seizure was consistent with past findings, as alcohol, cigarettes and thousands of dollars were seized.