Feb 20, 2004 — Cross-border smuggling among the maze-like territory of the St. Lawrence River near Akwesasne has dogged the Mohawks' reputation for years, especially since high-profile cigarette smuggling busts in the 1990s. In the late '90s and 2000, smuggling Asian illegal immigrants spiked. David Sommerstein spoke yesterday with Akwesasne Mohawk Police Chief Louis Mitchell. Mitchell says alien traffic dropped dramatically after September 11, 2001.