LANSING, MI -- The state of Michigan is cracking down on residents who purchase cigarettes online to avoid paying state taxes--a program that has nabbed nearly 9,000 tax dodgers.

In the first year of a statewide crackdown, reports the Detroit Free Press, those nearly 9,000 residents have amassed a combined $5.9 million bill in owed taxes. Michigan’s cigarette excise tax is the fourth-highest in the United States at $2 per pack.

According to Michigan Treasury Department spokesman Terry Stanton, the average tax bill was about $650, but some people have been ordered to pay much more. The news source also notes that “Thousands more smokers could be targeted as the program to find cigarette tax cheaters continues.”

Four of 13 Internet cigarette vendors have been subpoenaed by the state since February 2005 to turn over the names of their clientele, notes the news source, adding that the state has yet to take legal action against Internet sellers who have not handed over their lists.

”We're assessing information and determining whether there is more tax liability," said Stanton, adding, "We reserve the right to take any action we need to get information."

One resident told the news source the state sent her a bill for nearly $2,000 in unpaid cigarette taxes from purchases she made from “a New York American Indian tribe.” Since paying her bill, she has begun rolling her own cigarettes.