Five million cigarettes are among the vast quantities of tobacco products police allege a single criminal gang illegally imported into Australia over a 10-month period.
Their smuggling and distribution racket was ended when the Victorian Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (JOCTF) raided properties across Melbourne on Sept. 9.
The JOCTF comprises members of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Victoria Police, and Australian Border Force (ABF).
Police arrested a 49-year-old man, who they allege was the ringleader, at a North Coburg property.
A Meadow Heights man, aged 29, who was allegedly responsible for the movement of the tobacco across the state and country, was also taken into custody.
In addition to the cigarettes, the syndicate is thought to have imported more than seven tonnes of loose-leaf tobacco and more than 5,000 vapes across a 10-month period, avoiding $36.3 million in Commonwealth excise taxes.
The Taskforce launched an investigation in November 2024, based on intelligence from the ABF-led Illicit Tobacco Taskforce, about a suspected criminal syndicate smuggling significant amounts of illicit tobacco into Victoria via air and sea cargo from multiple countries, concealed inside consignments of kitchen items and clothing. From there, it was distributed across Australia.
It is alleged the North Coburg man used criminal associates and connections in the freight and logistics industry to import and distribute the tobacco to several warehouses and 20 tobacco shops under his control.
The search warrants covered multiple commercial and residential properties across Melbourne, including Campbellfield, Coburg North, Meadow Heights, Mickleham, Gladstone Park, and Craigieburn. Police say the warrants yielded around 70 pallets of illicit tobacco products, as well as tobacco manufacturing equipment, filters, vapes, a cash counting machine, and electronic devices.
The North Coburg man faces a total of 24 charges relating to the importation and possession of tobacco with intent to defraud the Commonwealth and supplying illegal tobacco and vapes, with one charge having a maximum penalty of 15 years and others carrying 10-year sentences.
The younger man has been charged with just one count, of possessing unlawfully imported tobacco with intent to defraud the revenue, with a maximum term of up to 10 years’ imprisonment.
Both appeared for a preliminary hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today.
Police say further arrests are expected as part of the investigation.
Cracking Down on Organised Crime
AFP Acting Commander of Investigations Ray Imbriano said they, together with the other taskforce agencies, were committed to combating organised crime, which dominates the illicit tobacco trade in Australia.“Illicit tobacco has fuelled unspeakable violence and crime in our communities, and the joint investigation into this alleged criminal syndicate is yet another step in law enforcement’s efforts to dismantle these illicit operations,” he said.
“Criminal networks mistakenly believe they can operate outside of the law in Australia. We’re here to remind them they cannot.”
Victoria Police Commander Paul O'Halloran said the trafficking of illicit tobacco by organised crime groups was invariably linked with a range of other serious and violent offending.
“What we have seen play out in Victoria, particularly during the past two years, is a number of violent crimes driven by the fight between these groups for the profits derived from the illicit tobacco trade,” he said.
“Most commonly, this has played out as arson and extortion, as well as money laundering and firearms offences. These put the broader community at increased risk of harm, and already we have seen unnecessary deaths as a result of these arson attacks.
“I think the public should feel outraged at the way these groups are reaping millions of dollars while putting the community at immense risk.”
ABF Commander Greg Dowse said his agency remained committed to disrupting the business model of illicit tobacco in Australia and disrupting criminal syndicates involved in the black market trade.
“The ABF continues to target and seize record amounts of illicit tobacco and vapes at our border,” he said. “We’re utilising every avenue available to us and our partners to detect, disrupt, and ultimately dismantle the organised crime groups dealing with illicit tobacco and vapes.
Earlier this year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers allocated $156 million in the federal budget to combat the black-market sale of tobacco and tobacco products, including vapes.
That document estimated tobacco product revenue for the coming year at $7.4 billion, almost 50 percent less than predicted in the 2021/22 budget.
That followed a $12.5 billion reduction in the forecast in 2024/25, and a further reduction of $10.7 billion in the mid-year update.
