Tobacco seized in raid
A TOBACCO supplier disguised as a gift shop has been butted out after police allegedly seized up to $100,000 worth of illegal tobacco.
Police raided the Newcomb gift shop on Boundary Rd about 9.45am yesterday, following reports of illicit activity from concerned residents.
A stash of about 18,500 illegally imported cigarettes and 7.5kg of illegal tobacco with a combined value of between $75,000 and $100,000 was allegedly seized under a search warrant.
Police also allegedly seized about $600 of cash believed to be profit from illicit buys made earlier the same day.
Geelong police Sergeant Steve Bull said the bust consisted of loose tobacco bags, as well as boxes of pre-packaged brands from overseas.
“They had a smaller quantity of pre-packaged cigarettes, but the ones they were selling didn’t have the usual warning labels required by Australian law,” Sgt Bull said.
“On top of that, it looked like they were manufacturing the cigarettes there — using the loose filters with the loose tobacco, putting them together and then selling them in boxes of 50 and 100.”
The Geelong Advertiser understands the store was allegedly selling the “chopchop” behind the counter, charging $32 for 100 cigarettes.
Similarly, the Addy also visited 10 convenient stores across Geelong earlier this year and found two shops in Norlane were illegally selling single cigarettes for $0.50 and $1.50.
Sgt Bull said police arrested a female at the Newcomb store, who had been interviewed in relation to alleged breaches of the Tobacco Act 1987, and released pending summons.
“There are a number of offences in relation to the Tobacco Act,” he said.
“A lot of it relates to the making of the cigarettes, the selling of them without the proper packaging and then not paying the excise on them.
“We seized a quantity of cash, so they would also get charged under Victorian law for possessing proceeds of crime.”
The Australian Taxation Office is also expected to run its own investigation due to allegations the tobacco being illegally imported and dodging excise tax.
The raid comes after a Geelong CBD variety store on Moorabool St was busted for stocking a large quantity of illegal tobacco, including unbranded and imported cigarettes in July.
Another store at Newcomb’s Bellarine Village was also allegedly busted for illegal tobacco products this year.
Sgt Bull warned police would not hesitate to execute more warrants in future in a bid to crackdown on Geelong’s illicit tobacco trade.
“They seem to move around a bit and pop up here and there over a period of time,” he said.
“We will certainly look at executing more warrants in the future.”