Police have made a breakthrough in the ongoing 'tobacco wars'

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Police believe they've made a breakthrough in the ongoing 'tobacco wars', after arresting men that they've described as "trusted insiders" of organised crime groups.

Transcript

00:00 Captured before they reached the streets.

00:04 Authorities say these illegal cigarettes are fuelling Victoria's ongoing tobacco war.

00:09 There's turf wars, there's extortions, there's feuds between groups.

00:13 Take away the product that minimises that incentive to commit those types of offences.

00:19 This batch was intercepted earlier this month.

00:22 Police say they found 10 million cigarettes in a shipment from Vietnam worth about $15

00:27 million.

00:28 Inside this warehouse is what police say are tens of millions of illegally imported cigarettes.

00:34 These cigarettes will now be destroyed, but Border Force expects there'll be other consignments

00:38 just like this turning up in the near future.

00:42 Last financial year we had more than 120,000 detection of illicit tobacco at the border.

00:49 Yesterday investigators swooped, arresting six men.

00:52 They believe this bust is important because some of those involved work in the freight

00:57 and transport industry and allegedly use their business connections to sneak illegal goods

01:02 into the country and avoid paying millions in Commonwealth taxes.

01:06 The illicit tobacco funds and recruits people and corrupts people in these trusted positions.

01:14 One man arrested is from the Hadara family, which is allegedly involved in a turf war

01:19 with another syndicate over the sale of illegal tobacco.

01:22 That feud has played out in public, leading to dozens of fire bombings of tobacco shops

01:28 and businesses over the past year and a half.

01:31 Just last night this shop went up in flames in Ballarat, the fourth attack in the regional

01:35 city this month.

01:38 Victoria Police's Lunar Task Force is investigating as they try to put the brakes on an underworld

01:43 war that's spreading across Victoria.

01:45 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended