The Illicit Tobacco Taskforce (ITTF) has seized and destroyed 1.5 tonnes of tobacco with a potential excise value of more than $1.3 million from a property near Grafton in NSW.
The taskforce, led by the Australian Border Force and consisting of the Australian Taxation Office, Department of Home Affairs, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP), located nearly three acres of tobacco being illegally grown.
Assistant Commissioner, Enforcement Command at the ABF, Sharon Huey said the seizure should serve as another warning to the criminal groups involved in this kind of activity.
“Cracking down on the illicit tobacco market is a key focus for the ABF and by combining our resources and expertise with that of the ATO and our ITTF partners, we are now disrupting this activity on multiple fronts,” Assistant Commissioner Huey said.
“Whether it’s detections at the border, or destroying illicit tobacco crops in regional Australia, we now have the ability to go after these individuals and criminal groups wherever they operate.”
Assistant Taxation Commissioner, Peter Vujanic said this seizure showed the effectiveness of a cross-agency approach to illegal tobacco detection.
“By working as part of the Illicit Tobacco Taskforce, the ATO is able to more effectively target the criminal syndicates who seek to profit from the sale of illegal tobacco on the black market,” Mr Vujanic said.
“Every crop we seize and destroy burns another hole in the illegal tobacco trade.”
It has been illegal to grow tobacco in Australia for more than a decade, with no licensed tobacco producers growing the crop since 2006.
