Australian Border Force officials seize record haul of illicit tobacco

Officers today issued a stern warning to anyone involved in the booming trade.

“That prevented more than $2 billion in duties from being stolen from Australian taxpayers,” ABF Assistant Commissioner for Customs Compliance and Enforcement Tony Smith said today.

In just four months, hundreds of tons of loose tobacco and 800 million cigarettes were seized.

If placed end to end, the cigarettes would stretch more than 71,000 kilometers, which is almost enough to wrap around the Earth twice.

The seizures also included four million vapors.

“It reflects a concerted and focused effort across all our domains, from air and sea to travelers and mail,” said Andrew Tankey, Commander of Operation Printwall.

The majority of illegal products removed from the supply chain came from Asia.

One woman arrived from Bali with boxes after boxes of cigarettes, far more than the legal limit.

Offshore, the ABF also blocked more than 35 million cigarettes and 560,000 vapes from even arriving in Australia.

“Make no mistake, this is intelligence-led enforcement at pace and scale,” Smith said.

“If you move it, store it or distribute it, you are in our sights.”

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