Authorities have issued a stern caution to those participating in the flourishing trade.
“This action has prevented the theft of over $2 billion in duties from Australian taxpayers,” stated Tony Smith, Assistant Commissioner for Customs Compliance and Enforcement at the Australian Border Force (ABF), earlier today.
Within a span of just four months, authorities have confiscated hundreds of tonnes of loose-leaf tobacco along with 800 million cigarettes.
To put it in perspective, if these cigarettes were lined up, they would extend over 71,000 kilometers, nearly enough to encircle the Earth twice.
The seizures also included four million vaping devices.
“It reflects a concerted and targeted effort across all of our domains, from the air and sea, to the traveller and mail,” Operation Printwall commander Andrew Tankey said.
The majority of illicit products stripped from the supply chain came from Asia.
One woman arrived from Bali with boxes upon 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 into Australia.
“Make no mistake, this is intelligence-led enforcement at pace and scale,” Smith said.
“If you move it, you store it or distribute it, you’re in our sights.”
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