More than $1 million worth of illicit tobacco and vapes have been seized by officers from South Australia’s Consumer and Business Services’ illicit tobacco taskforce in what is the agency’s biggest bust to date.
Officers raided a store in Adelaide’s northern suburbs this week and seized illicit cigarettes, vapes, tobacco and nicotine pouches with a street value of more than $1 million. The haul included approximately 548,000 cigarettes, almost 12,000 vapes and more than 500 containers of nicotine pouches.
Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Brett Humphrey said the result is the most significant seizure by the agency in a single inspection since the Government invested $16 million into a dedicated taskforce within CBS to tackle the growing illicit tobacco trade from July 1 2024.
“Trade in illicit tobacco remains a significant concern for us but getting so much illicit product off the streets in just over a month demonstrates how seriously we’re taking this,” said Commissioner Humphrey.
“This should serve as a reminder that if you want to be involved in the sale of illicit tobacco in our state, it’s only a matter of time before we seize your product and you will be subject to significant fines.
“We’ll continue working with agencies at a state and federal level to identify and take action against those responsible for the illicit tobacco and vape trade in South Australia.
“I urge any member of the public with information that can help in this fight to report illicit operations to Consumer and Business Services.”
The agency is seeking to have the store hit with a long-term closure order with an application before the Magistrates Court. Using the Government’s new shut down powers, Consumer and Business Affairs Minister, Andrea Michaels, can apply to the court to have the store shut for up to six months.
“The Malinauskas Government is taking the threat posed by the illicit tobacco industry extremely seriously and this bust of over $1 million demonstrates that we are making inroads,” said Minister Michaels.”
The taskforce has also been active in regional South Australia over the past few weeks with a series of raids in the Murraylands and Adelaide Hills seizing more than 200,000 cigarettes, 50kg of loose tobacco and nearly 850 vapes valued at more than $225,000.
“We know that it is increasingly organised crime behind these illegal tobacco shops and we are going to continue to raid these businesses, get these products off the streets and shut these stores down,” said Ms Michaels.
Since July 1, CBS has been working closely with SAPOL’s Operation Eclipse as well as Border Force and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to get these illicit products off South Australian streets.
