Border Force seizes 1.7m cigarettes, thousands of vapes in WA, NT raids

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has seized more than a million illegal cigarettes and vapes in a series of raids throughout Western Australia and the Northern Territory in a joint operation with other federal, state and territory agencies.In a statement today, an ABF spokesperson said Operation Tempest uncovered more than 1.7 million cigarettes and 504 kilograms of loose-leaf tobacco, along with more than 9,500 vapes and 6,310 oral nicotine pouches across 66 locations.The spokesperson said the haul would have had a street value of more than $814,000 and represented almost $4 million in foregone taxes.Law enforcement agencies raided 13 locations in Darwin and Katherine late last month, seizing more than 300kg of loose-leaf tobacco. (Supplied: ABF)They said 66 people of interest were also identified during the six-day blitz late last month and authorities had applied for the closure of 15 shops as a result.In the NT alone, the spokesperson said NT Health and Australian Taxation Office inspectors found more than 300,000 cigarettes, 306 kg of loose-leaf tobacco, more than 1,560 vapes and almost 3,000 oral nicotine pouches at 13 locations across Darwin and Katherine.The sites included two car yards, a petrol station, eight shops, a postal depot and a residential property in Stuart Park, with the raids also turning up electronic devices, NSW number plates and drug paraphernalia.The joint operation resulted in authorities applying for the closure of 15 shops in WA and the NT. (Supplied: ABF)At the same time, WA Health officials searched 45 retail shops, while ABF officers in Perth, Mariginiup and Margaret River raided four storage facilities, two postal depots, a home and a shipping container stored on a rural property.They seized more than 1.46 million cigarettes, 197 kg of loose-leaf tobacco and 7,900 vapes, along with 1,000 cigars, 3,360 oral nicotine pouches and 4 kg of MDMA, while agents screened passengers from 22 international flights for illicit tobacco.It comes after the ABF allegedly discovered 433,400 cigarettes, 686 kg of loose-leaf tobacco and 50,200 single-use vapes inside a Darwin Storage unit in June.ABF officers raided four storage facilities, two postal depots, a home and a shipping container in WA, finding more than a million cigarettes. (Supplied: ABF)A month earlier, 103,600 illegally imported cigarettes and 39 kg of loose-leaf tobacco were also seized from an international mail carrier.In a statement, ABF Commander Greg Dowse said criminals were working to "diversify" their activities "in an attempt to conceal their operations and maximise profits"."No single agency can address illicit tobacco networks alone," he said.The joint operation uncovered more than 9,500 vapes and 6,310 oral nicotine pouches across 66 locations. (Supplied: ABF)"Success comes from coordinated action where intelligence, analytical capabilities, regulatory powers and enforcement actions are brought together to target the full criminal ecosystem, not just individual detections or actors."Australian Federal Police Detective Acting Superintendent Pixie Fuhrmeister said the agency would continue to work with its law enforcement partners to "proactively target" and "disrupt" those involved.The agents screened passengers from 22 international flights for illicit tobacco as part of Operation Tempest. (Supplied: ABF)"The illicit tobacco trade is directly linked to acts of violence in our community and these crimes are executed by organised crime groups in their pursuit of power and profit," she said."Anyone who becomes involved in the illicit activity should be warned the AFP and its partners are committed to ongoing action to stop criminal enterprises profiting from everyday Australians."As of today, authorities say there have been no arrests or charges laid in either jurisdiction.