iscoverThe fight against the illicit tobacco trade is far from over, as the ATO and Victorian Police seize over 18,000 illicit cigarettes and $100,000 in cash in Melbourne.
Tax Office, Victorian police seize 18k cigarettes, $100k in cash
24 September 2025
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8 minute read
The ATO and Victorian Police, teaming up once again, have successfully obtained a significant amount of illicit tobacco and cash from two residential properties in Altona North and a retail store in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria.
In a joint statement with the Victorian Police, the Tax Office said search warrants were executed last week at the suspected properties in Melbourne as part of Operation Beach, which saw the destruction of illicit tobacco crops with an excise foregone value of almost $40 million, earlier this year.
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From the search warrants conducted last week, officers seized 18,700 illicit cigarettes and 5kg of loose-leaf illicit tobacco, with the combined excise foregone value being over $40,000.
In addition to this, $100,000 in cash was also located during the searches as well as numerous devices and equipment believed to be used in facilitating the illicit tobacco trade.
Jade Hawkins, ATO assistant commissioner, said these results should serve as a stern warning for retailers choosing to become involved in the sale of illicit tobacco.
This warning came from Hawkins as retailers who became involved in the sale of illicit tobacco gained an unfair price advantage over honest businesses doing the right thing.
Hawkins added that those acting unlawfully may also face substantial penalties for selling, buying or producing illicit tobacco, including jail terms for up to 10 years imprisonment.
“We have the capabilities and resources to detect and disrupt illicit tobacco operations, and we are committed to ensuring those responsible face the full consequences,” she said.
“The illicit tobacco market is often run by criminal syndicates, with the profits used to support other criminal activities. It also takes money away from funding essential community services like schools, roads and hospitals.”
Recently, economist Chris Richardson said the lack of regulation and enforcement on cigarettes was “dumb” and had contributed to the uptick in criminal activity and the illicit tobacco trade.
Richardson noted that as the government had increased the tax on cigarettes, the enforcement didn’t increase at the same rate, which allowed the black market to flourish.
“This is one of the most spectacularly stupid things I have seen in tax in my time. We created a stunning opportunity for the black market, and the black market is having an absolute field day,” Richardson said.
As the crackdown on illicit tobacco continues in Victoria and the rest of Australia, the ATO said that community tip-offs remained the best source of information when it came to alerting them of tax avoidance and other dishonest behaviours.
VIPER taskforce detective inspector, Anthony Gaspari, reiterated the commitment to tackling and eradicating illicit tobacco.
Gaspari said he wanted to make clear that the ATO, police and VIPER taskforce would target anyone at any level across the state who was involved in the distribution and sale of illicit tobacco.
“We are doing absolutely everything we can to target syndicate leaders, directors, facilitators and organisers responsible for this criminal offence to make involvement in illicit tobacco as unattractive a proposition as possible,” he said.
“Disrupting these syndicates and putting a stop to their criminality remains a priority for Victoria Police, and it is critical that we continue to work with our law enforcement partners, including the ATO, on this.”
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