The thriving trade in black market cigarettes is well known.
Photo by
Owen Sinclair
It’s a badly kept secret that business is booming in the trade of black market cigarettes, with multiple businesses across Moira Shire suspected to be in on the action.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Cobram CIU Detective Sergeant Marcus Boyd is experienced in investigating organised crime and said police certainly don’t turn a blind eye to the ‘brazen’ illicit trade.
A police raid on a gift and accessories store in Orr Street, Yarrawonga last year potentially prevented more than $100,000 in illegal sales.
Illicit tobacco worth almost $45,000, including 6.3kg of loose tobacco, or chop chop, 335 vapes and cash were seized.
“We’ve had successful involvement in shutting down at least two shops in Cobram and Yarrawonga in recent times, as well as continuing investigations into others,” Det Sgt Boyd said.
He said he continues to receive information and conduct investigations in Yarrawonga, Cobram and surrounding towns, and encouraged people to have a think about who was making the profits in this trade.
“Who is taking the cream off the top,” he said.
“We have acted before and we aren’t afraid to act again; and we have the ability to work in cooperation with our police partners in Melbourne.”
At one store, widely suspected to be involved in the racket, countless customers enter and exit through the front door every day.
Driving trade is a simple fact: customers can purchase illicit cigarettes for a fraction of what they’d pay at a legitimate retailer.
At one of these stores, for example, a pack of 20 Manchester Sapphires, with branded packaging, costs $15, in cash.
A second business is rumoured to be in on the action too.
You might expect to pay up to $25 at these stores, about half what you would expect to pay for an equivalent product at a supermarket.
In March this year, police attached to the VIPER Taskforce seized more than 27,000 illicit cigarettes during a search of one business on Cobram’s High St.
The action was part of an ongoing investigation into the sale of illicit tobacco across regional Victoria.
Officers from the VIPER Taskforce seized almost 30,000 illicit cigarettes at a store on Cobram’s High St in March.
Photo by
Contributed
In Australia, tobacco is ruled illicit when no excise duty is paid on it to the Australian Taxation Office.
The Federal Government says money raised from the tax is spent on community services like healthcare and education.
In December last year, the Victorian Government introduced a raft of amendments to tobacco laws, including a licensing scheme to protect legitimate traders from being undercut by the illegal trade.
From February 2026, Tobacco Licensing Victoria, the peak regulatory body, will begin ensuring businesses are licensed and compliant with the new laws.
Individuals found to be selling illicit tobacco may face penalties of up to $366,318 or up to 15 years’ behind bars.
Businesses could face a penalty of more than $1.8 million if found selling illicit tobacco.
15°C