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Sixteen tonnes of illicit tobacco valued at nearly $35 million have been seized by the ATO, Victoria Police and the Australian Border Force.
Community tip-off leads Tax Office to seize $35m of illicit tobacco
17 March 2025
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8 minute read
A search warrant on a property in Merrigum, Victoria, has uncovered 16 tonnes of illicit tobacco, with an estimated excise value of nearly $35 million following a community tip-off.
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On Thursday, 6 March, the ATO, with support from Victoria Police’s VIPER Taskforce and the Australian Border Force (ABF), conducted two search warrants of the property, which found two illicit tobacco crops spanning 13 acres.
Jade Hawkins, assistant commissioner at the ATO, commended the actions of those who had alerted the ATO of the property.
“Community top-offs are one of our best sources of information as they provide us and our partner agencies with crucial information to assist in the fight against illicit tobacco,” Hawkins said.
“The significant outcomes of these raids are another positive step forward in the ongoing work to detect, disrupt and dismantle organised crime syndicates who use profits from illicit tobacco to fund other, more serious illegal activities.”
Prior to this seizure, between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2024, the Illicit Tobacco Team had completed 90 operational activities, which included 19 whole government operations, 31 ATO-specific operations and 40 state law enforcement support operations.
These operations resulted in a total weight of 3,746,240 kilograms of illicit tobacco being seized and destroyed, 39,224 kilograms of loose-leaf tobacco being located, seized and destroyed, as well as 21,759,340 cigarettes located, seized and destroyed, all of which had an estimated equivalent tobacco duty foregone value above $723 million.
From July 2018 to January 2025, the ATO has made 30 convictions for illicit tobacco, with sentences ranging up to three years of imprisonment.
Tori Rosemond, Acting Commander for the ABF, said it was estimated that organised crime groups controlled 75 per cent of the illicit tobacco market in Australia, and it could generate significant profits.
“We are detecting and seizing massive quantities of illicit tobacco on a daily basis at the border, but this alone cannot stem the supply, which is why we work side-by-side with our partners to stamp out these home-grown illicit operations,” she said.
Craig Darlow, Detective Acting Superintendent at Victoria Police, said the three organisations had made it clear that they would target anyone at any level, across any state, who was involved in the distribution and sale of illicit tobacco that involved regional Victoria.
“Disrupting these syndicates and putting a stop to their criminality remains a top priority for Victoria Police and it is critical that we continue to work with our law enforcement partners including the ATO and ABF on this,” he said.
“These seizures – and their potential value of almost $35 million in avoided excise – are significant, and their impact will undoubtedly be felt by the organised crime groups operating in this state.”
“We are doing absolutely everything we can to target syndicate leaders, directors, facilitators and organisers responsible for this criminal offense to make involvement in illicit tobacco as unattractive a proposition as possible.”
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