Brisbane Customs Seizes Tobacco

Source from:  tvnz.co.nz Dec 22, 2007 12/24/2007

Almost 15 tonnes of undeclared tobacco has been seized from a shipping container in Brisbane. An Australian Customs spokesman said as a result of the seizure officers had searched several Sydney homes and were expecting to lay charges once they had completed their investigations. The spokesman said the investigation started on December 13 when a shipping container labelled as noodles was selected for X-ray in Brisbane. "Inside the container, customs officers found 2,980 cartons each containing about five kilograms of tobacco," he said. "If the consignment had found its way onto the market the revenue evaded would have amounted to $4,534,070 in customs duty and $453,407 in GST." Australian Customs National Manager Investigations Richard Janeczko said this year an unprecedented quantity of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco had been detected. "Since January we have foiled some 40 separate attempts to smuggle cigarettes and tobacco into Australia," he said. "Up to 95 million cigarettes and 236 tonnes of tobacco have been seized, amounting to attempts to evade revenue in excess of $100 million." Under the Customs Act, penalties up to five times the amount of duty payable can be imposed on those convicted of smuggling, conveying or possessing smuggled goods as well as jail sentences. Enditem