Australia: Authorities Seize $15 million of Illegal Tobacco in Victorian Property Raid

Source from:  The Age  05/05/2014

The Australian Tax Office has raided a Victoria property and seized an estimated $15 million in excise value of illegal tobacco in what has become the largest ever seizure of tobacco plants in Australian history.

After conducting a joint investigation, the ATO and the Australian Federal Police raided the regional property, confiscating about 350,000 mature tobacco plants as part of Operation Garnet, an initiative of the ATO.

An ATO spokeswoman said the organisations raided a 50-acre rural property, 40 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD, in addition to a factory located in an industrial area in Melbourne’s north.

The illegal tobacco was going to be distributed widely across Australia through pop-up stores, markets and other established retail outlet, the spokeswoman told Fairfax Media.

Deputy Commissioner Greg Williams said police were also looking into "potential links to organised crime".

"We're not just looking at seizing tobacco ... when we investigate this kind of behaviour," he said.

"We're scrutinising everyone involved in each step of the process."

Deputy Commissioner Williams said that unsuspecting landowners could face charges under the Excise Act if they leased land to growers of illegal tobacco crop.

"Landowners are responsible for knowing what is being grown on their property," he said.

"Buying illegal tobacco is not just bad for your health, it’s bad for your community.

"It means lost revenue for infrastructure and services, and that’s bad for everyone."

Growing tobacco in Australia has been illegal since 2006. Enditem