From: Australian Government
Joint media release
Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources
Australian Border Force
Border officials have foiled an attempt by a passenger to import 46,000 cigarettes through Melbourne Airport.
The 48-year-old Victorian man was selected by Biosecurity officers from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources for a quarantine inspection when he arrived on a flight from China on Friday (30 October 2015).
An x-ray of his bags allegedly revealed a large quantity of undeclared cigarettes. The man was referred to Australian Border Force (ABF) officers for further questioning. On inspecting the man’s bags, officers allegedly found 22,600 cigarettes in one bag and an additional 23,400 in a second.
Regional Commander Victoria/Tasmania Don Smith said the detection was an example of border agencies working together to protect the community from harmful goods and revenue crime.
“Such a large quantity of undeclared cigarettes poses both a quarantine risk given the unknown source of the tobacco and a clear attempt to defraud Australian taxpayers of legitimate revenue,” Regional Commander Smith said.
The total duty payable on the cigarettes amounts to more than $28,000. If successfully smuggled into the country, the cigarettes could have been sold for more than $20,000 on the black market.
Head of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources Compliance Division, Raelene Vivian, said that Biosecurity officers were always on the lookout for prohibited goods in any form—not only those that pose a biosecurity threat.
“Australia’s border protection agencies work together as the first line of defence against illicit goods that have the potential to harm the Australian community—whether this be narcotics, weapons or prohibited plant and animal products — and we take that responsibility very seriously,” Ms Vivian said.
The maximum penalty for tobacco smuggling is up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to five times the amount of duty evaded.
