Business busted selling illegal tobacco
A Current Affair has uncovered a Geelong business selling black market tobacco while claiming to operate as a hair salon.
ACA's cameras recorded at least a dozen customers purchasing goods from the store, believed to be illicit cigarettes and tobacco, within an hour.
Illegal tobacco is easily accessible and is sold under the counter at stores around Australia. A Current Affair
It is part of the black "chop chop" market that is trading across the country.
When approached by A Current Affair an employee at one store in Geelong acknowledged the illegal activity, saying she realised it was illegal.
The complex tobacco import operations are not going unnoticed.
The complex tobacco import operations are not going unnoticed. A Current Affair
In the last financial year, the Australian Border Force made more than 285,000 detections of illicit tobacco., weighing more than 633 tonnes, worth more than $670 million in duty evaded.
Illegal tobacco is easily accessible and is sold under the counter at stores and tobacconists around the country.
At least a dozen customers purchased goods from the store, believed to be illicit cigarettes and tobacco, within an hour. A Current Affair
According to a report by KPMG hotspots across Australia include - Adelaide, Geelong, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Cairns.
"Australians who buy illicit tobacco should be aware that the proceeds of these sales are supporting a market dominated by criminal syndicates that use the profits from illicit tobacco to fund other illegal activities." A spokesperson told A Current Affair.
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