Border Force cracks down on illegal tobacco as thousands of cigarettes intercepted every day

As the holiday season arrives, Border Force officers remain on high alert, intercepting thousands of illegal tobacco products en route to Australia every day.

Australian Border Force Superintendent Andrew Snook said that as packages get scanned and sorted at a shipping facility in Granville, his organisation keeps a close watch in an elaborate game of cat and mouse.

"In the mail space, there is minimal effort to conceal," he said.

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"They are just looking to get as many through as possible."

Last financial year, more than 2.53 billion illegal cigarettes and more than 6 million vapes were seized nationwide.

However, Border Force officials are aware that more are slipping through the cracks.

"There's always more, and we're always there to stop them," Snook said.

Eighty per cent of international mail comes through Granville's Australia Post facility.

Border Force officers sit beside conveyor belts in the screening hall searching for red flags, including suspicious shipping locations.

"South East Asia and the Middle East, [they try to] hide their originating port," Snook said.

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Last week, more than 200,000 parcels were screened, with a growing number of contraband found in presents.

"On an average day, we're finding thousands of packs of cigarettes per day," Snook said.

"We don't always have the same resources the syndicates get. (We) celebrate the wins that we get, and we're getting a lot of wins."

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