Illicit tobacco shops move to sidestep government crackdown

THE latest closure orders issued by the Victoria Police VIPER Taskforce and Tobacco Licensing Victoria (TLV) compliance officers are sending shockwaves through the illicit tobacco trade across Gippsland.

For the first time since the government dialed up its crackdown on illicit tobacco sales, with new laws on September 9, the taskforce has hit shops outside metro Melbourne and Geelong, initially targeting operators in the Latrobe Valley and also at Yarram in South Gippsland on Monday this week.

It was their first foray into regional Victoria.

They’ve now extended that down the Princes Highway as far as Bairnsdale.

And while Chief Operating Officer for Tobacco Licensing Victoria, Bree Oliver, refused to be drawn on where the taskforce would turn up next, during an interview on ABC Radio on Tuesday, it’s fair to say once a district is opened up to closure orders, more always follow in the surrounding areas.

But speaking on Gippsland ABC Radio on Tuesday, Ms Oliver said the operations of the taskforce remained necessarily confidential.

“It's really important that I don’t tip my hand. We can't provide a blueprint or advance notice to those supplying tobacco in the community,” said Ms Oliver.

“You would understand it's really important that we keep those matters confidential,” she said.

But the criminal syndicates running these local operations aren’t standing idle.

It has been reported that illicit tobacco shops in Bairnsdale de-stocked their outlets before the flying squad arrived during the week, while a Wonthaggi smoker reported on Gippsland ABC Radio on Thursday morning that the local operators had adopted a different strategy.

“They know it’s coming so they’ve started giving out a phone number you can call and they’ll deliver,” he said in a radio interview.

So, it’s home delivery for illegal cigarettes locally as one of the many ways crime groups are trying to stay ahead of the crackdown.

Of course, many smokers already order their smokes and vapes online and have them delivered by Australia Post.

It comes at a time when the Federal Government is trying to introduce new laws to combat the import and sale of illicit tobacco under its ‘Customs and Other Legislation Amendment (Illicit Tobacco Enforcement Modernisation and Other Measures) Bill 2026’ being debated in Parliament this week.

According to debate in parliament on Wednesday, organised crime accounted for between 50% and 60% of the tobacco market in 2024-25, estimated to be 80% now. It's also estimated that criminal networks derived between $4.1 billion and $6.9 billion profit annually from the sale of illicit tobacco and vapes which they are funneling into other nefarious activities including drug importation and even terrorism on Australian soil.