Machine capable of producing millions of illegal cigarettes seized in Sydney
/ By Kevin Adams
Machine capable of producing millions of illegal cigarettes seized in Sydney
/ By Kevin Adams
A machine capable of producing up to 3.6 million illicit cigarettes per day has been confiscated by the Australian Border Force (ABF) from a storage facility in north‑west Sydney. The industrial‑scale setup was found operating within a commercial storage environment, authorities said.
During the operation at a Rouse Hill self‑storage unit last Thursday, officers also seized 7.53 kilograms of loose‑leaf tobacco, nearly 6,000 components for vaping devices, and eight large boxes believed to contain counterfeit tobacco packaging. The haul was discovered at the same location as the cigarette‑making machine.
The raid was coordinated by the ABF’s Illicit Tobacco Taskforce (ITTF), with support from the Australian Taxation Office, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and NSW Police. The multi‑agency team executed the action as part of ongoing efforts targeting illicit tobacco supply chains.
No arrests have been made following the discovery, and the ABF believes an organised crime syndicate was running the operation. Investigations are continuing to identify those responsible.
ITTF Acting Superintendent Samuel Harnden cautioned that every purchase of illicit tobacco directly bankrolls organised crime. He said the broader market for illegal cigarettes relies on consumers who seek cheaper products outside the legal system.
“There are clear and established links between local illicit tobacco manufacturing in Australia and organised criminal syndicates,” he said. Harnden urged buyers to consider the criminal networks their money may be supporting.
University of New South Wales (UNSW) public health expert Becky Freeman said finding a cigarette‑making machine inside Australia was unusual. In her view, illicit tobacco in Australia is typically sourced elsewhere.
She said the discovery highlighted how rapidly the underground market is evolving. The find, she added, shows operators are adapting their methods to meet demand.
“The majority of these products are imported into Australia — they’re manufactured in our region and then imported into Australia and sold,” she said. She noted this import‑driven model has dominated the illicit supply.
Post-COVID phenomenon
Professor Freeman said Australia is oversupplied with cheap illicit tobacco products and that authorities are struggling to keep up. She described the scale of the market as overwhelming enforcement capacity.
“It’s a post‑COVID phenomenon. There are more cigarettes here than can be smoked or used by anybody,” she said. The glut, she argued, is fuelling street‑level availability.
Violent criminal market
The underground trade is one of the country’s fastest‑growing and most violent criminal markets, according to recent reports by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Institute of Criminology. Those assessments link the illicit tobacco economy to broader organised activity.
Released in November, the research estimated illicit tobacco cost $4 billion in 2023‑24 through lost tax revenue and healthcare costs. The figure underscored the fiscal and health impacts of the black market.
In the same month, the NSW government passed legislation making it easier for NSW Health to order retailers to shut down for 90 days if caught selling illegal tobacco. The measure was designed to give regulators stronger tools to disrupt sales.
Since then, more than 50 tobacco retailers have been temporarily closed across the state. Authorities say the closures reflect stepped‑up enforcement under the new powers.
Last year, NSW Premier Chris Minns urged the federal government to reduce the tobacco excise, which was first introduced in 2010 to reduce smoking rates. He renewed concerns about the affordability gap between legal and illegal products.
At the time, the premier argued the high cost of legal tobacco was pushing smokers to buy black market cigarettes, but Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers disagreed and declined to make the changes. The federal position remained that excise settings should not be adjusted.
Professor Freeman urged the Commonwealth and state governments to stop blaming each other and instead back multi‑agency raids and investigations such as the Rouse Hill operation. She said cooperative enforcement is the most effective way to disrupt supply.
“A cigarette costs about one Australian cent to make, and criminal syndicates have figured out how to sell these products in broad daylight, so the key solution to me is to shut down those shops,” she said. Shuttering points of sale, she added, would cut off the most visible distribution channels.
During the operation at a Rouse Hill self‑storage unit last Thursday, officers also seized 7.53 kilograms of loose‑leaf tobacco, nearly 6,000 components for vaping devices, and eight large boxes believed to contain counterfeit tobacco packaging. The haul was discovered at the same location as the cigarette‑making machine.
The raid was coordinated by the ABF’s Illicit Tobacco Taskforce (ITTF), with support from the Australian Taxation Office, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and NSW Police. The multi‑agency team executed the action as part of ongoing efforts targeting illicit tobacco supply chains.
No arrests have been made following the discovery, and the ABF believes an organised crime syndicate was running the operation. Investigations are continuing to identify those responsible.
ITTF Acting Superintendent Samuel Harnden cautioned that every purchase of illicit tobacco directly bankrolls organised crime. He said the broader market for illegal cigarettes relies on consumers who seek cheaper products outside the legal system.
“There are clear and established links between local illicit tobacco manufacturing in Australia and organised criminal syndicates,” he said. Harnden urged buyers to consider the criminal networks their money may be supporting.
University of New South Wales (UNSW) public health expert Becky Freeman said finding a cigarette‑making machine inside Australia was unusual. In her view, illicit tobacco in Australia is typically sourced elsewhere.
She said the discovery highlighted how rapidly the underground market is evolving. The find, she added, shows operators are adapting their methods to meet demand.
“The majority of these products are imported into Australia — they’re manufactured in our region and then imported into Australia and sold,” she said. She noted this import‑driven model has dominated the illicit supply.
Post-COVID phenomenon
Professor Freeman said Australia is oversupplied with cheap illicit tobacco products and that authorities are struggling to keep up. She described the scale of the market as overwhelming enforcement capacity.
“It’s a post‑COVID phenomenon. There are more cigarettes here than can be smoked or used by anybody,” she said. The glut, she argued, is fuelling street‑level availability.
Violent criminal market
The underground trade is one of the country’s fastest‑growing and most violent criminal markets, according to recent reports by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the Australian Institute of Criminology. Those assessments link the illicit tobacco economy to broader organised activity.
Released in November, the research estimated illicit tobacco cost $4 billion in 2023‑24 through lost tax revenue and healthcare costs. The figure underscored the fiscal and health impacts of the black market.
In the same month, the NSW government passed legislation making it easier for NSW Health to order retailers to shut down for 90 days if caught selling illegal tobacco. The measure was designed to give regulators stronger tools to disrupt sales.
Since then, more than 50 tobacco retailers have been temporarily closed across the state. Authorities say the closures reflect stepped‑up enforcement under the new powers.
Last year, NSW Premier Chris Minns urged the federal government to reduce the tobacco excise, which was first introduced in 2010 to reduce smoking rates. He renewed concerns about the affordability gap between legal and illegal products.
At the time, the premier argued the high cost of legal tobacco was pushing smokers to buy black market cigarettes, but Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers disagreed and declined to make the changes. The federal position remained that excise settings should not be adjusted.
Professor Freeman urged the Commonwealth and state governments to stop blaming each other and instead back multi‑agency raids and investigations such as the Rouse Hill operation. She said cooperative enforcement is the most effective way to disrupt supply.
“A cigarette costs about one Australian cent to make, and criminal syndicates have figured out how to sell these products in broad daylight, so the key solution to me is to shut down those shops,” she said. Shuttering points of sale, she added, would cut off the most visible distribution channels.