05/08/2024
A male Japanese national landing at Perth International Airport this week has been fined and refused entry into Australia after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers found more than 34,000 cigarettes in his luggage.
ABF officers stopped the man – who was travelling on a tourist visa – for a baggage examination after he arrived in Perth on a flight from Singapore on Tuesday (30 July 2024).
Officers found a total of 34,620 cigarettes in his luggage, which the passenger had failed to declare, with an estimated duty evaded valued at $44,250. The man admitted he expected to be paid to smuggle the undeclared cigarettes into Australia.
The traveller also illegally filmed the search of his luggage and continued to do so despite numerous requests and warnings to stop. He was subsequently issued with a $626 infringement for filming in a restricted area.
After seizing the cigarette haul, the traveller’s visa was cancelled and he was detained under s189 (1) of the Migration Act 1958. He will be removed from the country at the earliest opportunity and at his own expense.
ABF Acting Superintendent John Sweet said the seizure comes after nine Japanese nationals were refused entry into Australia in early July, when ABF officers at Sydney International Airport found and seized a combined total of 330,000 cigarettes in their baggage.
“The illicit tobacco trade is far from a harmless activity, with organised crime groups that run these operations using the proceeds to fund other crimes, including the importation of illicit drugs and firearms,” Acting Superintendent Sweet said.
“Travellers attempting to bring in large quantities of undeclared cigarettes will be dealt with swiftly by our officers.
“Not only will they lose their illicit product but they will have their visa cancelled and face an exclusion period of up to three years from re-entering Australia.”
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