Major Police Investigation into Illicit Tobacco imports in VIC

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The Integrity Commissioner and head of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI), Jaala Hinchcliffe, has today published her report on Operation Turner

Operation Turner investigated whether an entity had access to a corrupt Commonwealth law enforcement staff member to assist with importations of illicit tobacco. The Operation resulted in the resolution of an ABF tobacco importation investigation with the seizure of illicit tobacco.

The investigation was conducted jointly with a Victoria Police investigation, which targeted a known criminal entity (Mr S) suspected of being involved in illicit tobacco importation.

Mr S’s extensive criminal history for a range of different offences have resulted in him serving several prior terms of imprisonment. He also had connections to Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs.

As part of the investigation, a number of Commonwealth law enforcement officers were investigated to determine whether they could have been providing information to the criminal syndicate

Full story here: Media Release (aclei.gov.au)