Explore the latest developments concerning Australia and China.
Australia and China cooperate to bust illegal tobacco smuggling syndicate
More than 60 people have been arrested in a joint Australian-Chinese operation to crack down on illegal tobacco smuggling into Australia. (Australian Border Force)
Australian and Chinese authorities have worked together to break a large-scale illegal tobacco smuggling syndicate, seizing products worth $92 million.
More than 100 containers were searched following intel from Beijing, with 60 people arrested in China.
The federal government has been pushing back on calls to slash the tobacco excise, to try to reduce the price of legal cigarettes and undermine the black market.
Australian and Chinese authorities have worked together to crack an international syndicate shipping illegal tobacco into Australia.
$100m illegal tobacco haul after tip-off from China
Australian and Chinese authorities have confiscated almost $100 million worth of illicit tobacco in what federal authorities are touting as a major boost for bilateral relations amid Beijing’s crackdown on the lucrative illegal cigarette market.
Australian Border Force officials, acting on intelligence from Chinese authorities, intercepted more than 100 shipping containers between January and May, 91 of which contained 60 million illegal cigarettes and 60 kilograms of loose-leaf tobacco. The haul has an estimated value of more than $92 million, the ABF said.
Officers from the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of General Administration of China Customs arrested 60 people suspected of being involved in an international criminal syndicate smuggling millions of South-East Asian-manufactured cigarettes into Australia after identifying the network’s smuggling routes.
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Canada cut the tobacco tax. To stamp out illegal trade, so should we
Quebec first changed the policy, then strengthened enforcement. Australia has chosen the reverse.
We are repeatedly told by the health minister, the illicit tobacco and e-cigarette commissioner and others that there is no evidence to support lowering tobacco excise.
It is true that few countries have reversed course on tobacco taxation but few have distorted their tobacco market as severely or as quickly as Australia.
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