Major bust as vapes worth $12.4million are found hidden in cargo by border force cops

In less than a week, the Australian Border Force has stopped almost 400,000 disposable vapes worth more than $12.47 million from entering Australia.

ABF officers discovered the products in three separate ocean freight shipments, all originating in Asia, at Sydney’s container screening facility.

Officers found 37,800 disposable vape products hidden in mixed declared goods on Monday and also found 18 pallets of plastic-wrapped cardboard boxes containing 174,960 disposable vapes in a second container.

Three days later, agents identified 177,120 disposable vapors in a third container.

It marks the largest “at the border” detection of disposable vapes in Australia since new laws were introduced on January 1 this year that cracked down on the importation of vaping products, the ABF said in a statement.

“The items have been seized and will be destroyed while investigations into the import of these goods and their intended destination are ongoing,” the ABF confirmed.

ABF Acting Commander of Trade East, Asha Patwardhan, said the frequency and significant quantities of vaping products that ABF officers were now intercepting showed how importers continued to blatantly ignore the new laws.

“The new border rules have now been in place for five months and we are certainly starting to see the attempts at concealment that these organized crime syndicates are using,” said Acting Commander Patwardhan.

“We are also seeing a wide range of vaping products now being stopped at the border, from vape liquid and accessories in our international mail facilities to container loads of disposable products on an industrial scale.”

Acting Commander Patwardhan said the same groups of people who profit from illicit tobacco are also diversifying into the distribution of vaping products.

“These syndicates use the profits from these illegal activities to finance their other criminal enterprises, including the illicit drug supply. We must attack and disrupt all flows of their business model by stopping and confiscating these vaping products,” Acting Commander Patwardhan said.

In less than a week, a total of 389,880 people were found in three separate containers

The disposable vape products have been seized and will be destroyed

‘It is established that the vast majority of these disposable vapes contain highly addictive nicotine, despite coming in fun fruity flavors and colorful packaging, making them particularly attractive to a younger market and exposing them to unacceptable health risks.

“The ABF will continue its strong proactive enforcement and disruption efforts to put the health and safety of the Australian community first.”

Community members are encouraged to help protect the Australian border and community by reporting suspicious border-related activity through Border Watch at http://www.abf.gov.au/borderwatch.

Reports can be made anonymously.