TS Top Tobacconist closed after Darling Downs Heath Public Health Unit inspections

The store was one of three in our region closed after public health officers executed several raids in recent weeks.

A Toowoomba tobacconist is one of three stores ordered to temporarily close after Darling Downs public health officers raided the businesses, searching for possible illegal tobacco and vapes.

The TS Top Tobacconist on Russell St was ordered to shut for 72 hours starting from noon on July 17, while another two stores in the South Burnett were ordered shut in the preceding weeks.

Since June 1, the Darling Downs Public Health Unit has inspected 12 stores and allegedly seized more than 186,000 illegal cigarettes, 43kg of loose leaf, chop chop tobacco and 2415 illegal vapes.

The TS Top Tobacconist on Russell St was subject to three-day interim closure order after it was repeatedly found to be selling illegal tobacco products.

The crackdown is part of the Queensland government’s efforts to stamp out the sale of cigarettes and loose leaf tobacco that has been smuggled into Australia by criminal networks.

“As a result of the inspections, interim closures, of three day, were issued for three premises,” a DDH spokesman said.

“The DDPHU has a responsibility, in the interest of public safety, to undertake proactive and targeted responses to breaches of smoking product laws, including vapes, as the sale of non-regulated products presents a health risk to the community.”

The trade in illegal tobacco has skyrocketed in the past decade.

A 2023 KPMG report found it accounted for 23 per cent of all tobacco consumed in Australia, up from about 11 per cent in 2012.

In the 2024-25 financial year the Australian Taxation Office seized more than 23 tonnes of tobacco and 6.7 million cigarettes.

This is estimated to be just a fraction of illegal tobacco sold in Australia with the Darling Downs alone home to more than a dozen stores suspected of openly selling the contraband products.

In response, the Queensland government is planning to introduce new laws that will target landlords who knowingly lease to illegal tobacco and vape traders.

They will face fines up to $161,000 or jail.

The state government also plans to extend the interim closure orders, the like one that led to the closure of TS Top Tobacconist, from three day to three months.

Originally published as TS Top Tobacconist closed after Darling Downs Heath Public Health Unit inspections