Illegal tobacco trade quietly exploding across Brisbane

The blackmarket cigarette trade is exploding across Brisbane.

Importers are flooding Australian markets with more illegal tobacco than ever before, new figures obtained by Brisbane Times reveal.

More than 5.2 million cigarettes and 1.2 tonnes of loose tobacco were seized from Queensland retailers over just 12 weeks from July.

Illegally imported cigarette packet discarded in Brisbane CBD.Credit: William Davis

About 8500 illegal vapes and 12,000 nicotine pouches were also found.

“They’re illegal … I don’t know where we get them, I’m not the manager,” one seller in the CBD told this masthead.

Another in Fortitude Valley sold us a pack of “Manchester” cigarettes – which cannot be distributed legally anywhere in Australia – for $20.

Brisbane Times visited ten convenience stores and tobacconists across multiple suburbs. Some were well-known chains and others were independent.

All of them openly sold Manchester cigarettes, and many also stocked illegal Chinese brand “Double Happiness”, Korean brand “ESSE”, imported “Marlboro Reds” and “Winfield Blues” among others.

Prices ranged from $17 to $25 per pack – about 50 per cent cheaper than most legitimately taxed plain-packaging equivalents.

None of the sellers were prepared to discuss their supply chains.

Illegally imported “Manchester” cigarettes bought by Brisbane Times for $20 in Fortitude Valley. Credit: William Davis

The Manchester website says it is based out of a warehouse at the Jebel Ali port in Dubai. Packets do not say where they are manufactured.

The cigarettes can be purchased almost 10 million at a time in 12-metre shipping containers. Some retailers stock them in counterfeit Australian plain packaging.

Brisbane Times has been told at least 350 retail businesses across Queensland are under investigation by Queensland Health, which is responsible for enforcing tobacco regulations.

About 440 petrol stations, convenience stores, gift shops and tobacconists were targeted during the three-month crackdown from July this year.

At least 13 businesses are being prosecuted in court.

Sales brochure for Dubai-based cigarette brand Manchester, which has flooded the Brisbane black market. Credit: Manchester Website

“We have seized a record number of illicit tobacco and illegal cigarettes in the September quarter,” a representative for Queensland Health said, noting the department has only collected data since taking over jurisdiction from Queensland Police in 2023.

However, shopfront busts represent just a tiny fraction of what’s coming through national ports.

Across Australia, about 1784 tonnes of tobacco – equivalent to about two billion cigarettes – was seized by border forces last financial year.

That equates to about $3 billion in unpaid taxes.

“We strongly encourage Queenslanders to report any suspicious sale of illegal tobacco and nicotine products for investigation,” a spokesperson for Queensland Health said in a statement to Brisbane Times.

“Retailers who illegally sell cigarettes, tobacco, or vapes now face severe penalties including jail terms, steeper fines, and closures.”

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