Berserker Tobacconist, Rockhampton paid a visit by authorities

A third tobacco shop has opened in the city in the past nine months and has attracted the attention of Queensland Health and police officials. Here’s what we know.

A new tobacco shop has opened in Rockhampton this month and was paid a visit by the authorities on Tuesday.

Berserker Tobacconists opened on the corner of Clifton and Musgrave streets, across from Stockland, at the beginning of September.

The store sells vapes and cigarette products and operates as cash only with an ATM inside.

Police officers from the Rockhampton Criminal Investigations Branch assisted Queensland Health with a search warrant at the tobacco shop on Tuesday.

Queensland Police Service advised no action was required by police as they were there only in an assistance role.

Queensland Health was unable to comment on individual matters.

The business was operating what appeared to be as normal on Tuesday afternoon with a steady line of customers exiting the store with black bags.

The business owner’s brother, Hasheem Jamal Al Deleymi, owns a number of tobacco stores as well, including Bundy Tobacconists and Gifts, which was raided in July and a number of alleged illicit tobacco products were seized including 4,354 nicotine vapes, 37 assorted bongs and eight ‘category m’ flick knives.

Local police and Australia Border Force have raided a tobacco shop in Bundaberg’s CBD, the second of it’s kind to be raided in Bundaberg in a space of just five months. VIDEO:

Mr Al Deleymi and his shop assistant, Hamzah Novel Mahri, were charged with one count each of possessing s4 or s8 medicines or hazardous poisons, possessing utensils or pipes and unlawful possession of weapons.

No plea has been entered in relation to these charges at time of publication.

TOBACCO STORE INCREASE

It is the second tobacco store to open in Rockhampton in recent months and the third in the past nine months.

Frenchville Gifts and Tobacconists opened in July on Dean Street and was selling branded cigarette packets, vapes containing nicotine and had tobacco related items on display, which under the Tobacco and Other Smoking Products Act 1998 is illegal.

Queensland Government officers and Rockhampton detectives attended the shop on August 11 and the business was closed for some time while it is understood a raid took place.

The officers left with a number of crates containing paper bags, believed to be seized items.

Minutes after the officers left, the electronic open sign was turned back on and customers strolled in.

Most customers left empty-handed that day; however it is understood the store has replenished its stock.

In November 2021, a store named Rocky Tobacconist opened in Musgrave Street however after reports were published by The Morning Bulletin about the activity, the store closed.

The store was selling branded cigarette packets, had smoking products on display including glass pipes, and didn’t have any mandatory Queensland Government signage.

“The problem is that the illegal tobacconists are being allowed to trade … no one is making it difficult for them … they opened again that afternoon,” an anonymous whistleblower told The Morning Bulletin.

AUSTRALIAN TOBACCO LAWS

When it comes to tobacco related offences, they are governed by different government departments, depending on the offence.

In Queensland, most of the laws around tobacco related products are under the jurisdiction of Queensland Health, who can issue warnings, on-the-spot fines, improvement notices and initiate legal proceedings for breaches of the smoking laws.

Police officers have authority over the sales of smoking products to children and enforce laws relating to bongs, ice pipes and hookahs and smoking bans in vehicles where children under 16 years are present.

The Australian Federal Police, the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Border Force also become involved, particularly when it comes to the importing of illegal tobacco into Australia, and then there is also the Australian Taxation Office for goods that tax isn’t paid on.

“That’s a lot of the problem, it’s just a mess because it’s not anybody’s total problem and yet it is everybody’s problem, it is yours and my problem whether we are smokers or not,” the anonymous whistleblower said.

“It’s only because of this greyness with the tobacco laws, it’s so hard to regulate and monitor.”

Tobacco industry stakeholders and government departments have reported there has been an “explosion in black market tobacco retailers” in the past two years in Australia.

In November 2021, the ABC reported about 70 illicit tobacco stores had opened in the state’s southeast at the rate of one a week.

Anonymous worries more suspicious tobacco stores will open in Central Queensland.

“It’s just everywhere, they are just diving in all over,” they said.

“It’s not long before we have one in Gracemere and Yeppoon.”

ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES

Electronic cigarettes are also known as e-cigarettes, vapes or personal vaporisers and work by heating liquid into a fine vapour for inhalation into the lungs.

They vary in design and operation but mostly have a battery, heating element and cartridge or refillable tank containing a liquid.

The liquid is generally called “vape juice” and there are more than 7,000 flavours on the market from menthol, fruit, dessert, coffee, alcoholic beverages and cigar flavours.

The flavours are designed to be “tasty” as a deterrent from the chemicals in the juice liquid.

NICOTINE VAPES

In some products, the liquid can contain nicotine which is now illegal in Australia unless on a prescription and supplied from a pharmacist.

It is an offence under the Health (Drugs and Poisons) Regulation 1996, for a person to manufacture, obtain, possess, prescribe, dispense, sell, advertise, use or destroy nicotine, unless the person is specifically authorised or holds an approval under the HDPR and the maximum penalty for someone importing the products is $9,108.

In Queensland, all vapes, with or without nicotine, are subject to the same laws as tobacco or cigarettes, meaning they cannot be used in no-smoking areas, sold to children under 18 years of age, advertised and promoted or displayed at retail outlets.

Electronic cigarettes are considered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration to be “unapproved medicines” and have not been assessed for safety, quality and efficacy.

The TGA has a list of approved prescribers of nicotine vapes and there is only one listed for Central Queensland who is Dr Priyanta Thotagamuwa at Wandal Medical Centre.

The TGA does note the doctors on this list are “under no obligation” to provide the patient with the script for the nicotine vaping products and their decision to prescribe any medicine is entirely at their discretion.

GOVERNMENT REVIEW

Advocate for shutting down illegal activity in tobacco stores, CEO of Australian Association Convenience Stores Theo Foukkare, said they had been working with the Queensland Government on reviewing smoking laws but action needed to be taken soon. 

“While the review has been progressing, illicit tobacco sales have been growing rapidly in Queensland, and there have been multiple reports of brazen flouting of the existing laws by non-compliant retailers,” Mr Foukkare said.

“We are advocating to Minister D’Ath for a retailer licensing scheme backed by a holistic enforcement led framework where Queensland Police are provided the appropriate powers to disrupt the black market trade.

“The review makes no reference to penalties for retailers caught dealing in illicit tobacco, but we know that the sale of illicit tobacco is incredibly profitable, so AACS would also like to see strong penalties introduced that are proportionate to the crime.

“The Government recognises the damage that illicit tobacco is inflicting on law-abiding businesses, communities, and the economy of Queensland so this reform is an opportunity for strong engagement with retailers right now to deliver a lasting, effective solution.”