SA tobacco shop targeted twice in two days

A northern suburbs shop has been broken into on two consecutive nights as the state’s tobacco war rages on.

A tobacco shop in Adelaide’s northern suburbs has been broken into twice in two nights – the latest incident in a string of crimes hitting South Australia’s industry.

Northern District CIB have launched an investigation into a break-in at a tobacco shop on Yorktown Rd some time between 9pm on Friday and 7.30am on Saturday.

Entry was gained to an ATM inside the shop and money was stolen.

The same property was also targeted the night before, police said.

Anyone with information on the break-in or saw any suspicious activity is encouraged to contact police.

It separately comes as some South Australian tobacco shop owners say they are being blackmailed to pay $2000 a month to interstate crime syndicates or risk being firebombed, an inside source has revealed.

SA Police has alleged 15 arson attacks across the metropolitan area, and one in regional SA, over the past three months are linked to organised crime syndicates trying to muscle in on the state’s tobacco trade.

A tobacconist, who spoke to The Advertiser on condition of anonymity, says that eastern state-based organised crime groups are attempting to use heavy-­handed standover tactics to extort a monthly fee from shop owners.

They said store owners had recently started receiving threatening phone calls from criminal organisations demanding a cut of their profits.

Originally published as SA tobacco shop targeted twice in two days