Hadi Haji Hasan Qizili was found with vapes and illegal tobacco in his car and paid a hefty price

The 29-year-old Toowoomba man said he simply transported the tobacco products in his car. That was enough for a hefty fine.

A Toowoomba man who helped transport illegal tobacco has been handed a hefty fine.

Hadi Haji Hasan Qizili, 29, agreed to transport vapes containing liquid nicotine, loose tobacco leaf and a quantity of cigarettes from Brisbane to a tobacco store in Murgon, Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told on Wednesday.

However, on that day of May 5, federal police officers turned up with a search warrant at the store and found Qizili’s car parked at the back, police prosecutor Anita Page told the court.

Officers searched the car which was found to contain a number of vapes, loose tobacco and cartons of packets of cigarettes, she said.

Ms Page said the cigarette packets contained no warning labels and were not packaged as required per legislation.

“It was clearly imported with the intent to defraud the Australian government of revenue,” she submitted.

Cold Case Inquest at the Toowoomba Courthouse.

Ms Page said under the Commonwealth legislation the penalty could be calculated by the total stamp duty avoided multiplied by three.

That had been calculated at about $15,000 in total, she said.

Duty lawyer Phil Stainton told the court his client’s involvement appeared to be just driving the tobacco items from Brisbane to Murgon.

Qizili was born in Iraq and came to Australia in 2018 with his wife and child after most of his family had been killed by Isis, he said.

At the moment, Qizili was on Centrelink jobseeker while completing a barber’s traineeship course and he worked six days a week in the barber shop for which he wasn’t paid, he said.

His client hoped to get a job as a barber once he had completed the course, Mr Stainton said.

Magistrate Louise Shephard fined Qizili $5000, which was referred to SPER, and ordered he complete 50 hours of community service.

Originally published as Hadi Haji Hasan Qizili was found with vapes and illegal tobacco in his car and paid a hefty price