How smugglers used toy cars and books to hide a $30m vape shipment
What looked like harmless cargo of everyday household items turned out to be a $30m vape racket — and it’s only one of many major strikes as Australia targets the booming illicit vape trade.
Australian Border Force officers stationed in Beijing have intercepted more than 600,000 illegal vapes, stopping an estimated $30 million worth of illicit products from reaching Aussie streets.
The haul – which arrived in NSW between September and October this year – followed intelligence sharing that led to the referral of almost 70 high-risk shipping containers.
Many of the seized shipments were falsely declared as glass bottles, lamps, toy cars, balls, curtains and books in a bid to dodge detection.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers were able to link several additional shipments to the initial referrals, uncovering a broader smuggling effort.
The agency said its international network was critical, enabling rapid information exchanges, offshore disruption and stronger border detections.
“The engagement that goes on behind the scenes with our international partner agencies needs to be commended,” ABF’s Acting Commander of Targeting, Laura Uttley, said.
“ABF officers posted overseas are dedicated to developing and nurturing international relationships which have led to enormous amounts of illicit tobacco, vapes and other high-risk commodities being stopped at the border.”
Between January and October this year, the ABF received more than 1000 referrals from international counterparts, preventing 524 million cigarette sticks, over one million vapes and 918 tonnes of loose-leaf tobacco from entering the country.
This surge follows a steep rise in detections seen earlier in the year. Between July and September 2025, officers intercepted 586 million cigarettes and more than three million vapes, marking a sharp increase on the same period in previous years.
In comparison, the July–September 2024 period saw 539 million cigarettes and just over 2.3 million vapes seized, while in 2023 authorities intercepted 449 million cigarettes, with no official vape seizure data recorded before vape-specific legislation took effect in January 2024.
The September quarter also ended with a near-record haul in Sydney, where 95,000 vapes from China were misdeclared as “perforated strips” in a sea cargo consignment, a shipment still under investigation.
“This outcome is a testament to our officers both offshore and onshore who have turned information into action, and who have not only stopped dangerous and illegal goods from entering our country, but who have further built on our understanding of how threat actors are attempting to exploit the Australian border, increasing our ability to detect and seize more suspicious consignments,” Commander Uttley said.
“These activities also allow the ABF to increase our intelligence holdings in order to disrupt the organised crime syndicates behind the shipments.”
The result builds on last year’s record-breaking seizure, when 691,000 vapes were intercepted between September and October 2024 following a referral from an international partner – the largest detection to date.
Anyone with information about illegal tobacco imports is urged to contact Border Watch. Information can be provided anonymously.
