Federal Budget 2024: AFP to target bikies, Border Force gets $188m for illegal cigarette market
Bikies and underworld figures involved in organised crime are being targeted to stop cocaine and ice, while illegal tobacco imports that have sparked firebombings are also being hit.
Federal Budget
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An underworld brawl over the illegal cigarette market that has led to a wave of firebombings will be hit with a $188m war chest.
The Australian Border Force has been handed the cash to continue its battle against the international cartels flooding Australia’s streets with cut-price cigarettes.
Smokers have turned to illegal tobacco, often sold as Double Happiness or Manchester brands for $18 a packet.
Criminal cartels wholesalers are avoiding taxes that pushed the cost of legal cigarettes to more than $50 a packet.
There have been more than 50 firebombings at tobacco shops across Victoria in the past year as Kazem “Kaz” Hamad, believed to be based in Dubai, has taken over the illicit industry.
Two shops were attacked just this week despite previous reports that a $1m peace deal had been put in place.
“The government will provide $188.5m to the Australian Border Force to deliver a co-ordinated multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional response to the illicit tobacco trade, in conjunction with commonwealth, state, and territory partners,” the budget papers reveal.
More than 10 million cigarettes have been intercepted each week on Melbourne’s docks, but the supply has continued to floodshops across the city.
Victoria Police has targeted the illegal trade, cracking down on shops and middlemen.
The cigarette crackdown comes as an extra $50m will be spent on chasing international drug traffickers, including those based offshore.
The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission was handed extra cash to target crime gangs, including overseas-based Comanchero and Hells Angels bosses.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the extra money was needed due to a “decade of Coalition mismanagement leaving Australians vulnerable to drug trafficking”.
“As part of broader efforts to tackle transnational, serious and organised crime, we are also boosting capabilities with a further $48.7m in funding for the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission to enhance operational activities and core capabilities,” Mr Dreyfus said.
Comanchero kingpin Hakan Ayik, who was accused of being one of Australia’s top drug traffickers, was arrested in Turkey last year.
The arrest by Turkish National Police was a major victory for the Australian Federal Police, but tonnes of drugs were still flooding Australia.
Three men were arrested at a regional Queensland boat ramp last month after they returned to shore carrying 500kg of cocaine.
Cocaine was also washing up on Sydney’s beaches over the past few months after a botched shipment of 900kg of cocaine tha thit the water off Queensland in November but could not be retrieved.
The budget for the AFP will also increase by $57m in the next financial year.
The AFP total budget will hit more than $2 billion, with a slight increase in staff numbers to 7930.
stephen.drill@news.com.au
Originally published as Federal Budget 2024: AFP to target bikies, Border Force gets $188m for illegal cigarette market
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