Omar Chkhaidem and Dominic Fotia in court over tobacco find

Authorities busted two illegal tobacco growers in regional Victoria with 15 tonnes of crop who evaded paying at least $4m in excise duty.

Omar Chkhaidem was one of two men who avoided paying more than $4m in excise duty on 15,470kg of tobacco harvest in Cobram, Yarroweyah

Two men paid a heavy price for their involvement in an illegal tobacco growing operation that tried to evade more than $4m in taxes.

Omar Chkhaidem and Dominic Fotia were hauled before the courts after Victoria Police and the ATO seized more than 15 tonnes of tobacco plants from two farms and three trucks in Cobram and Yarroweyah between April and May 2017.

Fotia was found guilty by a jury on a charge of conspiracy to dishonestly cause a loss to a Commonwealth entity and was sentenced in County Court to six months’ imprisonment while Omar pleaded guilty.

He was released on a recognisance release order to be of good behaviour for 12 months.

Omar Chkhaidem and Dominic Fotia have been convicted for evading $4m worth of excise duty on tobacco.

Judge Peter Rozen said on April 24, 2017 police located a tobacco crop, three trucks and a trailer that each contained picked green tobacco leaves at Cobram.

Three weeks later, following a tip-off, the ATO went to a property in Yarroweyah and discovered a 3.6ha crop of tobacco plants.

There were 6250kg of tobacco at the Cobram farm, 4720kg on the trucks and a further 4500kg at Yarroweyah.

The loss of excise revenue had the tobacco not been seized was calculated at $4.1m.

Judge Rozen said the tobacco planting operation was well planned and sophisticated, the amount of tax evasion was significant and that the sole motivation was for financial gain.

Some of the tobacco plants in Cobram that the Australian Taxation Office seized and destroyed.

He said Chkhaidem performed a more hands-on role, including delivering seedlings and moving machinery and workers around.

The judge rejected the explanation Fotia gave at trial that he was unknowingly placed in a difficult position in terms of his role in the offending.

“These are not victimless crimes because the community as a whole suffers from loss of tax revenue,” he said.