Two men burned after latest suspected ‘tobacco wars’ attack
Suspected arsonists have targeted a tobacco shop south of Brisbane, destroying the storefront in a blaze that burned two men, who were rushed to hospital with severe injuries.
Emergency services were called to reports of a fire at a tobacco store on Forestglen Crescent in Browns Plains about 12.15am on Friday.
A tobacco shop at Browns Plains, south of Brisbane, was burned just after midnight on Friday.Credit: Nine News
Two men, aged 47 and 54, were in the building when the blaze broke out and were seen fleeing the rear of the premises, suffering severe burns in the process.
The men have since told police that unknown males entered the storefront and poured a flammable substance inside, before setting the building on fire.
The shop was destroyed, and several fire crews took more than an hour to extinguish the fire. Police have declared the site a crime scene.
The injured men were transported to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for treatment. Their injuries were not life-threatening.
The shopfront was destroyed in the blaze.Credit: Nine News
The fire could be the latest in a string of attacks on tobacco stores around the country, with reports of stores that sold illegal cigarettes increasingly being firebombed and ram-raided in the past five years.
The violent attacks, collectively referred to as the “tobacco wars”, are said to be done by criminal gangs vying for control over the lucrative illegal tobacco market.
While the violence in Queensland is not at the level of Victoria and NSW, there has been a sharp increase in incidents in the past two years.
In late December, a Fortitude Valley tobacco shop was firebombed by a masked man in the early hours of the morning, just weeks after it opened.
Weeks later, a Beenleigh tobacconist was destroyed after being firebombed. The most recent before Friday’s attack was another blaze and possible ram-raid of a tobacco store in Springwood.
In April, Brisbane Times revealed about 29 million cigarettes, 10.6 tonnes of loose-leaf tobacco and 225,000 vapes were seized in Queensland between July 2023 and December 2024, with 30 per cent from Brisbane alone.
More than 15 per cent of all tobacco sales are now suspected to be illegal imports sold off the books, according to national estimates used by the Queensland government.
Other figures estimate at least 350 retail businesses across the state are currently under investigation by Queensland Health, the authority responsible for enforcing tobacco regulations.
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