Duo allegedly escapes with cigarettes, cash after raid on Logan store

An armed raid was carried out overnight at a shopping centre in Brisbane’s south, in which two armed men allegedly escaped with cash and cigarettes.

Police are hunting for armed two men who raided a Bourke St store and made off with cigarettes and cash. Picture: Google maps

A tobacco shop in a suburban Logan street is closed this morning while police conduct an investigation into an armed raid at a suburban shopping centre overnight.

Puff Heaven Vape and Tobacco Store, on Bourke St, Waterford West, was closed on Sunday morning after two men allegedly escaped with cash and cigarettes.

Nobody was injured in the raid and police said they were still hunting for the two men who ran off.

Police would not give details about the investigation but said the duo had entered a store on Bourke St just before 7pm on Saturday night and allegedly forced the sole employee to hand over the cigarettes and money.

Last night’s raid followed separate growing concerns that organised crime gangs were waging a tobacco turf war in the region, after six tobacconists in the southeast have been targeted in the past six weeks.

Yesterday, Queensland Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said police had a “specified interest” in targeting crimes being carried out against tobacco stores after 16 tobacconist stores in the southeast had been targeted since March.

The Bourke St complex where Puff Heaven tobacco store is located. Picture: Supplied

The previous raids under investigation are believed to have links to the illicit trade of “chop chop” tobacco, which is known to be sold illegally in parts of the southeast. Police do not suggest last night’s raid has such a link.

Detectives are urging anyone with information about the robbery or with dashcam or CCTV footage to come forward.

They are particularly interested in any witnesses who may have seen the two men fleeing the scene or acting suspiciously in the area around the time of the crime.

Logan Criminal Investigation Branch emphasised the seriousness of the offence and the need for community assistance in solving the case.

They have assured the public that all information will be treated confidentially and that even the smallest detail could be crucial in apprehending the culprits.

This armed robbery adds to a growing list of similar incidents in the region, heightening concerns among local business owners and residents. The police are actively working to address these crimes and are conducting thorough investigations to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Separately, convenience stores and petrol station retailers across the South East are blaming a 20 per cent drop in tobacco sales on the failure of the state health department to patrol the vaping black market.

Retailers claim Queensland Health is not up to the task of regulating the illegal vaping industry and want enforcement powers transferred away from the department after the new tobacco licensing laws took effect on September 1.

Since new vaping bans came into play nationally on July 1, Queensland Health officials have raided four premises for nicotine vaping goods, seizing 1749 vapes, 351 e-liquids and 150 nicotine pouches.

As there are no on-the-spot fines under current legislation, prosecution is the only available enforcement option and so far, no convictions have been recorded.

Originally published as Duo allegedly escapes with cigarettes, cash after raid on Logan store