Bellarine Village in Newcomb boots Next Gen Tobacconist after police raids

A tobacconist has been kicked out of Bellarine Village in Newcomb after specialist police raided the shop twice and seized suspected illicit products.

Next Gen Tobacconist has been booted from Bellarine Village.

A tobacco shop has been kicked out of a Newcomb shopping centre after it was raided twice by specialist police for allegedly selling illicit products.

Elite Gifts and Accessories Pty Ltd, which trades as Next Gen Tobacconist at Bellarine Village, had its lease terminated immediately in early November, according to a sign taped to its shopfront.

The store was raided twice by officers from the VIPER Taskforce in October.

Officers first searched the store about 10am on October 3, during which they seized vapes and tobacco.

The shop attendant was also interviewed.

Specialist detectives allegedly seized more than 12,000 illegal cigarettes, more than 100 vapes and cash from the store during the second raid on October 24.

A 41-year-old Tarneit man was also arrested at the store and charged with supporting a criminal organisation and illicit tobacco offences.

The man was bailed and fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on October 28.

A sign taped to the storefront, dated November 1, stated the shop’s lease had been terminated immediately.

“The tenant is in breach of … the lease as the tenant has used the premise for an unlawful purpose,” it stated.

“The director of the tenant has been charged for trading in illicit tobacco and being a director of an organised crime.

“Under clause 9.6 of the lease, the tenant must not do anything in the centre which is unlawful.”

A sign taped to the front of Next Gen Tobacconist at Bellarine Village.

The sign stated that the tenant had signed a two-year lease, which commenced in February this year.

The raid was a part of a statewide special investigation into an alleged organised crime syndicate worth $30m.

Multiple tobacconists and properties across Geelong and Melbourne have been raided by detectives from the VIPER Taskforce and the Geelong Crime Investigation Unit.

The VIPER Taskforce was established in 2022 to tackle serious and organised crime across the state.

Attempts to contact the store and its owner were unsuccessful.

Bellarine Village shopping centre was also contacted for comment.

Originally published as Bellarine Village in Newcomb boots Next Gen Tobacconist after police raids