Australian Authorities Seize 25,000 Illegal Vapes in Melbourne

On July 27th, The Guardian reported that law enforcement personnel in Melbourne, Australia seized over 25,000 illegal e-cigarettes from a store in the city center. The authorities emphasized that this action was intended to send a clear message to other retailers.

The Victoria Police have announced that a surprise inspection at a business on Swanson Street led to the seizure of over 25,000 units of nicotine e-cigarette liquid and 2,500 packets of illicit tobacco cigarettes. The authorities estimate the value of these items to be approximately 800,000 Australian dollars.

Police Chief Matt Jerabek stated:

We will continue to focus on actively combating this activity.

This law enforcement operation follows a large-scale crackdown across the entire state of South Australia. Over the first four days starting in July, the operation seized 1,200 e-cigarette liquids that were suspected to contain nicotine from store shelves.

However, public health experts argue that without stricter border controls, stores will continue to sell illegal nicotine e-cigarette products targeting adolescents.

In April, the federal government pledged to combat the black market for e-cigarettes by implementing import controls and banning over-the-counter e-cigarettes. However, they have not yet announced when these reforms will be put into effect.

Reference: 

[1] Thousands of vapes seized in Melbourne raid as police send ‘clear message’ to stores