Police have allegedly seized vapes worth over $1 million from tobacco stores across Melbourne, as they crack down on illicit trade and a spate of turf war firebombings.
Officers conducted 18 search warrants at 34 stores across the city and allegedly seized 36,639 e-cigarrettes (vapes), 524,851 cigarettes worth $400,000, 2kg of cannabis, a small amount of cocaine and two ASP batons.
The raids resulted in the arrest of six people.
Five people were released but one 40-year-old Northcote man was charged with drug offences.
Victoria Police said the disputes over profit in the tobacco trade had led to at least 30 serious incidents in the last seven months.
Officers allege the conflict is over both the physical placement of illegal tobacco into stores as well as demands for stores to sell the syndicate's illicit product and to pay a 'tax' per week to operate".
"Police believe the syndicates are comprised of personnel from Middle Eastern Organised Crime groups and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, who are then engaging local networked youth, street gangs and other low-level criminal to carry out the offending," Victoria Police said in a statement.
Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly said the organised crime syndicates had "little regard for the harm they were inflicting on the community".
"We've seen a significant number of arson attacks, along with several firearms incidents, and it's only through sheer luck that no one has been killed," Kelly said.
"We have been clear that this is no longer about simply the investigation of the individual incidents – this is about doing absolutely everything we can to deter, disrupt and dismantle these syndicates.
"This includes the targeting of anyone across Victoria who is involved in the distribution and sale of illicit tobacco, at any level.
"Ultimately, this is contributing to enabling those organised crime syndicates to operate here in Victoria.
"While people's lives remain at risk due to this heightened criminal activity, we will continue to target these organise crime syndicates and do everything we can to hold them accountable."
Taskforce Lunar has been established to crack down on the crime, which also draws on resources from Australian Border Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), Australian Federal Police and the Australian Tax Office.
