A man has been arrested over the alleged importation of about 10 tonnes of illicit tobacco stored in Ravenhall.
The 43 year-old Melbourne man was nabbed last month allegedly carrying a further 800 kilograms of tobacco in a van.
The Australian Border Force said it began an investigation targeting the Ravenhall storage facility in October, 2017.
In April, investigators from the border force tobacco strike team called in detector dogs to search a number of storage units at the site and uncovered loose leaf tobacco, empty cigarette tubes and several tonnes of dried plant matter used as cigarette filler.
Border force officers found evidence of a cigarette manufacturing operation, including 250 kilograms of loose leaf tobacco, in another search, at a residential Cairnlea property, on May 23.
About 15,000 filled cigarettes were also seized at a Deer Park commercial premises the same day.
A border force spokesman said the investigation was ongoing.
Special Investigations commander Susan Black said the total tobacco haul represented an estimated $10 million in duty evaded.
She said that the operation marked another successful outcome for the tobacco strike team.
“We expect to see more results like these with the new multi-agency Illicit Tobacco Taskforce, that will enhance our ability to enforce new tobacco laws and disrupt illicit tobacco supply chains,” she said.
“The taskforce will focus on investigating, disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting syndicates that trade in illicit tobacco specifically targeting serious revenue evasion.”
The taskforce, led by the Australian Border Force, will include members of the Department of Home Affairs, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and the Australian Taxation Office.
