Illegal tobacco boom linked to Queensland bikie group
This masthead previously revealed importers were flooding the Brisbane market with more illegal tobacco than ever before.
Ten convenience stores and tobacconists across multiple suburbs all openly sold illegal Manchester cigarettes, and many also stocked illegal Chinese brand “Double Happiness”, Korean brand “ESSE”, and imported “Marlboro Reds” and “Winfield Blues”, among others.
Manchester cigarettes imported in fake Australian plain packaging. Credit: Border Force
Prices ranged from $17 to $25 per pack – about 50 per cent cheaper than most legitimately taxed plain-packaging equivalents.
None of the sellers were prepared to discuss their supply chains.
