Border force shuts depots in illicit tobacco crackdown

Two freight firms at the centre of a major organised crime investigation have been kicked out of Australia’s customs system after raids uncovered hundreds of thousands of vapes, illicit cigarettes, nicotine pouches and a haul of other contraband.

Australian Border Force cancelled the customs licences of Top Logistics Australia and a closely linked company, cutting them off from the system used to receive, store and handle goods entering the country.

The crackdown comes as authorities target organised crime’s growing involvement in the illicit tobacco and vaping trade , with the federal government warning that criminal syndicates are increasingly exploiting legitimate commercial infrastructure to move illegal goods into Australia.

The crisis, which has led to escalating violent crime, including firebombings in cities across the country, has sparked fierce political debate over Commonwealth-imposed excise, with a booming black market now accounting for more than half of nicotine consumed in Australia.

Eight search warrants were executed across NSW, Queensland and Victoria in a major multi-agency operation last month which involved more than 111 Border Force officers, police, the tax office and other agencies descending on the logistics network.

Investigators seized 288,814 vapes, 300,000 illicit cigarette sticks, 60,000 nicotine pouches and 1650 litres of 1,4-Butanediol, along with a firearm and about $3 million worth of luxury goods, cash and precious metals. About $22 million in property, bank accounts and shareholdings were also restrained. Three people, including the sole director of Top Logistics Australia – 53-year-old Peter Ping Xie – were arrested and charged with serious offences.

Dubbed Strike Force Borderdale, authorities are investigating allegations that Australia’s freight forwarding network was exploited to facilitate the importation and distribution of illicit commodities.

PDK Logistics, which traded as Top Logistics Victoria, has also lost its customs depot licence after Border Force raised significant concerns about governance, operational integration and organisational control. The two companies had significant ownership, management and operational links, according to Border Force.

The agency said it had identified significant compliance concerns with Top Logistics Australia over an extended period and had responded with education, formal warnings, infringement notices and compliance monitoring. The cancelled licences covered facilities at Bankstown in NSW and Coopers Plains in Queensland.

Border Force has also begun the process of terminating the companies’ access to the Department of Home Affairs’ Integrated Cargo System, effectively shutting them out of the system used to report cargo.