① Smuggling 800,000 Packs of Cigarettes
A group attempting to smuggle over 800,000 packs of cigarettes into Australia was apprehended by customs. On the 11th, Busan Headquarters Customs revealed that they had arrested three people on charges of violating the Customs Law and sent them to the prosecutor’s office. Two accomplices were also sent without detention. They hid goods worth about $2.7 million inside two plywood sheets, each about 1.2 inches thick, twice the thickness of regular plywood.
To avoid detection, they attached two 0.5-inch plywood sheets to create a space that could hold 320 packs of cigarettes. They then attached a 0.1-inch thin plywood sheet to the top and bottom, making it appear as one sheet of plywood.
Busan Customs analyzed risk information provided by the Australian Customs Service through international cooperation and conducted an inspection. They seized and confiscated about 400,000 packs and provided the freight information of the smuggled cigarettes, which were already shipped and transported to Australia, to the Australian Customs Service. The remaining 400,000 packs were additionally seized and confiscated by the Australian Customs Service.
They stated, “The process of making special plywood is complicated, so we worked in Korea.” To hide 800,000 packs of cigarettes, 2,500 pieces of smuggling plywood were needed. They were already on the wanted list for smuggling goods worth about $47.8 million in 2020. This case is known as the largest cigarette smuggling case in Korea, and they were called the ‘King of Cigarette Smuggling.’ Despite this, they attempted to smuggle again into Australia.
According to the customs investigation, they planned to establish three corporations in Australia and export plywood through average customs clearance. A customs official said, “The cigarettes they smuggled are a famous British product, and they are very popular in Australia, where cigarette prices are high. The local sales price in Australia is about eight times their purchase price, so they aimed for a price difference”.
② Past Attempts to Smuggle into Australia
Many cases have been caught while trying to smuggle into Australia. Due to the high price of cigarettes in Australia, many attempts to smuggle for profit are made.
2021 Incheon Headquarters Customs seized over 1,000 packs of cigarettes smuggled into Australia and New Zealand using international express cargo. The seized smuggling attempts amounted to about $45,000. They reported cigarettes as everyday necessities and tried to evade crackdowns by using the simplified export procedure for special transportation.
In 2015, they were caught trying to smuggle cigarettes disguised as cell phone cases. Over 30 attempts were made to conceal the export of cell phone cases, smuggling about 32,000 packs of foreign cigarettes worth about $118,000 into Australia. There are also attempts to smuggle disguised as cosmetic mask packs, and smuggling is being detected in various ways.
③ Most Expensive in the World
The price of cigarettes in Australia is known to be the most expensive in the world. Many attempts are made to smuggle because of this high price. As of 2020, the price of cigarettes in Australia was about $21, while in Korea it was about $3.8. This is over seven times the domestic price. The current price of cigarettes in Australia is about $38.
Australia is known to be implementing strong regulations to reduce the smoking rate. They have engraved warning messages and pictures on the packaging for a long time and are also heavily taxing. The Australian government is trying to raise the price even though it is already the most expensive in the world—the more popular the brand, the more expensive the price. Prices vary from store to store, with the prices sold at convenience stores and gas stations being the most expensive.
Meanwhile, Australia has declared war on e-cigarettes. The Australian government announced a strong regulatory policy as the number of teenagers smoking e-cigarettes has increased rapidly.
Although the smoking rate in Australia is very low, the number of smokers under 25 is increasing due to the spread of e-cigarettes. The government announced that it will only allow e-cigarettes to be consumed as smoking cessation aids for smokers. They also announced a ban on the sale of disposable e-cigarettes and the import of non-medicinal items. E-cigarettes sold in Australia will have restrictions on taste and packaging, and the nicotine content will be reduced.
In Australia, liquid e-cigarettes containing nicotine are classified as smoking cessation aids and can only be purchased at pharmacies with a doctor’s prescription. Nicotine-free e-cigarettes are classified as entertainment products and can be easily purchased. However, even if they don’t contain nicotine, many have other addictive substances.
By. Kim Min Jae
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