A man allegedly linked to a well-known Melbourne crime family has been arrested as part of a police sting targeting the importation of millions of illegal cigarettes.
Hansem Zahra, also known as Antar Haddara, was among six people charged over the haul of 10 million cigarettes, which police allege was imported illegally from Vietnam into Victoria.
The cigarettes were found on a sea cargo shipment by Border Force officials on February 3, police said.
Investigators put the value of the seizure at $15 million, only a small fraction of the billions of dollars worth of illegal cigarettes imported into the country each year.
However authorities said they believed the bust was significant because it had taken down “trusted insiders” in the freight and transport industry, who allegedly helped criminal groups bring in illegal cigarettes, drugs and vapes.
Accused allegedly accessed freight systems to enable imporation
The Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police said their 16-month operation, codenamed Tyres, would put a dent in the illegal tobacco trade, which has been linked to a series of arson attacks around Victoria over the past 18 months.
“We can arrest people who are facilitating fires, we can look at the local environment and continue to respond, but we need to prevent the material coming into the country in the first place,” Victoria Police Commander Paul O’Halloran said.
Police believe many of the recent arson attacks are linked to an ongoing turf war between the Haddara family and another criminal group led by Kazem Hamed, who is currently overseas.
Tarneit man Antar Haddara, 40, is charged with dealing with proceeds of crime and failing to comply with a court order.
Investigators allege Point Cook man Battuwatte Gamage Gihan De Silva, 45, acted as a facilitator for the crime syndicate, and planned the illegal tobacco import using “trusted insiders” and his knowledge of the transport and freight logistics industry.
“The man allegedly accessed freight forwarding systems to enable the illicit tobacco to be imported without the detection of authorities,” the AFP said in a statement.
Mr De Silva and co-accused Benjamin Sepe, 35, Rony Mallouk, 35, Kane Kovanovic, 31, and Zehar Saoud, 35, are charged with conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth by avoiding paying import taxes on the cigarettes.
The group faced court on Tuesday and their cases were adjourned until July 9.
Police have not ruled out laying further charges.