Seven charged and more than 230,000 cigarettes seized after a series of raids exposed illegal tobacco sales

WA police raided several shops in the South West in relation to alleged illegal tobacco and vape sales, including three stores in Bunbury region. Police seized 233,542 cigarettes, 714 tobacco pouches and 1767 vapes during these searches. The stores include U + I Convenience Store and Ram Smoke and Accessories in Bunbury, CC Convenience Store in Dalyellup and Your Choice Convenience and Cignall Store in Busselton. WA Police said seven offenders have been charged ranging from 36-years old to 18-years old. Each man has been charged with selling tobacco without a retailer’s licence and unlawfully possessing a controlled drug. A 26-year-old man from Australind is due to appear before Bunbury Magistrates Court on February 6 with a 33-year-old man from Glendalough due to appear before Busselton Magistrates Court on February 10. Three more will appear at Bunbury Magistrates Court in March with a 25-year-old from Cannington due on March 6 along with a 22-year-old from Palmyra and a 32-year-old from Eaton due to appear on March 13. Two men from Mandurah will also be in court, with a 36-year-old from Dudley Park and 18-year-old from Coodanup are both due to appear before Mandurah Magistrates Court February 17. In a raid on Ram Smoke and Accessories last Tuesday, police were seen taking several boxes packed with tobacco products out of the store. The raid follows a fire last Sunday morning at a separate Bunbury convenience store, allegedly selling illegal vapes, which caused major damage to the story and a neighbouring business, Allure Beauty Co. WA Police’s serious and organised crime division is leading investigations into the Bunbury convenience store fire. Make-up artist Amy Howes said her business had been “completely annihilated” by the blaze and left her feeling “really, really angry”. An online funding campaign has been set up to help her get the business back on its feet, ahead of a busy summer wedding season. Neighbours of Ram Smoke Accessories are now scared they might meet the same fate who said the Government should apply stricter penalties and that any stores should be shut down completely if illegal products were found during a raid. Despite the outcry, the Cook Government has defended the time it’s taking to introduce new laws to crackdown on the illicit tobacco and vape trade, despite a rise of violence and arson incidents in Perth. Senior Government Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the process to crack down on the illegal trade in WA is being done correctly. “Cabinet approved the drafting of tougher laws last year, I think the Minister for Health led that, those laws are currently being drafted,” she said. “We continue to support the police and public health in shutting down many of those convenience stores. “Obviously, we’ve started to see a ramp up of that violent and really concerning behaviour, particularly from larger-scale operators in the illicit tobacco area. “We’re absolutely focused on making sure police have the powers they need to shut them down as quickly as possible.” States including South Australia and Queensland have already implemented tougher laws to increase fines for those found to be selling illicit vapes and tobacco. The laws also give police more powers to shut down shops for extended periods. Shadow police minister Adam Hort called on the Government to take faster action. “Every other mainland State has moved to shut down illegal tobacco and vape stores — WA has not,” he said. “That inaction has made our State a target for organised crime and small family businesses are paying the price.” Ms Sanderson could not give a timeline in which the new legislation would be brought to the Parliament, which does not resume sitting until mid-February, despite a pledge of quick action and other States already having tougher laws. “We have to draft our own laws in Western Australia, and these are not uniform laws across the country because there’s unique circumstances,” the former health minister said. “We’ve prioritised the drafting and I hope to see them soon.”