Category: Illicit Trade

Indonesian Customs Seizes Millions in Illicit Goods

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
Customs in Batam, Indonesia, have seized illicit goods worth IDR1.37 trillion ($89.35 million) in the first half of 2023, including tobacco products, illegal cigarettes, e-cigarettes and alcoholic beverages containing methanol, according to 2Firsts.
The operation was a result of tax operations aiming to ensure compliance of retail tax paying sellers as part of the area’s free-trade zone and free port, according to Anbang Puriyongo, director of Batam Customs.
Three individuals have been named as suspects and undergone trial, according to Puriyongo. He called on citizens to report suspicious activities and actively participate in creating a fair trading environment.
“We will further enhance inter-department coordination and cooperation, leveraging the latest technology,” Puriyongo said. “We aim for such actions to continue in the future, creating a better trading environment for Indonesia.”
August 17, 2023
Australian Authorities Seize 15 Tons of Illegal Vapes

The WA Health Department in Australia has seized 15 tons of vapes from a warehouse in Perth’s north-east in what it says is the biggest-ever bust of its kind in the state and nation.
Authorities say more than 300,000 vapes worth an estimated $10 million were discovered.
WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the raid came after a tip-off, according to ABC.
Health Department officers also found more than 10 tons of illegal prescription drugs and “nangs”, which are whipped cream chargers filled with nitrous oxide that are abused by being inhaled.
The maximum penalty in WA for selling nicotine vapes under the Medicines and Poisons Act 2014 is a $45,000 fine and a three-year prison term for an individual, or a $225,000 fine for a company.
The Australian government in May announced that it would ban the importation of all nonprescription vaping products – including those that do not contain nicotine.
The legislation is being billed as containing the most significant tobacco and vaping control measures in the country in a decade.
August 14, 2023
Health Ministry in India Warns 15 for Online Sales

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The Union Health Ministry in New Delhi, India, has sent warnings to 15 websites for selling e-cigarettes and ordered them to stop selling and advertising the items. The websites were not announced.
If those sites do not comply with the law, they will face legal consequences. The government has its eyes on six more websites that may also receive notices soon.
The Ministry is monitoring online media to ensure that no one is violating the ban on e-cigarettes that was put in place in 2019.
The notice states that “it has been discovered that your platform is displaying, broadcasting, and sharing information related to the sale of e-cigarettes, which is against the law,” according to The News Agency.
Four websites have already acknowledged the warning and taken action, while the rest are yet to respond.
Those who fail to do so within 36 hours may be subjected to fines as stipulated by the IT Act and/or the Electronic Cigarette Prohibition Act.
July 19, 2023
U.K. Black Market for E-Cigarettes Continues to Grow

Credit: Yehuda
If you start to look for something, you will usually find more than when you weren’t looking. Seizures of illegal e-cigarettes in the UK in the first four months of the year were seven times as high as all of 2021.
Research found the UK has been flooded with two million illicit e-cigarettes since the beginning of last year, reports The Mirror.
Local leaders have called for a more vigorous crackdown on counterfeit vapes, with usage is said to be surging among children and adults.
London, the South East and North West were the top three regions for counterfeit vape seizures, according to the analysis.
The findings, uncovered through freedom of information requests sent to 167 local authorities by VapeClub, raise concerns about a booming black market selling products that do not comply with UK regulations and have not been through appropriate safety testing.
“Illicit vaping products have the potential to be dangerous to the user’s health. What’s needed is a licensing scheme so proper age verification tests can be applied to every retailer,” Dan Marchant, director of vaping and e-liquids retailer Vape Club, said.
“There must also be higher fines applied to every breach for the rogue sellers. The UK Vaping Industry Association is calling for the fines to be raised to at least £10,000 ($12,800), which would be a real deterrent.”
July 8, 2023
Police in Taiwan Seize $227,000 Worth of E-Liquids

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Police in Taiwan have seized over 240,000 bottles of nicotine-containing e-liquid and nine barrels of semi-finished product with an estimated market value of over NT$7 million ($226,908). Police on Tuesday said the product was confiscated earlier this year.
The illegal product was discovered at stores in Kaohsiung and Tainan, according to police, and it had been imported from China. Legislative amendments passed in March make the sale of vaping and heated tobacco products illegal in Taiwan, according to Taiwan News. The new rules introduced fines of up to NT$10,000 for users and NT$50 million for importers, manufacturers, and sellers.
Police investigations found the product was being sold through both stores and LINE groups, but only to customers who had previously bought the e-liquid.
June 20, 2023
Affordable Vape Products May Temper Black Market

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A study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University suggests that if regulators limit the nicotine content of cigarettes, people may turn to illegal sources to buy full-nicotine cigarettes, reports Filter. However, the availability of affordable vape products could deter this shift to the illicit market.
The study found that nicotine vapes, which are believed to be less harmful than cigarettes, played a crucial role in people’s choices. When vapes were priced lower than illegal cigarettes, they were purchased to a greater extent, according to the study. Restricting nicotine content alone could lead to an increase in black market cigarette purchases, but making e-cigarettes more affordable could reduce combusted cigarette consumption, the authors suggested. The study emphasizes the importance of regulating vaping products alongside reducing nicotine in smoked tobacco.
The findings suggest that a mandate requiring all cigarettes to have low nicotine content may be unnecessary if the right policy environment is established, including favorable taxation and diverse smoke-free alternatives.
June 9, 2023
Philippines Government to End Illegal Online Sales

Image: Tobacco Reporter archive
The Philippines government is set to remove 15,000 more noncompliant electronic cigarette sellers in online marketplaces, reports The Philippine Star.
“We have monitored almost 15,000 sellers online,” said Ruth Castelo, trade undersecretary. “We’ve advised platforms to remove almost 15,000 we observed that were noncompliant. These sellers all have cases already.”
Unregistered vapor products are subject to the Vape Law, which came into effect Dec. 28, 2022, and prohibits flavors, colorful caricatures on packaging and selling products within 100 meters of schools, among other restrictions.
“If online platforms would just strictly follow, there is no need to remove the sale of this product from them,” said Castelo. “It’s already indicated which products they can’t sell, but some still evade detection.”
April 28, 2023
Australia Expects to Introduce Plain Packages, Flavor Ban

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The Australian government is expected to announce a crackdown on illegal vaping as early as next week, as concerns rise over the increasing uptake among teenagers.
The health minister, Mark Butler, will announce long-mooted changes to vaping regulation, including introducing plain packaging and a ban on certain flavors, ahead of the federal budget on May 9, according to media reports.
News.com.au first reported on Friday that Butler had promised “substantial action”, saying the government planned to move on “non-pharmaceutical” vapes, and indicating a focus on importation from overseas.
He told the publication there had been enforcement issues – because vapes are imported in small boxes, making them hard to intercept at the border, and a reluctance for state and territories to divert resources to policing the black market.
“So we’ve got to take action on the border,” Butler said. “States have to take some action around policing and retail arrangements. I think there’s the appetite to do that.”
Butler’s office declined to comment on the news.com.au report. However, Guardian Australia understands the minister will discuss a vaping crackdown in his speech to the National Press Club on May 2, a week before the federal budget.
April 28, 2023
Australia: Increase in Vapor Taxes Boost Black Market

Credit: Yehuda
When Australia’s government opted to increase taxes on tobacco to curb smoking, Deakin University senior criminology lecturer James Martin predicted it would trigger a mammoth black market.
In 2013, tobacco taxes increased by 12.5 percent and continued to increase each year, according to ABC News.
“The purpose behind that was there’s good evidence from around the world that increasing tobacco prices is a really good way to get people to quit,” Martin said.
“It’s been quite effective in that. But we’re starting to encounter problems with this policy.”
Martin said that increased tobacco taxes had fast-tracked the uptake of vaping in Australia while the black market tobacco industry had boomed.
Black market vendors could sell tobacco for about half the price of regulated markets and had begun to include nicotine vapes in their offerings.
Martin said this was a consequence of supply and demand.
“If you’re a smoker who has been priced out of having access to legal cigarettes, you still want to consume that nicotine,” he said.
“You can either steal cigarettes, or you can access the black market to cigarettes, or you can access the black market for vaping.”
April 24, 2023
Singapore Officials Seize More Than 85,000 Vaping Products

Credit: Sharaf Maksumov
Authorities in Singapore seized more than 85,000 vaping products in a warehouse raid conducted by Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
This is the largest seizure of e-cigarettes and other vaping products by HSA, surpassing a haul in 2021 where more than S$2.2 million ($3 million) worth of products were confiscated, said HSA and the Singapore police in a joint press release today. The latest seizure has an estimated value of more than $5 million.
The raid was the result of HSA following up on leads from investigating a group of people suspected of selling illegal vaping products, according to Channel News Asia.
On Mar 28, six individuals were detained by the police at a multi-story car park at Block 592 Montreal Link.
“The driver of a van was allegedly found to be distributing parcels containing e-vaporizers to five persons purportedly assisting in the delivery to buyers,” said the authorities.
Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, it is an offense to import, sell or distribute vape products.
Those found guilty for the first time can be fined up to S$10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
Subsequent offenses double the penalties to a fine of up to S$20,000, a jail term of up to a year, or both.
Vaping is illegal in Singapore. The purchase, use and possession of all vaping products are also prohibited.
April 3, 2023