Australian authorities have seized more than $5 million in assets, including a luxury Bentley Continental valued at $500,000, during a crackdown on a Chinese crime syndicate involved in the importation and distribution of illegal tobacco products. The operation, led by the Australian Border Force (ABF) under Project Seahorse, targeted four locations across Sydney last week.

Two individuals were arrested during the raids and are currently held at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre while their visa statuses are undergoing review. Authorities are continuing investigations into 112 shipping containers suspected of being connected to the illicit tobacco trade originating from China.

Search warrants were executed at an upscale apartment in Barangaroo, as well as residential properties in Blacktown and Pennant Hills. Officers confiscated over 3.4 million illicit cigarettes, which represent an estimated $5.3 million in unpaid excise duty, along with five luxury handbags, paperwork, and electronic devices.

Greg Dowse, ABF Illicit Tobacco and Vape Enforcement Commander, emphasized the importance of targeting the financial assets underpinning this illicit trade. He stated that seizing bank accounts, property, and luxury items increases the operating costs for criminal groups and removes the profit incentives driving their activities.

“Organised crime groups are motivated by profit and we are increasingly focused on taking those profits away to shift the illicit tobacco trade into a high-risk low-profit commodity,” Dowse said. He added that the ABF’s goal remains to identify, disrupt, and dismantle these criminal networks.

The large volume of seized tobacco products and ongoing shipment investigations highlight the scale of the illegal tobacco market operating within Australia, a challenge authorities are addressing through coordinated enforcement efforts.