Man facing $20K of fines after airport mistake
A man has been fined nearly $20,000 for attempting to smuggle 9,000 cigarettes into Australia despite knowing the legal limit was 25.
Australian Border Force officers stopped the man at Perth Airport as he arrived home from a European holiday, quickly realising he had far more than what he declared.
The court heard the man made an "unsophisticated but deliberate" attempt to dodge the $6,200 duty fee by saying he had no more than 25 cigarettes.
“The man had declared that he was not bringing more than the maximum allowance of 25 cigarettes, when in fact he had 9,000 sticks,” the ABF wrote to Facebook.
The post stated the man was found to have purchased 45 cartons of cigarettes from a duty free shop in Dubai on his way back to Perth.
The man, a frequent traveller, was fined a total of $19,574.44.
ABF Regional Commander for WA, Rod O’Donnell, said he would have been well aware his actions were illegal, News Corp reported.
“Tobacco smuggling is one of the ABF’s operational priorities – whether it be by organised crime syndicates, local profiteers or individuals stockpiling,” Commander O’Donnell said.
“The ABF has the commitment and the means to detect even small amounts of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco, and the consequences for those caught can be very severe.”
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