More than 300,000 vapes with a street value of $10 million have been uncovered hidden in a warehouse, in the single biggest seizure of the illegal products in WA to date.
In what has also been confirmed as one of the largest seizures of vapes in Australia, WA Health compliance unearthed the massive haul from a property in the Perth metropolitan area earlier this month after a tip-off.
Forty pallets or 15 tonnes of vapes, and more than 10 tonnes of nitrous oxide, as well as other illegal prescription products were seized as part of the operation, all allegedly destined to be illegally sold in WA and enough to enable more than one in 10 Perth residents to take up the habit.
WA Minister for Health and Mental Health, Ms Amber-Jade Sanderson, praised her team’s work in successfully executing the raid.
“Compliance officers have confiscated hundreds of thousands of illegal vapes in this latest seizure, taking them out of the market and stopping them from potentially being sold in the WA community,” she said.
“I’d like to congratulate all those involved in this impressive operation, conducted as part of our ongoing crackdown on illegal vapes.”
Yet despite the size and significance of the bust, WA Health has still drawn criticism for the fact that this is likely to be only the second prosecution case brought against an illegal supplier in the last 12 months, despite the overwhelming numbers of illegal vapes infesting the state.
At the announcement of last seizure of approximately $1 million worth of vapes at the end of June, discovered in the back of a truck from NSW, Minister Sanderson acknowledged that similarly, no fines had been issued to retailers in the past 12 months either.
However, Ms Sanderson told ABC Radio Perth that there were several cases with the state solicitor’s office and charges were expected to be laid in future.
“They’ve taken a tougher approach and we’ve seen those more recalcitrant retailers and smoke shops are actually being prosecuted,” she said.
In the past nine months, WA Health compliance officers have inspected almost 2,000 premises for tobacco and vapes and issued formal warnings to some 50 retailers, with 43,000 illegal vapes being seized over the last 12 months, compared to the 16,000 removed from the black market over the prior three years.
Vapes and e-cigarettes can contain up to 200 toxic chemicals, including the same harmful chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer, bug spray, and paint stripper and it is an offence to manufacture, supply, possess or sell a product containing nicotine without a doctors’ prescription.
In WA, the maximum penalty for selling nicotine vapes under the Medicines and Poisons Act 2014 is $45,000 and imprisonment for 3 years for an individual, or $225,000 for a company.
Australia wide, the National Tobacco Strategy 2023–2030, which was still available for public review until July this year, has committed to reducing daily smoking prevalence to 5% or less by 2030 and prevent the promotion of e-cigarettes, but did not address the stronger regulation of e cigarette availability and supply.
However, the Minister for Health has committed to introduce new controls on e-cigarette importation, contents and packaging and said that the Government will work with States and Territories to address the black market.