Details of long-awaited licensing scheme announced after more than 100 businesses firebombed in tobacco wars
Victorian tobacco shop owners will need to pass a “fit and proper persons” test and a dedicated regulator will enforce new rules – with jail time and fines of up to $1.7m for those who breach them – under a long-awaited licensing scheme described by the state premier as the “toughest” in the country.more than 100 businesses firebombed
“This new, strict licensing regime includes more boots on the ground, more resources more powers – particularly powers to Victoria police – to crack down on the illicit tobacco trade. But under the new Tobacco Amendment Bill, people will only be able to sell tobacco with a licence, the cost of which will vary on the size of their business.
The regulator will be given the power to search shops, suspend licences, seize illegal items and issue penalties, and can also pass on intelligence to police to place further charges. “Our goal is to make sure that we run organised crime out of this state, and we run organised crime out of these businesses, and we continue to disrupt and dismantle their business model across a range of areas here in Victoria.”
Since October last year, when police established a specialised taskforce to combat the attacks, there have been at least 100 firebombings and 82 arrests. More than 200 search warrants have been executed at tobacco stores suspected of selling illicit tobacco and vapes.
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