Gangs fighting to control state’s illicit tobacco and vape market are using children to commit arson, inquiry hears
In a public hearing for a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s tobacco and e-cigarette controls, assistant commissioner, Martin O’Brien, said as the cost of legal tobacco products has increased, gangs have stepped in.“Organised crime see that as a very easy opening to make high profit with low risk,” he said.
In recent years, dozens of shop fronts and other venues have been firebombed in an ongoing battle for control of the market,“There hasn’t been an arson for about one month now, in regards to tobacco, but we have made significant numbers of arrests,” O’Brien told the inquiry. Victoria police believed a wholesale licensing scheme paired with enforcement powers like those in other states is needed.
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