Police running out of room to store illegal cigarettes they’ve seized amid Australia’s booming illicit trade

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · May 18, 2026 · 589 words · By Tom McIlroy

Organized Crime and Public Safety Law Enforcement Resource Strain Political Influence of Tobacco Industry

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Police are struggling to store a growing wave of illegal cigarettes and vapes seized from criminals, with secure facilities at capacity and the high cost of destroying illicit products becoming prohibitive.

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left14%

Center72%

Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

The Australian federal police (AFP) has been spending as much as $13 a kilogram for vapes to be destroyed, with some companies requiring the cartridge, battery and heating element to be manually dismantled.

Common ground

Destruction of a standard 550kg pallet can cost more than $7,150.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Organized Crime and Public Safety story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner has told the inquiry about 2.66bn illegal cigarettes have been seized in Australia, along with 510 tonnes of loose leaf tobacco products and 7.5m e-cigarette products, since 2016?
How does this story connect Organized Crime and Public Safety with Law Enforcement Resource Strain over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/18/illegal-tobacco-cigarette…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4

check_circle Corroborated 4

schedule Pending 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info

Claim 1: “The Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette Commissioner has told the inquiry about 2.66bn illegal cigarettes have been seized in Australia, along with 510 tonnes of loose leaf tobacco products and 7.5m e-cigarette products, since 2016.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the evidence mentions general illicit tobacco trends and some seizure numbers (e.g., 1 billion cigarettes in six months), the specific figures of 2.66bn cigarettes, 510 tonnes of leaf, and 7.5m e-cigarettes are not present in the provided search results.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — But the illegal industry has been growing rapidly. Illicit tobacco trade has cost the federal budget $6bn in lost excise in less than six months. The Albanese government’s mid-year budget update in De…
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/18/illeg…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Illegal cigarettes are widely available and significantly cheaper in Australia. The estimated value of illicit tobacco entering the Australian market has soared, from A$980 million in 2016–17 to more …
https://tobaccoinsider.com/australia-tobacco-market/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — This had netted 7500 detections of illicit tobacco, or 41 a day. More than 1 billion illicit cigarettes and 147 tonnes of loose-leaf tobacco, worth almost $1.9 billion in excise, had been seized in ju…
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/war-on-illegal-tobac…

schedule

Claim 2: “The Labor and Liberal parties no longer accept donations from big tobacco companies, but the Nationals have no such ban.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 3: “More than 200 firebombings and three deaths have been linked to the illegal trade in since 2023.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding firebombings or deaths linked to the illegal tobacco trade.

schedule

Claim 4: “Guardian Australia revealed the inquiry had held a secret hearing for Philip Morris executives”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 5: “The Australian federal police (AFP) has been spending as much as $13 a kilogram for vapes to be destroyed”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided web search results for this specific claim are generic descriptions of Australia and news sites, and do not contain the specific figure of $13 per kilogram for vape destruction.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Australia is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, and home to the world's oldest continuing culture. We have a highly skilled workforce and a proud history of democracy and stable gov…
https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-australia

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · 7News brings you the latest local news from Australia. Stay up to date with all of the breaking sport, politics, entertainment, finance, weather and business headlines. Today's Australian …
https://7news.com.au/news/australia

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. [N 6] It has a land area of …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia

check_circle

Claim 6: “By the time of last week’s federal budget, that figure had dropped to $4.1bn.”

CORROBORATED

The revision of the forecast figure down to $4.1bn by the time of the federal budget is reported by The Guardian and the 'Up in smoke' article from Magnet/Manning River.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 federal budget allocates an additional $156 million over the next two years to combat illicit tobacco — on top of the $188 million committed in the previous budget. There are other broader…
https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2025/04/02/tobac…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — From British American Tobacco. Last week’s Federal Budget laid bare the scale of the Albanese Government’s failure on illicit tobacco, with collapsing excise revenue and an enforcement response comple…
https://cairnsnews.org/2026/05/18/tobacco-excise-revenue-to-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In 2025/26, the forecast tax take fell to $4.1 billion - $1.3 billion lower than projected just five months earlier in the mid-year budget update. Revenue from the excise has been in freefall since 20…
https://www.manningrivertimes.com.au/story/9246138/up-in-smo…

help

Claim 7: “Some banks have opted not to hold accounts for individuals believed to be linked to the illegal tobacco trade, with at least 1,000 accounts already closed.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the closure of 1,000 bank accounts linked to the illegal tobacco trade.

check_circle

Claim 8: “Illicit tobacco trade has cost the federal budget $6bn in lost excise in less than six months.”

CORROBORATED

The claim that the illicit tobacco trade cost the federal budget $6bn in lost excise in less than six months is reported by both The Guardian and another source (referenced in the 'Police running out of room' snippet).

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Health organisations accuse the tobacco industry of trying to reshape public debate in Australia to push for big cuts to government excise.Already the surge in the illegal trade has caused a $6bn hit …
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/18/big-t…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Malaysia lost an estimated RM11.5 billion (US$2.5 billion) in government revenue to illicit tobacco trade over the past two years, the second-highest loss among ASEAN’s six largest economies, accordin…
https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2026/05/18/malaysia-lost-rm…

info

Claim 9: “AFP officials told a parliamentary inquiry into the booming illicit tobacco trade that storage facilities in Australia were at capacity”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided for this claim consists of Wikipedia entries and news hubs for 'AFP' (Agence France-Presse), which is a news agency, not the Australian Federal Police. No evidence regarding storage facilities at capacity was found.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Its origins date back to 1835, when it was founded as Havas, the world's oldest news agency. In August 1944, following the Liberation of Paris, it was reorganized as Agence France-Presse to succeed Ha…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agence_France-Presse

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · L'AFP est une agence d'information globale, assurant une couverture rapide, complète et vérifiée des événements de l'actualité comme des thèmes qui façonnent notre quotidien.
https://www.afp.com/en

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · AFP is a leading global news agency providing fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the events shaping our world and of the issues affecting our daily lives. Drawing from an unparal…
https://us.afpnews.com/

check_circle

Claim 10: “Treasury expects it to fall to $2.1bn by mid-2030.”

CORROBORATED

The expectation that revenue will fall to $2.1bn by mid-2030 (or 2029-30) is confirmed by a cross-reference to The Guardian and corroborated by the 'Tobacco excise revenue to collapse' source.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Together with other excise writedowns, Treasury now expects to raise just $15.3 billion, a $77 billon shortfall over five years. Through this decade, the shortfall between forecast excise and what is …
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/minns-calls-for-toba…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In the Albanese government’s mid-year budget update in December, tobacco excise was expected to raise about $5.5bn in 2025-26. By the time of last week’s federal budget, that figure had dropped to $4.…
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/18/big-t…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — From British American Tobacco Last week’s Federal Budget laid bare the scale of the Albanese Government’s failure on illicit tobacco, with collapsing excise revenue and an enforcement response complet…
https://cairnsnews.org/2026/05/18/tobacco-excise-revenue-to-…

+ 1 more evidence source

check_circle

Claim 11: “The Albanese government’s mid-year budget update in December forecast tobacco excise would raise about $5.5bn in 2025-26.”

CORROBORATED

The forecast of $5.5bn in tobacco excise for 2025-26 from the December mid-year budget update is confirmed by The Guardian and another source in the provided evidence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — One in five cancer deaths is attributed to tobacco use.In the Albanese government’s mid-year budget update in December, tobacco excise was expected to raise about $5.5bn in 2025-26.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/18/big-t…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 federal budget allocates an additional $156 million over the next two years to combat illicit tobacco — on top of the $188 million committed in the previous budget. There are other broader…
https://theconversation.com/tobacco-excise-revenue-has-tanke…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In 2025/26, the forecast tax take fell to $4.1 billion - $1.3 billion lower than projected just five months earlier in the mid-year budget update. Revenue from the excise has been in freefall since 20…
https://www.edenmagnet.com.au/story/9246138/up-in-smoke-budg…

info

Claim 12: “Destruction of a standard 550kg pallet can cost more than $7,150.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is explicitly mentioned in a Guardian article snippet, but no other independent source in the provided evidence corroborates this specific cost for a 550kg pallet.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Destruction of a standard 550kg pallet can cost more than $7,150.Illicit tobacco trade has cost the federal budget $6bn in lost excise in less than six months. The Albanese government’s mid-year budge…
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/18/illeg…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Dutch authorities seized large volumes of illicit nicotine products in a series of enforcement actions over the last two weeks, including nearly 220,000 illegal vapes, more than 50,000 boxes of banned…
https://tobaccoreporter.com/2026/05/14/dutch-authorities-sei…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The illicit market for e-vapour is becoming increasingly widespread across the globe. Preliminary research indicates that illicit sales of e-vapour products can be as high as 80% in some markets, putt…
https://www.euromonitor.com/article/navigating-the-e-vapour-…

schedule

Claim 13: “The independent MP Monique Ryan has put forward a private member’s bill to create new illegal tobacco offences and ban political donations from tobacco manufacturers.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.