The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) has confiscated more than $1 million suspected of being the proceeds of the unlawful sale of illicit vaping goods.
On 9 April, 2026, the Supreme Court of NSW ordered the funds to be forfeited to the Commonwealth, following a multi-agency investigation into two bank accounts that were receiving funds allegedly from sales of illicit vaping goods.
The AFP started Operation Smokestorm in May 2025, after receiving intelligence via AUSTRAC's Fintel Alliance from ANZ and Westpac banks about the suspicious accounts.
Subsequent inquiries by the AFP, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and AUSTRAC, led to investigators discovering a dedicated website for advertising, selling and shipping illegal vapes to Australian consumers and Sydney-based businesses.
On 27 June, 2025, AFP and TGA officers executed search warrants on storage units in the Sydney suburbs of Waterloo and Auburn and served a restraining order on a Rosebery man believed to be the controller of the bank accounts.
Items seized from the units included a small amount of the online branded vapes and handwritten inventories documenting vape flavours and quantities.
AFP Acting Commander Tim Underhill said confiscating suspected proceeds of crime sent a clear message to those profiting from criminal enterprises.
"If you profit from illegal activity, imprisonment is not your only concern," a/Commander Underhill said.
"The AFP and its partners will work to strip you of your ill-gotten gains to ensure you do not receive a pay day.
"We are proud to have worked with our partners to remove more than $1 million of suspected illicit proceeds, which could have been used to fund other criminal ventures.
"The forfeited funds will be reinvested back into community initiatives that reduce harm and protect the Australian community, such as crime prevention and drug diversionary programs.
"The AFP and its Fintel partners are committed to protecting the Australian community from the scourge of illicit tobacco products."
Professor Anthony Lawler, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and Head of the TGA, said this enforcement sent a clear message to those seeking to profit from the illegal supply of vapes in our community.
"Violating the law has serious consequences," Professor Lawler said.
"The TGA continues to work closely with state, territory and Commonwealth policing agencies to protect the health of all Australians, particularly young people."
AUSTRAC National Manager Law Enforcement Anthony Helmond said the outcome showed the importance of following the money.
"AUSTRAC intelligence played a pivotal role in the detection of this alleged criminal activity, with reports made by our Fintel Alliance partners initiating the operation," Mr Helmond said.
"This is another great example of how AUSTRAC's public private partnership is leveraging a wide range of financial data to inform wider efforts to combat illicit tobacco distribution and ultimately helped protect the community from harm."
ANZ Head of Financial Crime, Milan Gigovic, said ANZ's dynamic algorithms identified suspicious activity linked to accounts held with other financial institutions, as well as ANZ, which was referred to AUSTRAC and the AFP for further investigation.
"This outcome highlights the important role financial institutions play in tracing funds and disrupting alleged criminal activity. As a major financial institution, we have access to information that is not available elsewhere, enabling us to help identify illicit behaviour at scale," Mr Gigovic said.
"We will continue working closely with our partners to identify illicit activity, support the forfeiture of criminal funds, and assist law enforcement efforts to identify and arrest those involved."
The CACT, launched in 2011, brings together the AFP, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Taxation Office, Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), and Australian Border Force, combining intelligence, financial analysis and operational expertise to target proceeds of crime.
The highly skilled members of CACT are located Australia-wide and comprise police, financial investigators, forensic accountants, litigation lawyers and partner agency specialists.
Since 2019, the CACT has restrained almost $1.3 billion in criminal assets, targeting the alleged illicit wealth of some of the most notorious and significant criminals in Australia.
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) allows the CACT to restrain and forfeit proceeds of crime based on a civil standard of proof, as well as obtain pecuniary penalty and unexplained wealth orders, regardless of whether there is a related criminal prosecution or investigation.
Assets forfeited under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) are liquidated by AFSA, with the proceeds placed in the Commonwealth Confiscated Assets Account (CAA).
