Images of the operation can be downloaded here
One of Queensland's emerging illicit tobacco criminal networks is in shatters as four men are arrested and approximately half a million dollars in cash seized following coordinated raids in NSW and North Queensland.
Operation BEAR-CUB is a multi-jurisdictional investigation led by the Australian Border Force's (ABF) Illicit Tobacco Taskforce (ITTF) in partnership with Queensland Police Major Organised Crime Squad and the Australian Federal Police (AFP), targeting an illicit tobacco network alleged to be involved in illicit tobacco trafficking, money laundering and associated criminal activity.
Using intelligence gathered from targeted raids in March 2026, officers from the ITTF supported by NSW Police executed two warrants at residential properties in Fairfield, NSW on Tuesday 8 September.
During the warrant, a 41-year-old man was arrested by the ITTF and charged under the Criminal Code, directing the activities of a criminal organisation and dealing in the proceeds of crime. Approximately AUD $500 thousand in cash and a cash counting machine were seized at the property.
The man was granted bail and will appear before Fairfield Local Court on 30 September 2026.
On Thursday 10 September, officers from the ITTF, supported by ABF District Office, Queensland Police, Qld Health and the AFP executed three search warrants at residential properties in Townsville, Burdell North and Kelso QLD linked to the network.
During the execution of the warrants, three men aged 56, 24 and 23 were arrested by the ITTF. Officers also seized approximately AUD $6,000 in cash, more than 3,000 illicit cigarettes and tobacco packaging material from the property.
The men have since been charged with a range of Commonwealth offences relating to the alleged importation, possession and distribution of illicit tobacco products, including conspiracy offences under the Customs Act and criminal organisation offending under the Criminal Code.
All three men were granted bail and will appear before Townsville Local Court on 30 September 2026.
The operation has generated significant intelligence relating to the network's activities, associates and supply chains, which will support ongoing investigative, regulatory and financial disruption activity.
The activity builds on Operation BEAR-CUB enforcement action undertaken in Townsville in March 2026, during which officers seized approximately four million illicit cigarettes, 184 kilograms of loose tobacco, more than 12,500 illicit vape products and nine kilograms of molasses tobacco.
Illicit Tobacco and Vape Enforcement Commander Greg Dowse said this significant outcome demonstrates the value of coordinated intelligence-informed enforcement with partner agencies to disrupt these networks.
"Our measure of success is not simply the number of cigarettes or kilograms of tobacco seized. Success also means identifying the organisers and facilitators, mapping supply chains, targeting criminal wealth and bringing those responsible before the courts," Commander Dowse said.
"Every seizure and enforcement action can generate intelligence that helps us move further up the supply chain. By targeting the people allegedly behind these networks, together with their finances and logistics, we can achieve more enduring disruption on the illicit tobacco market than through seizures alone.
"These arrests demonstrate what can be achieved when law enforcement agencies work together. Criminal networks operate across borders, so our response must be equally coordinated and adaptable. By combining intelligence, investigative capabilities and enforcement powers, we can significantly disrupt transnational and serious organised crime groups that seek to profit from the illicit tobacco trade."
