Custom officials in Australia state that shipping containers full of black market cigarettes are smuggled into the country. A single 40-foot container is able to hold around 10 million cigarettes. The cigarettes are purchased overseas for $622,000 yo $830,000 (600,000 to 800,000 Australian Dollars), and are sold in Australia’s black market at prices between $3.1 to $4.1 Million (3 to 4 Million AUD), creating a 4,900 percent profit margin.
Between 2008 and 2012, Custom officials in the country seized 924 tons of tobacco and 322 million cigarettes.
Source: Renee Viellaris, “Criminals reap huge profits by importing illegal cigarettes,” Australian, September 30, 2012.
{ 0 comments… add one now }