Victorian police called to an early morning break-in this week found something unexpected: about 200,000 illegal vapes worth $8m.
The vapes were found in a warehouse in Melbourne’s outer east after officers responded to reports of a commercial robbery, police said in a statement on Saturday.
The robbery was reported about 4am on Thursday at a warehouse on Middleborough Road in Box Hill South.
“Upon arrival, police located over 1,000 boxes of illegal vapes with an approximate total value of $8m,” police said.
“Following the discovery, police contacted the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), who will take carriage of the investigation given possessing a commercial quantity of illegal vapes is a commonwealth offence.”
Footage of the haul shows a forklift being used to cart away pallets of vapes, including some in boxes marked “Apple Grape Ice” or “Cherry Pomegranate”.
It is the second significant operation involving the illicit tobacco and vape market in Victoria this week, after eight people were charged with commonwealth offences and about 600,000 cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco products were seized in police raids on Wednesday.
Victoria is in the grip of a turf war over the illegal market, with more than 100 tobacco shop arson attacks occurring in the state in the past year.
