Naracoorte business and home raided

Is our usually quiet town turning into a hotspot for trading chop chop – illegal tobacco?

Last week, South Australia Police (SAPOL) conducted searches at a home and business in Naracoorte, seizing around $1,000 worth of illicit tobacco.

The home and business involved were not publicly identified.

This police action was part of a broader crackdown on the illegal tobacco trade in the South East.

Apart from Naracoorte, tobacconists, candy and gift shops, a commercial storage facility, and residential premises in Mount Gambier and Millicent were also searched.

The Serious and Organised Crime Branch, Limestone Coast police, and Consumer and Business Affairs conducted searches on February 19 and 20, seizing nearly $800,000 worth of tobacco and $66,000 in cash.

The raids, carried out across 10 properties, were part of Operation Eclipse.

Is this just the beginning of the crackdown? That’s what this newspaper [Naracoorte News] asked SAPOL.

Their response: “SA Police will not be providing any further comment in relation to whether the operation is ongoing.”

We also inquired about the reasoning behind the name Operation Eclipse.

“The majority of SAPOL operation names come from a corporately approved list, and others are chosen by districts or local service areas to fit the operation’s purpose or location, such as Safe Hills for traffic operations in the Adelaide Hills area, or Operation Poach, which aims to prevent livestock theft,” SAPOL said.

SAPOL explained that many operation names were reused annually, such as Safe Holidays and Distraction, which focuses on cracking down on mobile phone use while driving.

In one search at a Mount Gambier gift shop, $245,000 of illicit tobacco was located.

Further investigations resulted in the seizure of $540,000 worth of tobacco products at a commercial storage premises also in Mount Gambier.

Searches throughout the region resulted in the arrest of a man, 23, of Salisbury North, for failing to provide his name and address.

Operation Eclipse commander Detective Chief Inspector Brett Featherby said the regional seizures had significantly disrupted the activities of the syndicates.

“If organised crime syndicates think they can operate in regional areas and not come to the attention of police, they are wrong,’’ Detective Chief Inspector Featherby said in a statement.

“The seizures in the South-East have enhanced our knowledge of the operating model of the syndicates and are the subject of further investigations.”

This article appeared in the Naracoorte News.