Latest news with #BevanCameron
RNZ News
23-04-2025
- RNZ News
Four sentenced for smuggling tobacco, on-selling cigarettes from Gisborne restaurant
In March 2024, Customs carried out search warrants in Gisborne, locating a significant amount of cash in a bedroom and in a vehicle parked outside the restaurant, as well as over a kilogram of loose tobacco and 11,000 cigarettes inside the restaurant. Photo: Supplied / New Zealand Customs Four people involved in an illegal tobacco importing operation, and who were on-selling cigarettes from a Gisborne restaurant, were sentenced last week at the Gisborne District Court. A 34-year-old male and 30-year-old male were sentenced to home detention for eight-and-a-half months and seven months respectively. They faced charges of defrauding Customs revenue, possession or custody of uncustomed goods, importing prohibited goods, and the sale of uncustomed goods. A 61-year-old male and 59-year-old female who played a lesser role in the operation and faced two charges each, were individually fined $10,400 and ordered to pay court costs. Customs initiated investigations in November 2023, where numerous airmail packages were found to contain significant amounts of undeclared cigarettes and loose tobacco, concealed in Chinese tea packets. There were no import permits for the seized tobacco and cigarettes, and no excise equivalent duties were paid. Further investigations identified previous similar consignments which had been successfully imported into New Zealand, and which were being sold in a restaurant to its customers. In March 2024, Customs carried out search warrants in Gisborne, locating a significant amount of cash in a bedroom and in a vehicle parked outside the restaurant, as well as over a kilogram of loose tobacco and 11,000 cigarettes inside the restaurant. In total, the Customs investigation resulted in the seizure of 306,200 cigarettes and more than 110 kilograms of loose tobacco. Charges were laid against four people for various offences under the Customs and Excise Act 2018. Acting Chief Customs Officer (Fraud and Prohibition), Bevan Cameron, said the offenders exploited the supply chain for their own gain. "The offenders arranged to import prohibited goods, deliver them to various addresses in the Gisborne area, and then sell them on. "The scale of duty-evasion and fraud seen here is significant. But in the end, the cost of this type of offending outweighs any potential monetary gains to be made." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
22-04-2025
- 1News
Four sentenced for running illegal tobacco scheme from restaurant
Four people have been sentenced after running an illegal tobacco operation from a Gisborne restaurant. Two men aged 30 and 34 were sentenced last week in the Gisborne District Court to home detention for eight and a half months and seven months, respectively. "A 61-year-old male and 59-year-old female who played a lesser role in the operation and faced two charges each, were individually fined $10,400 and ordered to pay court costs," New Zealand Customs said. Customs began an investigation in November 2023 after discovering numerous airmail packages containing undeclared cigarettes and loose tobacco hidden in Chinese tea packets. The offenders delivered the imported goods to various addresses in Gisborne. "Further investigations identified previous similar consignments which had been successfully imported into New Zealand, and which were being sold in a restaurant to its customers," Customs said. In March 2024, a search by Customs uncovered a significant amount of cash in a bedroom and a vehicle parked outside the restaurant. A further 306,200 cigarettes and more than 110kg of loose tobacco was found inside the restaurant. Chief Customs Officer Bevan Cameron said the four charged "exploited the supply chain for their own gain". "The scale of duty evasion and fraud seen here is significant. But in the end, the cost of this type of offending outweighs any potential monetary gains to be made."
