SYDNEY: Authorities expect to make more arrests over an illegal tobacco importation syndicate that allegedly smuggled millions of dollars worth of cigarettes and drugs into the country.
The syndicate, which police say has links to Middle Eastern organised crime, is accused of using false documentation and paying off customs brokerage companies and freight forwarding firms to smuggle millions of cigarettes from the United Arab Emirates.
Eleven men and one woman were arrested following raids on 17 properties in Sydney’s south and southwest on Tuesday.
