PHOTO
Five people have been arrested and more than a million cigarettes seized as part of the effort to crack down on the black market tobacco trade.
RNZ has been investigating the illicit cigarette trade in Auckland over the past three months, and has identified a number of shops selling the product at prices well below the retail value.
One East Auckland store RNZ visited was selling a packet for as low as $13, less than half the excise duty required by law to be paid.
The black market smokes don't include any of the quitline information or health warnings also required by law to cover at least 75% of the front.
Importing cigarettes without paying the excise duty is illegal, as is selling illicit smokes, and offenders can face a fine or prison time.
Speaking in Auckland on Wednesday, the illicit tobacco Action Group, formed earlier this year, said they had conducted their first joint operation since the group was established in May
The group, made up of Police, Customs, and Health officials, searched 21 properties, including eight stores and six homes in Auckland, Rotorua, and Waikato.
They believed the locations were linked to an illicit tobacco network.
Along with the seizure, they also recovered roughly $170,000 cash.
It was estimated that the 1.3 million cigarettes represented more than $2 million dollars in evaded tobacco excise.
Customs' assistant comptroller for intelligence and investigations, Terry Brown, said Health NZ had provided valuable intelligence through work they had been conducting at the start of the year.
Police support had enabled them to act on multiple search warrants, raiding nearly two dozen locations.
