JAKARTA, 30 June 2021- This month, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia established Project Portcullis 2021, the ASEAN-Australia Task Force on Illicit Tobacco to combat the smuggling of illicit tobacco in a month of action.
Throughout June, participating customs authorities shared intelligence information on tobacco consignments to support enhanced targeting opportunities, disruption efforts and enforcement actions across the ASEAN region and Australia.
The smuggling and sale of illicit tobacco is a global issue, with proceeds often being used by transnational organised criminal syndicates to fund other forms of criminal activities that impact our societies.
The collaboration has enabled customs authorities to apply scrutiny to an increased volume of suspicious sea cargo and land border consignments via the ‘Alert Notification System’ designed by ASEAN…
