A 46-year-old Auckland businessman was today sentenced to seven months home detention in the Auckland District Court after Customs prosecuted him for smuggling approximately 984 kilograms of undeclared chewing tobacco and evading approximately NZ$267,390 in duty and taxes.

Vivek Brahmbhatt and his business – R D Import Limited were convicted under the Customs and Excise Act 2018 for defrauding Customs revenue and making erroneous import entries.

Customs’ investigations identified that the chewing tobacco had been smuggled across 13 separate shipments via air, sea and mail cargo, with one single shipment alone totalling 754.6 kilograms.

This shipment was declared as food and imported from India in December 2022. Customs officers found the shipment of noodles, biscuits, rusk, salt and other food products also hid the chewing tobacco in plain packaging among the foodstuffs.

Further investigations linked the man and his company to a further 12 air freight consignments adding to 229.4 kilograms of chewing tobacco. The consignments were imported using multiple names and addresses in an attempt to avoid detection.

In total, the man had evaded approximately NZ$267,390 of excise duty and GST. Evidence indicated the chewing tobacco was destined for sale amongst the communities at parks and events.

Chief Customs Officer, Nigel Barnes, says people buying cheap tobacco should be aware that these are likely illegal – and the evaded duty is costing our communities.“Evaded tobacco taxes cost the community millions of dollars that could’ve been spent on essential services. Instead, their profits are used to fund criminals’ lifestyles and can be used for other crimes.”If you know of someone or suspect someone who is dealing or smuggling illegal tobacco, call Customs on 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768), a 24-hour confidential hotline, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.