A WODONGA shopkeeper netted a $4 profit on each illegal box of 100 cigarettes he sold, a court has heard.
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Mohammad Al Oachey, 21, opted to sell illegal tobacco to prop up his High Street gift shop which he opened late last year.
The tobacco was rolled into cigarettes at the Aussie Gift and Accessories store with boxes of cigarettes sold for $30 each.
Al Oachey pleaded guilty to possessing the proceeds of crime when he faced Wodonga Court on Tuesday.
Magistrate Ian Watkins convicted and fined him $2000 and ordered him to pay $79.50 in court costs.
Al Oachey, who converted the fine into unpaid work, had been involved in illegal cigarette sales with his employee Khalid Ali, 35, who received a bond without conviction earlier this month.
“I am assuming you’re the mastermind of the whole thing, it was your business, it was your decision on what to sell in it,” Mr Watkins said.
Al Oachey was charged after police raided his business on December 21 and seized 17,000 unexcised cigarettes and about five kilograms of untaxed tobacco.
Cash tallying $4744.25, tied to illegal cigarette sales, was also taken by police.
Defence solicitor Mario Vaccaro said Al Oachey started his business four months ago with legitimate goods but it had battled.
“He was just struggling to make money and this opportunity came along to make money,” Mr Vaccaro said.
Al Oachey, who was born in Iraq and migrated to Cobram with his parents, had been “very naive”, Mr Vaccaro noted.
In sentencing, Mr Watkins said he did not doubt operating a small business was hard and noted there would be opportunities to cut corners.
He expressed concern that Al Oachey had probably evaded income tax on the proceeds of the cigarette sales because no records were kept as well as the excise on the tobacco.
Mr Vaccaro said Al Oachey was still likely to face federal charges over the excise evasion but none had been lodged.
Mr Watkins said ideally he would have sentenced Al Oachey after the federal matters had been finalised and the sentencing on the proceeds of crime matter had been made harder as a result.