An overseas student paid below the minimum wage became “the one to take the fall” in a major Western Australian police raid that uncovered an enormous haul of illegal cigarettes, vapes and loose tobacco, a Perth court has been told.
Sneha Kharal, 20, pleaded guilty in Perth Magistrates Court earlier this week to selling tobacco without a licence and possessing a prescription drug, after police seized more than 1,200 nicotine vapes and tens of thousands of cigarettes from a tobacconist in Cockburn Central.
The offences relate to a raid carried out on December 2 last year by the Transnational Serious Organised Crime Squad, following the interception of customers who had allegedly purchased illicit vapes from the store.
During the operation, police seized 66,500 cigarettes, 1,208 nicotine vapes, four kilograms of loose tobacco, and 111 pouches of tobacco, each weighing 50 grams. Prosecutors described the seizure as substantial, with the presiding magistrate later calling it “an extraordinary amount of tobacco”.
The court heard Ms Kharal was earning $20 an hour, nearly $5 below the minimum wage, and was responsible for the day-to-day running of the shop. When questioned by police about the identity of the owner, she told officers she did not know who owned the business.
Her lawyer told the court Ms Kharal, a student from Nepal studying commerce, had not fully appreciated that her actions were unlawful and had been drawn into the role after learning about the job from a fellow student at the private college she attended.
“She has effectively become the one to take the fall,” her counsel said, submitting that she was a low-level participant in a much larger illegal operation.
Three other co-accused appeared in court charged with the same offences but did not enter pleas. Their matters were adjourned and are due to return to court on January 16.
In sentencing, the magistrate said Ms Kharal was aware of the broader controversies surrounding the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes but accepted she was a “very small player” in the offending. She was given a spent conviction, fined $1,800, and ordered to pay $308.80 in court costs.
The case unfolds amid growing concern over Western Australia’s illicit tobacco trade, which authorities say has become increasingly violent. A spate of arson attacks and ram-raids targeting tobacconists across the state in recent months is believed to be linked to turf wars between organised crime syndicates vying for control of the lucrative black market.
The latest incident occurred in Bunbury on January 4, when a convenience store was firebombed, prompting renewed warnings from police about the dangers facing workers and businesses caught up in the illegal trade.
Ms Kharal’s co-accused are expected to face further court proceedings later this month, as investigations into the wider operation continue.
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