Inside the Aussie tobacco wars: Rohan Pike Pt. 1
5/16/202658 min
A decade ago, Australian Border Force Tobacco Strike Team leader Rohan Pike issued a stark warning: skyrocketing tobacco excises would unleash organised crime and fuel a dangerous illicit market. Today, his prediction has become reality - firebombings terrorise suburban streets, borders are breached daily, and innocent people are being murdered as a result of the multi-billion-dollar black market.
In this episode of I Catch Killers, Rohan takes us inside Australia's self-inflicted tobacco wars, revealing how violent crime syndicates smuggle millions of illicit tobacco products into the country every day, why current enforcement strategies are failing, and what it will take to stop this rapidly escalating crisis before more lives are lost.
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First 90 secondsGary Jubelin· Host0:00
[upbeat music] The public has had a long-held fascination with detectives. Detectives see a side of life the average person is never exposed to. I spent thirty-four years as a cop. For twenty-five of those years, I was catching killers. That's what I did for a living. I was a homicide detective. I'm no longer just interviewing bad guys. Instead, I'm taking the public into the world in which I operated. The guests I talk to each week have amazing stories from all sides of the law. The interviews are raw and honest, just like the people I talk to. Some of the content and language might be confronting. That's because no one who comes into contact with crime is left unchanged. Join me now as I take you into this world. [upbeat music] A century ago, the United States' grand experiment with alcohol prohibition didn't just fail. It birthed an era of organized crime, bootlegging, and unprecedented violence. Fast-forward to today, and it appears Australia is going down the exact same path with its tobacco excise tax. The government has inadvertently sparked a brutal gangland conflict featuring arson, firebombings, and even murder. Today, we're diving deep into the Australian tobacco wars with former AFP detective Rohan Pike, who is one of Australia's leading experts on this alarming issue. Rohan Pike, welcome to I Catch Killers.
Rohan Pike· Guest1:29
Good to be here, Gary.