A Pakistani businessman police allege is a criminal “kingpin” has been arrested in Darwin during a $9.3 million money laundering and illegal tobacco sting.
Waqar Ali, 33, who owns multiple convenience stores in the city’s CBD, was arrested on Wednesday at one of his businesses, which is just 50 metres from a police station.
Northern Territory Police said they launched Operation Teton in May this year after detecting large volumes of money being processed through businesses linked to the investigation, including $9.3 million “directly attributable to the sale of illicit tobacco and vaping”.
Financial Crimes Section detectives and the Australian Border Force then raided two businesses, a commercial storage facility and two homes, seizing 5,500 vapes, 16,500 nicotine products $73,600 in cash, digital devices and business records.
Police also restrained a private residence, two motor vehicles, five bank accounts containing $150,000 and the shares of eight business entities, and alleged on Thursday that Ali was “our kingpin for this operation”.
Ali was charged with money laundering, possessing a prohibited import, supplying vaping goods and having unauthorised therapeutic goods, and appeared in Darwin Local Court barefoot on Thursday, NT News reported.
His lawyer Matthew Hubber applied for bail, saying his client had no criminal history, and was prepared to surrender his passport, report to police and wear a tracker.
He also disputed the $9.3 million figure, and criticised police for allowing Ali to allegedly sell the illegal nicotine and tobacco products “24 hours a day since 2024″ near the Mitchell Street Police Station.
“I mean it’s extraordinary that police have sat by and watched this occur,” Mr Hubber told the court.
“In fact, the reason for that might be because this was actually a Border Force operation that police seem to be taking credit for it last minute.”
Prosecutor Sean Nottle opposed bail, saying that if released Ali was “only a few clicks or phone calls away from being able to continue to direct the ongoing nature of this [alleged] enterprise”.
Judge O’Brien-Hartcher ordered an electronic monitoring report, and the matter will be heard again in court on Friday.
Header image: Left, right, Ali being arrested (NT Police).
