Teenager accused of arson attack on shop linked to WA’s illegal tobacco market
A teenage boy will appear in the Perth Children’s Court in the new year and will be charged with an arson attack on a convenience store in Baldivis, which police have linked to the state’s booming illicit tobacco market.
Detectives have charged the 17-year-old from Nollamara in connection with the fire that engulfed the store on Settlers Boulevard on Monday morning.
Police claimed that the young man approached the shop with his car around 5 a.m., set fire to the front of the shop, and then drove away.
A WA Police spokesman said two people were inside the building at the time but were not injured.
Emergency services were called and the fire, which caused damage to the front of the shop, was extinguished.
“Investigations indicate that the facility is linked to illegal tobacco products,” a police spokesman said.
The 17-year-old was charged with criminal damage arising from the fire and two counts of disqualified driving. He will appear in Perth Children’s Court on January 6.
WA Police Task Force Maverick, set up to combat a spate of arson attacks on businesses linked to the illegal tobacco trade, is investigating the latest incident.
It comes after WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said police believed there had been a shooting at the Ballajura store and another arson attack in Maddington earlier this month. They were “stop” tactics implemented in response to a crackdown on the state’s tobacco underworld.
Blanch said “significant measures” had been taken against organized crime groups involved in the illicit trade and that “we have eliminated some key players who are currently in custody”.
“Following a significant disruption in organized crime figures in Western Australia, including significant wealth and asset seizures, we know with certainty that we are suddenly faced with a series of events… [what] It may look like retaliatory attacks,” he said at the time.
“This is a classic organized crime tactic and we will not tolerate it in Western Australia, so we will go after these people wherever they are.”
