Six Australian men face up to 10 years in prison for their alleged involvement in a $15 million cigarette smuggling operation.

Six Australian men face up to 10 years in prison for their alleged involvement in an illicit cigarette smuggling operation worth $15 million. The men, all from Melbourne, are accused of trying to import 10 million cigarettes into Victoria and were arrested after a 16-month investigation by the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, and the Illicit Tobacco Taskforce. The syndicate, which has links to a suspected Middle Eastern crime family, allegedly aimed to avoid paying millions of dollars in Commonwealth excise.