The state government has hit a northern suburbs retail store caught selling illicit tobacco and vapes with its first long-term closure order.

Thingy Gifts in Salisbury North has been ordered to close for six months after a hearing in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Friday 7 March.

The Magistrates Court had been told that - in one raid alone – Consumer and Business Services (CBS) inspectors had seized more than 40,000 cigarettes, one thousand vapes and nearly four kilograms of loose tobacco.

The court was told that the business had continued trading following successive raids, highlighting the need for a long-term closure order.

The order takes effect immediately and CBS will serve the court orders once made available by the court.

Any business who violates such an order can be hit with a penalty of up to $1.1 million and an individual up to $700,000.

Two short-term closure orders have been signed off, closing two illicit tobacco stores in Semaphore.

The state government has been relentless in its fight against the illicit tobacco trade investing $16 million in a new taskforce within Consumer and Business Services from July 1 last year.

We have also introduced penalties of up to $1.5 million for people caught selling illicit tobacco or vapes.

The taskforce has conducted more than 350 inspections across the state with approximately $16 million worth of illicit tobacco and vapes seized in partnership with SAPOL’s Operation Eclipse, Border Force and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).