Illegal goods for sale at Scoresby’s Caribbean Market

Kate Ashley-Griffiths
October 01, 2013
Knox Leader

SCORESBY’S Caribbean Market is a mecca for illegal goods including “chop chop” tobacco, pirated DVDs and counterfeit designer sunglasses and handbags.

A Knox Leader investigation found illegal tobacco offered under the counter at stalls selling smoking paraphernalia including hookah pipes and “gram bags” used for marijuana packaging.

There was also a stall selling an array of vicious-looking knives behind large perspex screens – all legal according to the stallholder.

Illegal movies, including unreleased titles, were freely available and many stalls stocked fake designer-branded watches, perfumes, sunglasses and handbags labelled Dior, Chanel and Ray-Ban.

Other stalls sold rip-offs of popular brand-name toys, potentially unchecked for compliance with strict Australian safety standards.

The Leader was offered a bag of illegal tobacco for $75 at one stall and watched at another as a woman handed over several hundred dollars for a supermarket bag containing loose leaf tobacco.

But enforcement does not appear to be a high priority for authorities who say they know illegal goods are being openly traded at markets across Melbourne.

Knox Police Senior Sergeant Philip Edmunds said Victoria Police worked in partnership with the Australian Federal Police when it came to piracy and illegal tobacco enforcement but “we don’t take the principal role”.

An Australian Federal Police spokesman said the AFP “don’t go around searching markets for counterfeit DVDs”, however the AFP did take a report from the Knox Leader about the sale of illegal tobacco at the market.

However, an officer later called back and said it was difficult without the ­stallholder’s name and suggested the matter be reported to the Australian Taxation Office for follow up.

Sen-Sgt Edmunds said police had to prioritise and “balance up what’s in the best interests of the people of Victoria”.

Ferntree Gully resident Jenny, who did not want her surname used, said she was shocked by the weapons available at the market.

“We aren’t talking your paring knife or fish scaler, but large, jagged weapons and machetes,” she said.

“I contacted the market and they said they were ­legal.”

The owner of the knife stall, who gave his name only as “Ziggy” and refused to be photographed with his stock, said everything he sold was legal and complied with Victoria’s weapons laws, which restrict knife sales to people over 18.

His range includes machetes and hunting knives and he offers private sales of swords from a Nunawading showroom to customers licensed to own them.

Ziggy said he had been selling at the market for 15 years and been regularly checked by police without incident.

“I’ve had people abuse me and swear at me but it’s like water off a duck’s back.”

Ziggy said he sold to ­collectors and hunters who were over 18 and sourced stock from China.

Caribbean Market’s operations manager did not ­respond to requests for ­comment.