Northern Territory farmer Siung Yang thought the two men buying his secluded property on the Katherine River were going to grow eggplant.

So when police woke him a few months later with questions about a crop of tobacco, he was very confused.



The newly established Illicit Tobacco Taskforce, a collaboration between the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Australian Border Force, had just busted an operation growing tobacco worth $13.3 million in excise value on his old property.

Around 6.8 hectares of irrigated tobacco was in the ground, with some of the plants up to 2 metres tall, and several shipping containers were filled with drying tobacco leaves.

After several hours of questioning from police, it was clear Mr Yang had no involvement in the tobacco crop.

A contractor hired by the Illicit Tobacco Taskforce began pushing up the well-maintained crop with a tractor, images of which were released to the media.

Sorry, this video has expired Illicit tobacco crop seized in Katherine

Tobacco plants grow back after being bulldozed

Now, six months after the crop was pushed up, tobacco plants have regrown, flowered and dropped seeds.

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The men allegedly behind the tobacco crop reneged on the purchase of the land, placing the farm and the regrown tobacco plants back in the hands of Mr Yang.

He said the ATO and Australian Border Force should be responsible for cleaning up the tobacco plants that sprouted after the wet season rains arrived.

"They were the ones who came here to clear the tobacco crop, they were supposed to remove the whole of the tobacco plant from the site," Mr Yang said.

"Not to just clear it and let it grow back again after the next rain — which is exactly what is happening now.

"Some of them are flowering profusely, and in a few days they will seed, drop seeds everywhere and after the next rain they will grow again."

In pushing up the rows of tobacco, much of the property's irrigation system was destroyed, leaving thousands of dollars worth of pipes in a tangled mess.

Tobacco plants have regrown in rows, several months after they were bulldozed by contractors on behalf of the Australian Taxation Office and Australian Border Force. ( ABC Rural: Daniel Fitzgerald )

Mr Yang said a contractor quoted him $30,000 to clean up the ruined irrigation pipes.

"I don't think I should pay for that [the clean-up] because it was a good irrigation system, which was ripped up and pushed into a pile," he said.

"They didn't have to do that."

In a statement to ABC Rural, an ATO spokesperson said "we are unable to comment the specifics of any particular case due to privacy and secrecy provisions".

"However, generally, when exercising powers under a search and seizure warrant, we are authorised to undertake any and all reasonable actions required in order to give effect to the terms of the warrant," the spokesperson said.

"The ATO will not authorise, or use, any herbicide or other chemical agent in the execution of warrants without first understanding the environmental implications and risks associated with its use."

ABC Rural has not been able to confirm if there had been any arrests or charges laid in relation to the tobacco operation, despite requests to the ATO, Australian Border Force, and NT Police.

Many of the regrown tobacco plants have flowered and released seeds on Mr Yang's property. ( ABC Rural: Daniel Fitzgerald )

How did a tobacco farm pop up on the outskirts of Katherine?

The property was well suited for someone looking for a bit of secrecy; it sits on the outskirts of Katherine, several kilometres down a small track, surrounded on all sides by thick scrub.

The men allegedly behind the operation, both from Melbourne, had signed a contract with Mr Yang to purchase the land, but asked for delayed settlement, paying rent in advance, telling him they would be growing eggplant.

Mr Yang had even visited the farm after the men took it over, and saw neat rows of green plants in the paddocks.

"I came here a couple of times when the crop was growing and I saw it from a distance and thought 'That's good eggplant'," he said.

"I eventually checked up on eggplant, and when they're small they look almost exactly the same as tobacco."

Shipping containers were located at the property, one of which had tobacco drying inside. ( Supplied: Australian Tax Office )

The tobacco was allegedly being grown, harvested and dried at the farm by a group of around a dozen trusted workers brought up from Melbourne, then sold online as American imported tobacco.

ABC Rural understands the police found the location of the crop by flying over the area in a helicopter.

Mr Yang said the whole set-up was very professional, making it look as if those responsible had farmed tobacco before.

"They had seedling cups, they had harvesters, ploughs and tractors, bulldozers, everything to clear the land and lay out the paddock in a very professional way," he said.

"I had an irrigation system already set up for cassava, so they used that, in fact they extended it to the end paddock."

Since July 2016, there have been 38 seizures of around 240 tonnes of illicit tobacco by the ATO, worth more than $200 million in excise value.