Young children paid $500 to set shop alight in Victoria’s tobacco and vape wars

Gangs fighting to control state’s illicit tobacco and vape market are using children to commit arson, inquiry hears

Youths recruited into Victoria’s illegal tobacco and vape wars were paid just $500 on one occasion to set fire to a shop front.

In a public hearing for a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s tobacco and e-cigarette controls, assistant commissioner, Martin O’Brien, said as the cost of legal tobacco products has increased, gangs have stepped in.