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There are fears WA’s tobacco wars have spread to the South West, after a suspected firebombing at a convenience store gutted several businesses.
The incident occurred around 4am on Sunday on Spencer Street in Bunbury.
The suspected arson attack destroyed four businesses on the Bunbury street. Credit: 9 News Perth
Allure Beauty & Co owner Amy Howes told 9 News Perth she believed the convenience store next door, which is believed to have sold illegal vapes and tobacco, was the intended target of the arson.
Her shop and a neighbouring dentist and pizza shop were destroyed by the fire.
“We kind of knew that we were going to be collateral damage if something did escalate because of how close we are to each other, but never in my wildest dreams did we expect it to be to this extent,” she said.
“It’s shutdown our livelihoods. The dentist has been here for 32 years, we’ve been here for three years.
“The destruction in there is just insane, and it’s not going to be salvageable, we’ll literally be starting from scratch.”
Howe said her beauty shop had been broken into through a manhole in the past, with the culprits mistaking her store for the convenience shop. She also said the convenience store had been ram-raided before, with fears the criminal activity was being fuelled by WA’s fledgling tobacco wars.
WA is currently working on reforms to strengthen its tobacco laws, with the penalties for selling illicit tobacco or vapes in the state the weakest in the country.
Currently, a person can be fined up to $10,000 for breaching the tobacco laws, or a business up to $40,000 for a first-time offence.
Half of Perth’s corner shops are selling illegal tobacco, according to the Australian Council of Smoking and Health.
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