put down the toilet paper and come out with your hands up!




"Highly-organised" black-market sellers are being blamed for the panic-buying phenomenon gripping supermarkets across the nation as police crackdown on those profiteering from the crisis and urge others to dob them in.

Police are launching a massive crackdown on criminal groups hoarding essential items from supermarkets and reselling them overseas as the government plans a targeted home delivery program for the elderly.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton told 2GB's Ray Hadley organised criminal groups were being investigated for depriving everyday Australians of critical groceries.

"We do have some people profiteering, hoarding not for consumption and either selling overseas or in a black market arrangement in Australia. We are going to come after those people and give them a fair warning now it won't be a pretty experience."

Police were swooping in on the behaviour, targeting areas where hoarding has been reported, Mr Dutton said.

"We will come down like a tonne of bricks on those individuals because I think they're the ones that have created this pattern of behaviour with hoarding and clearing shelves and normally sensible people have been wrapped in this because they've panicked when they've seen the shelves empty," he said.

[link to www.thechronicle.com.au (secure)]

crackdown. geddit? geddit?