Australian customs officials are hoping their cross-border intelligence strategy can help them stem the flow of millions of illegal vapes into the nation, after a near-record breaking referral from China.

The Australian Border Force stopped more than half a million illegal vapes entering the nation in the last two months, less than one vape per Australian estimated to be using the products.

It said intelligence sharing between officials stationed in China and Australia facilitated recent busts.

Officers in Beijing alerted their domestic counterparts to almost 70 “high-risk” shipping containers.

Resulting searches, conducted between September and October this year, uncovered thousands of cartons of the restricted imports.

The containers had been declared as carrying glass bottles, lamp

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