Stephanie Ormston faced the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Wednesday to plead not-guilty to charges of avoiding customs duty and possessing a schedule four poison, in this case illegal cigarettes, loose leaf tobacco and e-cigarettes.

Ormston was the manager of the Freechoice Tobacco store on Curtis Street, and was in the store when it was raided by police on October 26, 2023.

The raid was conducted by Victoria Police's VIPER Squad as part of Operation Solar, begun in the wake of several arson attacks at businesses across the state related to the illegal tobacco trade.

The woman faced charges of possessing 3260 illegal cigarettes, found at the front of the store, 470g of illegal loose leaf tobacco, and 272 e-cigarettes, or vapes, which were allegedly found to contain nicotine.

In the back of the store, police allegedly found 1000 illegal cigarettes, 3.4kg of loose leaf tobacco and 30 illegal vapes.

Police said a total of $12,250.03 in customs duty was avoided by the illegal import of the products.

Ormston's lawyer Scott Belcher told the court his client was contesting the charges on the basis of intent.

"My client genuinely believed that she was employed in a tobacco shop selling legitimate products," Mr Belcher said.

Mr Belcher also told the court his client had little contact with the business' owner, who had since left the country.

The matter was booked off for a contested hearing on June 7.

The police will call on five witnesses, police officers that participated in the raid, as witnesses in the hearing.

Magistrate Michelle Hodgson said the police were required to provide testing on the loose leaf tobacco and vapes found during the search prior to the hearing.