Customs crack down on "sickening" child sex dolls.

Customs are cracking down on shipments of life-like child sex dolls with 18 consignments being seized in the last three years.

The movable rubber dolls, some which resemble  primary-school-aged children, are manufactured in Japan and come with heating instructions.

While their creator, Shin Takagi, argues that the dolls protect children by giving paedophiles an outlet for their unacceptable urges, experts disagree and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection have labelled them “child exploitation material”.

“The Australian Border Force works closely with the Australian Federal Police and state police agencies to target and seize this objectionable material at the border, and bring before the courts those that seek to possess or are in possession of a child sex doll,” a spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The anatomically correct dolls resemble children as young as five and are sold through Mr Takagi’s company website.

Some appear dressed in leather and lace, surrounded by props like school bags.

“We should accept that there is no way to change someone’s fetishes,” Shin Takagi, told the Atlantic earlier in the year.

“I am helping people express their desires, legally and ethically. It’s not worth living if you have to live with repressed desire.”

Mr Takagi also said the dolls have “a variety of expressions to fulfil a variety of client needs”.

Currently, their is no scientific evidence to back the claims and experts warm using the dolls may actually have a “reinforcing effect”.

The sentiment is echoed by Queenland grandmother Melissa Evans who earlier this year a launched an online petition calling for the “sickening” dolls to be banned in Australia.

“The dolls are made to be lifelike therefore the idea normalises paedophile behaviour. This raises serious concerns,” she writes on Change.org.

“I do not believe in any way that this is an appropriate deterrent against children being sexually abused.”

In fact, the dolls are already banned, according to the DIBP spokesperson interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald.

At present, those caught importing the dolls face heavy fines of up to $450,000 and potentially 10 years’ imprisonment.

“The AFP continues to work closely with the Australian Border Force and state police agencies to bring before the courts those that seek to possess or are in possession of a child sex doll,” she said.

The dolls seized so far have been destroyed or are pending further investigation.