Two men charged over the Melbourne tobacco war arson attacks

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Two men have faced court today charged over Melbourne’s tobacco wars, following a long running police investigation into the wave of arson attacks on tobacco shops across the state.

Transcript

00:00 Police say these arrests will significantly disrupt one of the crime syndicates involved

00:06 in this underworld war over illicit tobacco.

00:09 The key figure who faced court today is a 25-year-old man from Epping.

00:13 He's facing arson and extortion charges.

00:16 Police allege he's involved in a Middle Eastern crime syndicate and has been coordinating

00:20 these fire attacks in Victoria on behalf of his syndicate's boss overseas.

00:25 This is him in handcuffs yesterday, being led away by members of Task Force Luna, the

00:30 unit set up to investigate this turf war.

00:33 It now has 31 active arson investigations into dozens of fires stretching back more

00:38 than 18 months.

00:39 The majority are on tobacco stores but also include cars, gyms, homes and restaurants

00:45 like this one in Docklands in November.

00:48 Police allege the 25-year-old ordered two attacks here and say they have evidence he

00:52 was behind at least two other separate fire bombings ordered from overseas.

00:57 There's nothing that would show us that would stop this person from continuing to

01:01 try and control that market.

01:03 But certainly what it will do, it will disrupt his particular business for some time.

01:09 And to give you context of what Victoria Police are uncovering, just yesterday at a raid at

01:14 Campbell Field they seized more than 600 kilos of loose tobacco, also known as 'chop chop',

01:19 almost 725,000 cigarettes and more than 1,000 vapes.

01:24 And at a Thomastown property they found guns and ammunition.

01:28 A 48-year-old man from Thomastown is facing multiple firearms charges.

01:33 He was the second man to face court today, so a step forward by police.

01:38 But authorities acknowledge these seizures are just a drop in the ocean.

01:42 This particular syndicate is a worldwide network.

01:45 It relates to a massive market worth millions and millions of dollars.

01:49 Australian Border Force estimates tens of millions of illegal tobacco products are being

01:54 imported into Victoria each week.

01:56 There's an appetite in the community for these products, which are sold untaxed at

02:01 a cheaper price.

02:02 The profits are funding organised crime syndicates.

02:05 Police have warned, given how lucrative this black market remains, the syndicates will

02:10 continue to fight for a slice of it.

02:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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