Police say there have been 29 arson attacks linked to the illegal tobacco trade in Melbourne over the past six months, after two more tobacconists were torched at the weekend.
Residents of an apartment building in Glenroy were evacuated after arsonists firebombed a tobacco shop in the early hours of Monday morning.
An investigator bags items from the scene of the tobacco shop fire in Glenroy.Credit: Jason South
The attackers arrived at the shop in Wheatsheaf Road in a stolen blue BMW station wagon and a green Holden sedan just before 2.30am on Monday, police said. They rammed a roller door with the BMW before setting the business ablaze and fleeing in both cars.
Officers found the BMW engulfed in flames in Haig Avenue, Coburg, 30 minutes later but are yet to locate the Holden captured by CCTV cameras arriving at the shop.
Merri-bek Deputy Mayor Helen Davidson, who represents residents in Glenroy, said locals in the northern suburbs were terrified about the spate of firebombings.
Davidson said a shop down the road from the suburb’s new library and childcare centre had been targeted three times in 18 months.
“It’s happening across the northern suburbs, and any areas that it happens in, it’s deeply concerning for the residents, business owners that have got nothing to do with this,” she told ABC Melbourne.
“As a councillor and a resident, it’s got to come to a stop and I hope it does come swiftly.”
Police commander Paul O’Halloran told ABC Melbourne that officers had installed portable CCTV cameras outside the Glenroy store before the attack, but they had failed to deter the arsonists.
Asked whether more could have been done to prevent attacks, O’Halloran said police did not have the resources to station officers outside every tobacco and vape shop in Melbourne.
CCTV cameras had been installed outside the shop in the days before the suspicious fire.Credit: Jason South
“There’s over 800-plus shops. It’s very difficult to cover all of those shops,” he said.
The Glenroy shop is the second tobacconist to be targeted in recent days. Arsonists tried to torch a cigarette shop and convenience store in Bentleigh in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It was the second time the Centre Road shop had been targeted in three weeks. The first attack was on September 23.
As with the Glenroy fire, portable CCTV cameras had been set up at the front of the store in the days before Saturday’s fire.
Sam Mullavey, who lives near the Bentleigh shop, said there was a heightened police presence in the area in the hours before the latest arson attempt.
“We came home and there were three police cars within five minutes that kept driving back and forth,” he said. “It’s a bit weird because it’s usually a pretty quiet street.”
Officers are investigating whether the Bentleigh and Glenroy attacks are connected to a turf war between organised crime groups vying for control of the lucrative illicit tobacco trade that has been linked to 29 arson attacks across Melbourne in the past six months.
Police believe the syndicates are using low-level criminals, including members of street gangs, to carry out the attacks.
The fire has caused extensive damage to the Glenroy shop.Credit: Jason South
O’Halloran said tensions between Middle Eastern organised crime gangs involved in the lucrative trade had been building in recent weeks, leading to rising violence.
In August, this masthead revealed at least a dozen tobacco shops in Melbourne had been torched as organised crime groups extorted them, forcing small businesses to sell illegal tobacco the gangs supplied.
The trade is estimated to be worth millions, even tens of millions, of dollars each year to the racketeers.
Victoria is one of the last jurisdictions in Australia to not require traders to obtain a licence to sell tobacco products. However, Victoria Police is in talks with the Health Department to beef up regulations.
“Victoria Police would welcome any opportunity to enhance the current legislation that would allow the regulation of the tobacco industry,” Detective Superintendent Jason Kelly, from the state anti-gang division, said.
Investigators are also probing whether the violence could be behind the daylight fatal shooting of Craigieburn man Robert Issa in front of horrified onlookers in a shopping centre car park at the weekend.
Four masked men opened fire as Issa, 27, sat inside an SUV with an associate outside Craigieburn Central shopping centre on Saturday afternoon, killing Issa and injuring the other man.
The burnt car found in Haig Avenue, Coburg.Credit: Jason South
The 28-year-old man from Hadfield, who remained in the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition, has so far refused to speak to investigators.
A drive-by shooting at the home of Issa’s parents in September caused extensive damage to the facade of the Excelsior Heights property.
Anyone with information or CCTV/dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report the information online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.