Valley shop firebombed, police to probe any organised crime links

Police are exploring possible organised crime links after a Fortitude Valley tobacco shop was destroyed overnight in an “explosion”.

A masked man entered the business on Wickham Street – next to Prohibition nightclub – about 3am with a jerry can and assaulted the owner.

CCTV shows the alleged attacker running away partially on fire as flames erupted from the building.

The business in Fortitude Valley on Thursday morning. Credit: William Davis

Inspector Jane Healy spoke to reporters at the scene on Thursday morning, with the air smelling of smoke and heat still radiating from the front doors.

“There was an explosion … all possible links are being looked into,” she said.

“We have had a number of tobacco stores targeted recently. We can’t confirm whether or not this is related, but that link is being investigated.

“This has only been a tobacco store for maybe two or three weeks, so it’s very new.”

The owner was injured during the confrontation, but is assisting police.

Investigators are scouring Brisbane hospitals, believing the attacker was seriously burned as he fled in a white van.

“We found a burnt portion of a shoe down the road,” Healy said.

“Given the state of the shoe, it’s possible the burns could be significant.”

As of 10.30am, about a dozen police remained on the scene. Three wore masks and took photos inside the building.

Nearby businesses are not believed to have been seriously damaged by the fire.

It comes after Brisbane Times revealed many convenience stores in the CBD and surrounding suburbs were selling illegally imported cigarettes under the counter – or sometimes in plain sight.

“They’re illegal … I don’t know where we get them, I’m not the manager,” one seller told this masthead.

Almost all stores sold Manchester cigarettes, and many also stocked Chinese brand “Double Happiness”, Korean brand “ESSE”, imported “Marlboro Reds” and “Winfield Blues” among others.

Prices ranged from $17 to $25 a pack – about 50 per cent cheaper than most legitimately taxed plain-packaging equivalents.

More than 5.2 million cigarettes and 1.2 tonnes of loose tobacco were seized from Queensland retailers in a 12-week blitz from July.

Organised crime is believed to control about 75 per cent of the market.

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