Selman Mala missing: Parents’ torment over mystery disappearance of son during gangland wars

Cold case investigators are chasing new leads about a young dad who vanished at the height of Melbourne’s gangland wars.

Selman Mala disappeared from his family's property in Melbourne's west on June 28, 2000. Police have new leads in the cold case. Picture: Supplied

Cold case investigators are chasing new leads about the mystery disappearance of a young dad at the height of Melbourne’s gangland wars.

Selman Mala, also known as Sam, was last seen at his family home in Melbourne’s west 24 years ago.

Now police believe they may be able to solve the case if new witnesses come forward.

His parents Yashar and Fidarie Mala remain desperate for information about what happened to their son.

They have been haunted by his disappearance and want to get closure for their granddaughter who has grown up without him.

“He called me every day but after that day he was gone, he never called,” Mrs Mala, 80, said.

“He was just mixed up with bad friends.”

Sam was 36 when he disappeared on June 28, 2000.

The empty paddocks have now become the suburb of Truganina, dotted with new family homes.

The family have a street named after them in the new estate, but they still have no answers about what happened to Sam.

He was picked up in a 1979 model white Ford Fairlane, which was carrying two men and two women.

The passengers in that car are believed to be crucial witnesses in Sam’s disappearance but have never come forward to police.

The family home from where Selman Mala was last seen on June 28, 2000. The empty paddocks have now become the suburb of Truganina.

An aerial view of Truganina before it was developed.

Sam, who had spent time in jail, went missing at the height of Melbourne’s gangland murders, which claimed at least 36 lives.

That war, which included Jason Moran being shot dead in front of his children at an Auskick match in Essendon, was sparked by a feud between the Moran family and Carl Williams.

There is no suggestion that Sam had been linked to organised crime figures.

However, he was due to face court on serious charges when he disappeared.

Yashar Mala, 84, had reported his son missing in 2000 but an official report was only lodged in 2004.

A 1979 Ford Fairlane similar to the one that Selman Mala was seen getting into before he disappeared on June 28, 2000.

Sam had told his mother that he was going to live in Adelaide, or potentially Queensland.

Yashar said his son had a troubled life, but that the family deserved to know what happened.

“Sometimes he would sleep at his friends’ house but he didn’t come home and we reported him to the Werribee police station,” he said.

“He never came back, he never rang.”

Yashar said his son battled a drug addiction and had fallen in with the wrong crowd.

“He was young, handsome, from a good family but he was mixed up with the wrong people, mixed up with the drugs,” he said.

“It’s not him, it’s the drugs, he was a very good person, my son was a very good person.”

Sam had grown up in North Sunshine with four other siblings. He left school to take up a job as a meat worker in Newport but struggled to keep permanent employment.

He was married for 11 years and had a young daughter but he had separated from his wife before he disappeared.

Sam had often used different names, including Sam Miller and Darren Dyer.

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Julian Frazer said: “This investigation was reinvigorated in 2020. We’ve used DNA testing and new technology and we don’t have any records of Selman Mala nationally or internationally.

“He had a young daughter at the time of his disappearance. He was last seen by his mother getting into a white 1979 Ford Fairlane. We would like anyone with information to come forward to police or Crime Stoppers.”

Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1800 333 000.

Originally published as Selman Mala missing: Parents’ torment over mystery disappearance of son during gangland wars