Illegal tobacco store owners requesting firebombings after paying protection money to Kazem Hamad

Fear isn’t the only reason tobacco store owners pay protection money to exiled crime kingpin Kazem Hamad, with some requesting firebombings of rival stores.

Illicit tobacco store operators who pay the notorious “Kaz tax” are being given help to shut down rivals as part of the package.

Exiled crime kingpin Kazem Hamad has for two years been demanding payment from those who run outlaw smoke shops in Victoria.

Many shopkeepers have been paying thousands a week under threat of having their outlets torched.

But the Herald Sun has been told that Hamad is also putting the acid on those wanting to compete with people who pay him.

A man claiming to work Kazem Hamad threatens a Melbourne tobacconist. Picture: Supplied

Kazem Hamad is driving the state’s tobacco war from overseas. Picture: Supplied

Allegations emerged last week that Mohammed Haddara, 52, was paying Hamad money when a competitor to his Bass Coast tobacconist started fitting out his own shop nearby.

Haddara is accused of initially telling workers preparing the store that the owner would be shot and the business torched if the venture went ahead.

It is alleged Hamad later contacted the workers at the business via an encrypted app to reinforce the message.

Hamad has an interest in ensuring those paying him make maximum profits.

“There’s some quid pro quo,” a police source said

The alleged Bass Coast arrangement did not mean the Haddara family and Hamad were in business together, the officer said.

A previous organised crime operation centred on allegations Hamad menaced operators who set up in opposition to those who paid him.

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Meanwhile, organised crime detectives believe a law in practice in another jurisdiction would go a long way in shutting down the 1300-plus stores running in Victoria.

Strong tobacco laws in Queensland allowed a judge to order a business owner to close down five of his smoke shops after raids in early July.

Queensland Health then launched court action against the owner for not holding a licence to sell tobacco products.

A judge gave him a handful of days to shut the five stores near Brisbane.

One senior Victorian detective said the power and efficiency shown interstate could help stem the flow of arson attacks and violence in this state.

“This is what we need in Victoria,” the detective said.

Melbourne’s tobacco war has raged for more than two years. Picture: Valeriu Campan

But Victoria’s new tobacco licensing scheme officers, unlike those from South Australia, will not have the power to shut down stores defying the new laws.

The 14 inspectors, tasked with monitoring the entire state, are expected to hit the ground in February.

“Without closure powers, this is all a waste of time,” a police source said.

That officer said the situation with vapes, which are now illegal, is even more farcical.

He said those selling them were not just flouting the law but openly touting their wares.

“You tell me another product that is illegal to sell that crooks are blatantly advertising,” the investigator said.

Originally published as Illegal tobacco store owners requesting firebombings after paying protection money to Kazem Hamad