Slew of Kazem Hamad’s alleged foot soldiers front court over tobacco war threats caught on CCTV
A group of men allegedly linked to tobacco enforcer Kazem “Kaz” Hamad have been accused of extortion, after a string of threats made against rival tobacco stores were caught on CCTV.
Melbourne City
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Tobacco enforcer Kazem “Kaz” Hamad’s alleged foot soldiers have fronted court over a string of alleged threats made against rival tobacco stores.
Mai Mut, Lion Morris, Mustafa Al Oachey, Amaya Walters, Jesse Hadchiti, Hassan Al Ghazawi, twins Samir and Nabil Merhi, 19, Devante Romao, Pech Dualdong and Walid Khodr faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on June 30, each facing extortion charges.
The eleven co-accused were arrested for the alleged offending in March.
On Monday morning, the court heard both prosecution and defence request an adjournment for “further time and discussion” over the matter.
Mr Dualdong and Mr Khodr will both remain on remand, while the remaining co-accused had their bail extended.
The group will return to court on July 28 for further committal hearing.
In March CCTV footage revealed three of the men were caught on camera allegedly warning tobacco shop staff to “call Kaz or you have no shop anymore”.
The footage showed an accused standover man handing a worker a piece of paper before saying “call his number as soon as I leave”.
Hamad’s workers are no strangers to being caught on candid camera while making similar alleged threats to other tobacconists across Melbourne.
The deported crime figure has been known to order this alleged stand-over tactic from the other side of the world for at least the last year.
Hamad has been living in exiled in the Middle East, where he works remotely.
He was deported from Australia after finishing a prison sentence for high-level heroin trafficking.
He is suspected of having made a fortune though important and distributing illicit tobacco as well as through extortion methods.
Hamad has operated a statewide extortion stand-over campaign from overseas, where he sends henchmen into stores, when his demands remain unmet, he is put on the phone to reinforce the message.
Last year, the Herald Sun reported he demanded $2000 a week in payment from each store, leading to a slew of tobacco stores being firebombed when owners wouldn’t pay.
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