SA Police investigate spate of Adelaide firebombings for underworld tobacco links amid fears SA on ‘cusp of crime war’

Tensions among rival interstate organised crime gangs over the lucrative tobacco trade are spilling into Adelaide, sparking warnings we are “on the cusp of a new war”.

A spate of arson attacks across Adelaide are being investigated for possible links to the illegal tobacco trade amid escalating fears the state is on the cusp of an organised crime war.

Bikies and Middle Eastern organised crime gangs from Victoria, are believed to be targeting South Australia’s burgeoning, and lucrative, underground cigarette market.

Sources say tensions have local authorities worried that interstate tobacco warfare – which has led to a wave of firebombings and drive-by shootings in Victoria and NSW over the past two years – is shifting to Adelaide.

It is understood SA detectives are investigating if multiple arson attacks that exploded across Adelaide in the past three weeks are linked to growing hostilities within the illicit tobacco and vape trade, as crime syndicates attempt to expand their operations into the city.

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by those who were the subject of attacks.

Sources also revealed Victoria Police officers were dispatched to SA last month to execute warrants in Adelaide’s west that are said to have been linked to eastern states gangs.

Underworld sources warn SA is “on the cusp of a new war”, claiming “more shops will burn” as criminal skirmishes seek to profit from drugs, smoke shops and money laundering.

A tobacco shop was allegedly firebombed in Thornbury, Victoria this month. Picture: NewsWire/David Crosling

One of the kingpins in the Victorian tobacco war, Kazem Hamad, has allegedly sent threatening messages to tobacconists and vape retailers in SA.

The message purportedly stated he believed he could “run the commission” in SA and demanded up to $5000 a month from Adelaide shop owners, saying “if you don’t pay u see ur shop on the news one day”.

Rival crime syndicate has also been messaging owners of Adelaide smoke stores, warning them not to pay Hamad.

Authorities have seized almost $700,000 worth of illegal tobacco and vapes in SA since July 1 under a crackdown on illicit product sales.

Taxpayers are funding a four year, $16 million enforcement operation.

A senior law enforcement official said: “It’s not the mums and dads in the northern suburbs that we’re worried about – it’s the bikies and the organised crime gangs who are the problem.

“The traders are selling in the open. It’s when you hit the motherloads and the warehouses full of illegal tobacco worth hundreds of thousands of dollars – even millions – that’s when it really becomes an issue.

“The more successful you are, the more you become a target because the organised crime gangs start fighting over the spoils.”

Australian Border Force detectives seized illicit tobacco, vapes, and cigarettes during a national-wide, week long operation last month. Pictures: Supplied

An SA Police spokesman revealed detectives were investigating three arson attacks that had occurred in Adelaide over the past three weeks.

“While there may be similarities between them, it would be inappropriate to disclose any information that could potentially jeopardise these ongoing investigations,” he said.

The spokesman said SA Police was actively monitoring activities across the country and were “concerned by incidents occurring in other states”.

“We have sufficient resources dedicated to monitoring these interstate incidents and will be prepared to respond to any similar occurrence within South Australia if necessary,” he said.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman urged any store owners with information or concerns to contact police.

“Assistance and information from store owners, staff, other shop owners and members of the community also remains critically important to dismantling these syndicates,” she said.

“The intelligence they can provide may be crucial in preventing an arson attack or holding those involved in serious criminality to account.”

More than 90 people allegedly involved in serious offending linked to the illicit tobacco trade in Victoria have been arrested since a special taskforce was established in October last year.

Originally published as SA Police investigate spate of Adelaide firebombings for underworld tobacco links amid fears SA on ‘cusp of crime war’