Altona business Wolf Cafe & Eatery targeted in firebombing attack
Arsonists have firebombed a cafe in Melbourne’s southwest owned by a notable tobacco war figure for the second time in two years, with a vehicle ramming through the shopfront before it was set alight.
Police & Courts
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Arsonists firebombed an Altona cafe in the latest in a string of seemingly targeted hits.
A grey ute was used to ram the shopfront of Wolf Cafe & Eatery on Lobelia Drive about 4am Saturday.
The vehicle was then set alight as its occupants fled the scene.
Nobody was inside the business at the time of the fire which caused significant damage to the building.
Fire Rescue Victoria deemed the fire under control at 4.07am.
Police confirmed the incident was being treated as a “targeted” attack.
It is not the first time arsonists have targetted the Altona North cafe, with a suspicious fire tearing through the building on January 9 last year.
The latest incident occurred just hours after Finks bikie Murat Shomshe was sentenced to a minimum of two years and 11 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to charges of arson and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Shomshe, 43, from Werribee, made headlines in 2015 as the “runaway groom” who told a court he needed bail to attend his wedding, and then went on the run for a week.
The court heard on Friday that he paid ex-Finks bikie Stan Zanakas $2000 to carry out the firebombings at Wolf Cafe and Freechoice Tobacconist in Altona in January 2024. Zanakas was sentenced in March to a minimum of two years’ jail for the arson attacks.
The Herald Sun is not implying that these attacks are linked.
The Wolf Cafe & Eatery also runs locations in Point Cook and Coolaroo.
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