Mill Park restaurant Al Nafoura torched for a second time in a week

Mill Park restaurant Al Nafoura has been hit by arsonists for a second time in a week, with a security guard threatened with a gun before the latest attack.

A security guard was threatened with a gun before arsonists set fire to a Mill Park restaurant.

The Al Nafoura venue on The Link was targeted in the early hours of Saturday morning, four days after a previous alleged attempt to burn it on Tuesday.

On Saturday a heavy police presence cordoned off the visibly burned restaurant.

Lebanese restaurant Al Nafoura was targeted by arsonists for a second time in a week. Picture: Emily Dann

Emergency services were called to The Link about 5am to reports of a fire.

About 20 minutes later, a car fire was reported at the corner of Plenty and Childs roads in Mill Park.

“Investigators are treating both fires as suspicious and are determining whether the two incidents are linked,” a Victoria Police statement said.

Al Nafoura was to host a night of entertainment on Saturday with “international superstar Firas Kadi and the king of the stage Saliba Haddad”.A month of Ramadan celebrations were due to begin on March 10.

The Tuesday attack was thwarted when a witness intervened as a group took jerry cans suspected of containing fuel from an Isuzu D Max which had earlier been allegedly stolen from Wonga Park.

Four boys and girls were arrested on Friday over the initial Al Nafoura incidents and a series of alleged arson attacks, aggravated burglaries and car thefts.

Lunar taskforce officers have since charged them.

A 16-year-old girl faces two counts of criminal damage by fire, conduct endangering life, conduct endangering serious injury and theft of motor vehicle.

She has been remanded to appear at a children’s court.

A 15-year-old boy was charged with two counts of aggravated burglary, three counts of handling stolen goods, car theft and possession of a prohibited weapon, a 14-year-old boy has been charged with aggravated burglary and theft of a motor vehicle, and a 16-year-old girl was charged with theft of a motor vehicle.

They were bailed.

It comes as the group was interviewed over the alleged theft of a silver Ford Ranger used in the fire-bombing of a reception centre in Thomastown on February 22.

The ute, allegedly stolen in an aggravated burglary in Wonga Park, was also allegedly used in arson attacks on a Mill Park restaurant and a Ballarat tobacconist.

The Ranger, later found torched at Bundoora, and a white Isuzu D Max were allegedly stolen from the Wonga Park property between February 19 at 11pm and 7am the next morning.

The D Max was used in the Mill Park restaurant attack on Tuesday.

It allegedly rammed into the front of the business, on The Link before several people grabbed a jerry can and then fled when a witness approached them.

The D Max was then used in the early hours of the next day in the alleged firebombing of a tobacconist on Sturt St, Ballarat.

The Emerald reception centre was attacked on February 22. Picture: Supplied

Dozens of tobacco stores and other venues have been attacked across Melbourne. Picture: Victoria Police.

The store was heavily damaged and the vehicle was found torched soon after in Eureka St.

Detective Inspector Banks said the teenagers’ involvement in such serious offending was “extremely alarming”.

“Clearly the age of these children and the fact that we know they’ve been tasked by others and by senior members of the criminal fraternity is of great concern,” he said.

Detective Banks said ruthless organised crime figures with little regard for the children’s welfare were recruiting young offenders to remove themselves from committing serious crimes and to save money.

“It’s a disgrace,” he said.

“It’s a lot to do with cost structure and there’s no real care for the children for starters, and then it removes them several steps from the offending itself.

Detective Inspector Banks said youth crime continued to impact the wider community.

“It’s not just a policing issue. It’s very serious crimes being committed. The offending of youth is a whole community issue.”

Detective Inspector Banks said technology made it easier for hardened criminals to reach budding youth offenders who could not grasp the consequences that come with their criminal behaviour.

“You would feel safer about tasking that (offence) down to a child who is probably getting the instructions via some encrypted app, or text message via a third party that’s three parts removed from yourself, which leaves you in little jeopardy,” he said.

Detective Inspector Banks said his task force believed the main driver of the raging tobacco wars was a person living in Australia.

That person and exiled organised crime boss Kazem Hamad are two of what detectives believe are “half a dozen” main players orchestrating the sale of illicit tobacco through hundreds of operatives and hundreds of stores that sell the illegal product.

Search warrants were on Friday carried out by Lunar officers, assisted by the gang crime squad, the VIPER Taskforce and the Eastern and Southern metro regional crime squads.

The raids happened simultaneously at 7am at homes in Springvale, Mulgrave and Pakenham.

About 40 separate fire bombings and arson attacks have been linked to the tobacco wars between warring organised crime groups.