Middle Eastern crime figure The Disruptor running Melbourne tobacco war from overseas

One of the key players in the city’s wars over the illicit tobacco trade is a deported crime figure dubbed “The Disruptor” who is issuing orders from a new Middle Eastern base of operations.

One of the key protagonists in Melbourne’s tobacco wars is a shadowy gangland figure running his crime empire remotely.

The Disruptor, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was deported months ago but is busy in the Middle East fighting for control of a market here which is worth many millions.

He has in the past year moved to challenge the dominance of a syndicate which had previously enjoyed a monopoly on the state’s illicit tobacco trade.

Resulting friction has led to up to 30 arson attacks in Victoria since March, along with non-fatal shootings.

More than two dozen Melbourne tobacco stores have been attacked. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

A store in Glenroy was attacked earlier this month. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

The Herald Sun last month revealed that the number of shops selling illicit tobacco had surged from 50, five years ago, to about 1000.

This has threatened the dominant syndicate’s revenue and resulted in turf wars involving tit-for-tat firebombings.

The environment has become so volatile that police this month announced a special task force called Lunar to take on industry players.

The murder in August of veteran underworld identity Mohammed “Afghan Ali” Keshtiar at South Yarra is suspected of being linked to his activities in the outlaw tobacco sector.

Mohammad Akbar Keshtiar.

In the aftermath, a message circulating among crime figures said Keshtiar had died because of his involvement in a body referred to as the Victorian Ciggi Commission and warned it to close.

“If you do not comply, you will follow the footsteps of your fellow Commission colleague. Kind regards, Your Worst Nightmare,” it read.

It is unclear whether the message came from but underworld sources say it came from The Disruptor’s camp.

The Disruptor is one of the most feared figures in Melbourne’s Middle Eastern organised crime sphere and is believed to be aligned with another heavy figure who is also overseas.

He has in the past been linked to homicides, high-level drug trafficking and armed robberies.

The Disruptor maintained a strong power case through a long prison stretch and is suspected of orchestrating high-level organised crime activity on the outside from behind bars.

His jail term ended earlier this year when he was freed and flown back to the Middle-East, where he was born.

Despite The Disruptor’s absence, he has retained a strong band of loyalists who are effectively acting as his Melbourne soldiers to launch tobacco war attacks.