Rabih Haddara’s X-rated response to exiled crime boss Kaz Hamad’s threat before firebombing

A member of the Haddara family claims he had a heated exchange with crime kingpin Kazem Hamad weeks before his Glenroy smoke shop went up in flames, a court has been told.

Majid Alibadi, 25, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with more than 20 offences including arson and extortion. Picture: NewsWire

A member of the Haddara family says he told exiled crime boss Kazem Hamad he would pay him with his “dick” weeks before his Glenroy smoke shop went up in flames.

Fresh details about Melbourne’s tobacco war were revealed as Majid Alibadi, 25, described as a “regional operations manager” for Hamad, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with more than 20 offences including arson and extortion.

Among the witnesses was Rabih Haddara, the owner of Glenroy Vape Tobacconist, who claimed he was threatened over the phone by Hamad before his shop was firebombed in October last year.

Mr Haddara, who gave evidence from a remote witness facility and with the assistance of an Arabic translator, said a man came into his shop weeks earlier and handed him a phone.

“Speak to my friend,” he claims he was told.

Accused tobacco war ringleader Majid Alibadi was described as a "regional operations manager" for exiled crime boss Kazem Hamad. Picture: NewsWire

Mr Haddara said he recognised the man on the other end of the line as “Kaz” who once came into a panelbeaters he was working at to fix his car.

He said Hamad warned him the area “belongs to him” and he needed to pay him money.

“I said to him that he doesn’t have any shops in this area ... because I’ve been in this area for seven years. I never heard that he had any shops in that area,” he said.

In his police statement, Mr Haddara said he tried to reason with Hamad but eventually told him he would “pay you with my dick”.

While on the phone, Mr Haddara claimed the man who came into his shop asked for a lighter.

“I think he went inside to check the shop (to see) how he will burn it down,” he said.

Under cross-examination by defence barrister Dermot Dann KC, Mr Haddara claimed he forgot to put that allegation in his police statement because he was “under a lot of stress”.

Weeks later, the shop, which sits below apartments, was destroyed in a firebombing, allegedly by Mr Alibadi who is charged with arson and reckless conduct endangering life.

Exiled crime boss Kazem Hamad. Picture: Supplied

According to charge sheets, the fire caused $451,000 in damage.

Mr Haddara told the court he later received a message threatening to kill him and his brother if they provided a statement to police.

Mr Alibadi is facing 24 charges over a spate of alleged arsons, including an attack on Karizma restaurant in Docklands owned by Haddara patriarch Fadi Haddara.

He made headlines in February when he was picked up from jail in a rented Rolls Royce Ghost after he was bailed on a $150,000 surety.

Police allege Mr Alibadi, from Epping, is a lieutenant for Hamad who was deported to Iraq last year where he has allegedly orchestrated dozens of arson attacks while vying for control of Victoria’s lucrative illicit tobacco trade.

The committal hearing continues Tuesday.