By Chris Vedelago and Lachlan Abbott
Underworld boss Kazem “Kaz” Hamad is suspected of orchestrating two overnight firebombings as part of a feud with his long-running enemy, boxer Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim.
Three underworld and police sources allege Hamad is behind an arson attack that happened in the early hours of Monday morning at Abdulrahim’s Thomastown home, which has previously been the scene of an attempted hit on the controversial underworld figure and a separate drive-by shooting.
A second overnight fire, at hair salon Infinitii Hair in Port Melbourne, led to two children – a primary school student and a young teenager – in a neighbouring home being hospitalised for smoke inhalation. A woman in her 40s was also taken to hospital for smoke inhalation.
Victoria Police’s acting commander of crime command, Jason Kelly, said it was only through sheer luck that nobody died as a result of the Port Melbourne fire.
“This has been one of our greatest fears ... since the arson series started in March of 2023 on mainly tobacco stores across metropolitan Melbourne,” Kelly told reporters on Monday afternoon.
“To light a fire in a business premise where residents are living above just shows no regard for the lives and safety of members of the public.”
The hair salon in Port Melbourne mid-morning on Monday.Credit: Simon Schluter
He said police suspected a spate of overnight fires in Thomastown, Port Melbourne and Cairnlea may be linked to organised crime.
Kelly said police would be “relentless” in their pursuit of the perpetrators.
“Unfortunately, this morning, we came very close to having some fatalities after what occurred in Bay Street, Port Melbourne, which is just totally unacceptable,” he said.
It is alleged the Port Melbourne blaze was a suspected attack on a business associated with Abdulrahim and was used to intimidate a man Hamad believes has provided information to police.
Former Mongols bikie Suleiman “Sam” Abdulrahim reinvented himself as a boxer.Credit: Instagram
That man was also the target of an alleged arson attack on a van outside a tobacco shop in the northern suburbs last week.
Police say he was the key witness in the prosecution of a suspected Hamad standover man, which collapsed in July after he refused to co-operate with authorities. Detectives believed he was extorted for at least $10,000 for the “protection” of his tobacco shops in Melbourne’s north.
Two tobacco shops owned by the witness were allegedly destroyed in firebombing attacks within minutes of each other in May.
The Lunar Taskforce, which was launched in October 2023 to combat the so-called tobacco war, told The Age that 77 tobacco shops and 19 other businesses have been the target of arson attacks in the nearly 18-month-old turf war between Hamad and other syndicates.
Hamad and Abdulrahim have been warring since 2016 when gangland figure George Marrogi was charged with the murder of Hamad associate Kadir Ors.
In Marrogi’s murder trial, it was alleged that Abdulrahim may have been involved in luring Ors to the Campbellfield car park where he was gunned down.
The feud is also the suspected motive for a firebombing of the QRoom venue in Thomastown in late July. A fight night featuring Abdulrahim’s nephew, known as “Punisher Jr”, was subsequently cancelled due to safety fears.
Kazem “Kaz” Hamad in about 2015.
Police and underworld sources say Hamad’s war with Abdulrahim is both business – over control of the tobacco market – and deeply personal. This has included numerous firebombing attacks at venues and properties linked to Abdulrahim but otherwise owned or operated by uninvolved parties.
The Thomastown property is owned by a relative of Abdulrahim and had been unoccupied since the ex-Mongol bikie was targeted at the address in May.
Seventeen bullets were sprayed at Abdulrahim when he was lured outside to be executed on May 24. But Abdulrahim fought back, ramming his car into the gunman’s BMW and chasing them off.
The botched hit came after the underworld figure allegedly joined forces with an interstate gang to gain control of a slice of Victoria’s billion-dollar illicit tobacco market.
In February, police warned Abdulrahim about a contract on his life and advised him against fighting at an upcoming boxing match. Two separate venues due to host the fight were later firebombed, causing extensive damage and prompting organisers to cancel the bout.
The burnt-out home in Thomastown on Monday morning.Credit: Simon Schluter
Four businesses connected to Abdulrahim have allegedly been torched over the past 18 months, including a Moonee Ponds tobacconist that was targeted three times and in June, his family’s home was sprayed with bullets again.
Abdulrahim had already survived being shot eight times while driving in a funeral procession outside Fawkner cemetery in June 2022. Police say the alleged gunmen fled overseas.
There were several other suspicious fires across Melbourne on Monday morning.
A punching bag amid the charred remains of Sam Abdulrahim’s old home.Credit: Simon Schluter
In the city’s south-east, a fire engulfed a property in a disused retirement village on Gladesville Boulevard, Patterson Lakes, at 1.20am.
In Melbourne’s west, a crime scene was established after a fire at a tobacco store in Cairnlea at 6.05am.
In Richmond, a 37-year-old was arrested after a fire started in an apartment block on Clark Street at 9.15pm on Sunday. Police said a resident set fire to his own apartment and the blaze damaged four other units.
Police are urging anyone who witnessed the incidents or with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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