Police say they have arrested the alleged leader of a $30 million illicit tobacco syndicate in one of the most significant breakthroughs since the start of Melbourne’s tobacco wars, but warn the arrest won’t put an end to the wave of violence that has so far been linked to 109 firebombings.
Officers arrested 25-year-old boxer Nazir Haddara at Melbourne Airport at about 6am on Tuesday, as he was attempting to board a flight to Dubai. Seven other people suspected of having links to the alleged syndicate were also charged following a series of co-ordinated raids across Victoria.
Boxer and alleged tobacco syndicate boss Nazir Haddara.
Investigators allege Haddara is the ringleader of a syndicate that was selling illicit cigarettes and loose-leaf tobacco through a network of shops masquerading as legitimate gift and confectionery stores.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Martin O’Brien announced the major crackdown during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, as raids on tobacco shops across the state continued to unfold. A stack of cartons of illicit Double Happiness cigarettes seized during the raids sat on a table nearby.
“This is only one of the syndicates operating and this is not the end of the tobacco wars as we know them. However, it’s a huge step in the right direction,” O’Brien said.
“The people involved are ruthless, treacherous and amoral criminals who will resort to violence and intimidation if anyone threatens their illegal income.”
Police believe the syndicate was importing the tobacco and e-cigarettes containing nicotine from overseas and distributing them to shops they were leasing across Victoria through a network of warehouses and couriers that delivered the tobacco in utes and vans.
Investigators, who began probing the syndicate in December last year, say transaction records show the syndicate had netted more than $30 million through the sale of illicit tobacco in the past year alone.
“It is a commercial enterprise well and truly,” O’Brien said.
“There are different levels of involvement, different levels of understanding of the business and the racket that’s involved. That is part of the investigation, and there will be offences coming out of that in relation to smaller players.”
Several cartons of Double Happiness cigarettes seized by Victoria Police during the raids.Credit: Marta Pascual Juanola
Police executed more than 27 co-ordinated search warrants at tobacco stores, warehouses and residential addresses across Victoria in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The premises searched included three industrial properties and several homes in Truganina, as well as residential addresses in Hoppers Crossing, Glen Waverley, Lara, Grovedale, Footscray, and Mount Cottrell.
Police also raided tobacco shops in Herne Hill, Bell Park, Grovedale, Werribee, Dallas, Kensington, Boronia, Ararat, Kyabram, Echuca, and Yarrawonga. Officers were still executing searches at several tobacco stores on Tuesday afternoon.
Police seized a Lamborghini coupe and a Range Rover from the Hoppers Crossing address and at least 600,000 cigarettes, more than 75 kilograms of loose-leaf tobacco and $75,000 in cash from the residential addresses.
Haddara has been charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation, a Commonwealth offence that is rarely used owing to the high threshold investigators need to meet to prosecute an accused. He has also been charged with possessing tobacco products with the intent of defrauding the revenue, possessing proceeds of crime, and distributing and/or selling e-cigarettes.
Haddara and co-accused Isse Isse, 26, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon, where prosecutor Krista Breckweg revealed Haddara had been identified by investigators as the alleged “principal of the operation”.
Court documents allege Haddara directed one or more activities of an organisation, “Nazir Haddara Illicit Tobacco Syndicate trading as Elite Gifts and Accessories and various trading names”.
Isse possessed or conveyed tobacco products knowing it was for the organisation’s benefit, and was also involved in directing it, the documents allege.
Breckweg told the court the police had seized several phones, including burner phones, during the search warrants and said a number of telephone intercepts had to be analysed in the case.
Wearing a black T-shirt and long pants, Haddara sat quietly on a video link, while his barrister Lee Ristivojevic asked for him and Isse to be able to apply for bail in court on Wednesday.
A third co-accused appeared in front of a magistrate in Echuca. He was remanded to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court alongside Haddara and Isse on Wednesday.
A 50-year-old Grovedale woman and a 51-year-old Glen Waverley man were also charged following the raids and bailed to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court next Monday.
A 25-year-old Hoppers Crossing man, a 46-year-old Ararat man, a 38-year-old Tarneit man, a 50-year-old Mount Cottrell man, and 21-year-old Yarrawonga man are also facing charges.
“The message I want to send is we’re in for the long game,” O’Brien said.
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