Updated ,first published
Bar owners targeted in a spate of firebombings across Melbourne have begun receiving extortion demands for $10,000 a month as the city’s so-called bar wars continue to rage.
The demand says targeted businesses will be removed from “the list of destruction” for one month upon sending proof of payment.
“For those who I have sent this message. Your payment of 10k per month starts today. Hurry the f— up. Once screenshot has been sent ur [sic] name is removed off the list of destruction for the month,” the message reads.
The payment is to be made to the United Nations’ World Food Program.
The development comes as two of the teenage arsonists who have been terrorising Melbourne’s nightlife walked free from Children’s Court on Thursday after receiving youth supervision orders instead of jail terms for a $1.5 million blaze at a liquor distributor in April.
The crime of arson is not among the list of offences warranting “adult time for violent crime” that was a signature component of the Allan government’s youth crime crackdown.
Police from Operation Eclipse – the unit investigating Melbourne’s ongoing bar wars – are examining the new threat to establish if it is authentic or a scam.
On Thursday, a 21-year-old man was arrested by Victoria Police over an alleged extortion threat against a Melbourne nightlife venue on Russell Street.
On May 9, the man, who has no fixed address, allegedly called a former staff member of the venue and issued threats to the venue if he was not paid money by the end of the week.
Police, however, do not believe that threat is related to the other text messages sent to venue owners. Rather, they alleged on Thursday this was a copy-cat “crime of opportunity” in which the man was trying to capitalise on the bar wars.
The 21-year-old was arrested in Epping on Wednesday and charged overnight with possessing a drug of dependence. He was bailed to appear before Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on July 7, and police said the investigation remains ongoing.
A number of targeted venue owners received messages earlier this month, including one which read: “We’re after you, your family, your business, your homes and souls … We will take it by force if you don’t comply the police can’t help you its [sic] inevitable we won’t stop till we get what we want.”
Another message read: “Now for those who want to get out of line. This is just the start and nowhere near the end and we will hurt you in ways your brain can’t comprehend. Those who are running towards the hills we will be there as well burning the hills till nowhere is safe.”
These messages are believed to have been sent by an Iraq-based gang known as “the Cartel”, which includes a 23-year-old who was a key member of Kazem ‘Kaz’ Hamad’s organised crime crew, who were behind the so-called tobacco wars.
Police are investigating the allegation that the 23-year-old suspect was part of the team that carried out a failed hit on Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim in June 2022, when Abdulrahim was ambushed and repeatedly shot outside a funeral in Fawkner.
Underworld sources claim the suspect has found religion and speculate he is targeting “sinful” Melbourne venues – including bars, brothels and strip clubs.
In recent weeks there has been a pause in the almost nightly spate of firebombings, leading police to believe an extortion demand would be made. They see it as a softening-up process.
Detective Inspector Chris Murray told an industry meeting he believed an extortion demand would soon be made in the same way Hamad levied a “tax” on retailers selling his illicit tobacco.
Since February, there have been 40 firebombings, shootings, home invasions and kidnappings linked to attacks on Melbourne’s nightlife industry. Police’s Operation Eclipse taskforce has arrested more than 50 alleged offenders and laid more than 140 charges.
Victoria Police have made multiple arrests of teenage offenders allegedly tasked with carrying out firebombings and the abduction of bar owners.
The young “soldiers” cannot help identify the main offenders or the motive for the attacks as they have been recruited anonymously through encrypted messaging apps, where police allege they are ordered to film the offence before being paid.
On April 23, four teenagers broke into the 80 Proof Liquor distribution centre in Keysborough and burnt the warehouse to the ground.
Two of the offenders pleaded guilty to the attack on Thursday. One 15-year-old received no conviction but was placed on a 15-month youth supervision order, while a 16-year-old was convicted and placed on a 12-month order.
Under a youth supervision order, an offender must “not [commit] another offence while the order is in force”, report regularly to the Department of Justice and Community Safety and participate in a community service program.
One nightclub figure, whose venues have been repeatedly targeted but asked not to be identified over concerns of further attacks, said he was disgusted by the court’s decision.
“They are destroying an industry and taking away our livelihoods, but the courts treat them like they forgot to top up their myki card,” they said.
“This is beyond f—ed. I actually feel sorry for the Jacks [police], who have to keep arresting these c—s, but the courts put them straight back out. It’s getting to the point where we’ll have to deal with them.”
Police have been warning at-risk venues to increase security since the attacks began.
The owners of one targeted venue, The Emerson in Prahran, have used a 12-metre-long truck and shipping containers to protect its entrance. Other targeted venues include The Osborne, The Albion, Platform 1, Left Bank, famed bistro France-Soir and CBD club Bar Bambi.
A teenager was charged last week over a home invasion targeting the owner of The Albion, Dominic Porter.
The state government has created a $10 million fund for venues to increase their security, and $5 million to allow venues to provide live CCTV feeds to Victoria Police.
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Angus Delaney is a reporter at The Age. Email him at [email protected] or contact him securely on Signal at angusdelaney.31Connect via email.
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