Arson attacks on hospitality venues are part of an extortion scheme by Melbourne gang
Nightclub owners and promoters in Melbourne have been forced into hiding and venues are being set up with 24-hour security after firebombs, shootings and kidnapping attempts as part of a suspected new extortion plot.
The panic gripping the industry follows a dozen arson attacks and an unprecedented warning from police to revelers to be vigilant when heading out at night.
On Thursday iconic South Yarra bistro France-Soir and its neighboring bar Le Splendide were the targets of an extortion plot carried out by an outlaw motorcycle gang.
An overnight attack on Friday destroyed a wholesale distillery in Keysborough owned by nightclub industry heavyweights George Grigoriadis and Danny Grant. The duo, who founded the 80 Proof liquor brand, declined to comment when contacted. Age.
Age Arson attack on 80 can be discovered. Proof is linked to another fire last week in which a bakery at an Epping address was accidentally set ablaze, but the intended target was the office space of two leading nightclub promoters who were hiding.
This was the 18th suspected incident of violence linked to a series of attacks, according to sources in the hospitality industry and underworld.
The identity and purpose of the criminal gang responsible for orchestrating the campaign of violence remains a mystery to police and victims nearly a month after the crime wave began.
Underground sources state that no gang or group has claimed responsibility or made any demands to stop the violence.
“Nobody can understand why this is happening or what they want. It keeps happening. People are hiding,” a source said.
At least two club promoters and a figure from the security industry were among those in hiding, while a nightclub owner fled to India.
Even as businesses remain closed, owners are scrambling to fortify their venues by adding cast-iron grills, barriers and secondary doors, which one security source called “sanctions imposed on tobacco stores.”
New CCTV and fire suppression systems have also been installed in various venues.
Victoria Police said it had increased its “overt and covert” police presence in the city’s entertainment precincts.
The underworld was abuzz with speculation about the motive for the seemingly random and brazen series of attacks.
“The same goes for tobacco. [shops]. “They have not made a request yet,” said a source.
The illicit tobacco market has been severely disrupted by the arrest of gang leader Kazem Hamad in Iraq in January and the disruption of black market cigarette imports due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A new wave of violence rocks the city’s tobacco shops as rival gangs try to gain control and Hamad’s gang faces revenge against the 313s.
“Tobacco money is drying up,” another underworld source said.
Others claimed a new criminal gang was trying to take control of security at clubs in the hope of distributing and selling drugs.
Last Friday, Arson Squad Detective Inspector Chris Murray issued a public warning about the threat the attacks pose to innocent nightlife patrons.
“Please – if you are in metropolitan Melbourne this weekend, and particularly in the entertainment precincts – call Triple Zero if you see anything suspicious,” he said.
The attacks began with a raid on Emerson in February. CCTV footage obtained by Age It captures the first known attack, showing three hooded figures crashing into the entrance in a ute and entering the building carrying canisters of fuel.
A month later, Prahran’s Love Machine, a late-night nightclub favored by movers and shakers in the Melbourne underworld, was burned down.
The list of venues targeted has since grown to include a who’s who of the inner city nightlife and dining scene, including the Albion Hotel, The Emerson, The Osborne, Bar Bambi, Soho and Left Bank restaurants.
Two strip clubs, Kittens and The Men’s Gallery, were also targets of arson attacks and drive-by shootings.
Police also seized footage from CBD nightclub Platform One, which saw a man wandering around the back of the venue on Flinders Street.
A source with knowledge of the investigation said the same vehicle was used in the Friday morning raid on The Emerson and the attempted arson attack on the Soho Restaurant.
On the same night as the Emerson raid, two criminals were caught on CCTV dousing Osborne, another venue in South Yarra, with petrol, but disappeared seconds before police arrived.
There are no allegations that club owners or others involved in the operation of the clubs engaged in illegal activities.
The violence has also been linked to at least three attempted kidnappings and an attack targeting the homes and families of several organizers who held events at firebombed venues.
Victoria Police declined to comment on the number of incidents under investigation.
“Specialist detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad and the Armed Crime Squad continue to work with regional detectives to establish the motivation for the incident and who may have been involved,” a spokesman said.
Owners and organizers refuse to comment on the attacks.
Two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were arrested for attempting to burn down Soho Restaurant and Bar and Left Bank in Docklands. Another 25-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the fire in Albion.
Police said the criminals were actually hired thugs who were paid as little as a few hundred dollars to carry out attacks orchestrated by an unknown mastermind.
Murray said police suspected the attacks were organized through a type of underground “criminal assignment” system similar to the popular odd-job app Airtasker.
“The common denominator is there’s someone sitting up there pulling the strings. Those are the people we deal with,” Murray said last week.
“These little kids are being used as cannon fodder for a few hundred dollars.”
It is believed that a large number of businesses were accidentally attacked because arsonists and attackers targeted the wrong addresses.
Last week, a bakery in Epping was accidentally set on fire rather than the nearby office of one of the city’s best-known club promotion groups.
A note was left outside: “[Name redacted] your [sic] Next.”
The man mentioned in the threatening message is also linked to the 80 Proof business that was set on fire on Thursday evening; Melbourne’s late-night hospitality industry is bracing for more arson attacks and underworld-related violence.
Marta Pascual Juanola is an investigative journalist at The Age. Before that, he was a crime and justice reporter. You can reach him securely via Signal at m.pascualjuanola@proton.me or +61 468 688 436.Connect with: X or email.
Carla Jaeger is a journalist for The Age. Got a clue? Email carla.jaeger@theage.com.au or message carlajaeger.62 on Signal.Connect with: X or email.
