‘Tobacco wars not welcome in Perth’,police warn after Midland firebombing

‘Tobacco wars not welcome in Perth’,police warn after Midland firebombing

In Melbourne,turf boundary wars between major crime players in the illicit tobacco trade has ignited a war that has resulted in 100 firebombings in the past two years.

  • byHeather McNeill

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Why smuggle it when you can grow it? The surge in illicit tobacco crops

Why smuggle it when you can grow it? The surge in illicit tobacco crops

Criminal syndicates are increasingly growing their own tobacco in secret farms as law enforcement cracks down on shipments coming in from overseas.

  • byMarta Pascual Juanola
Alleged illegal tobacco syndicate ringleader granted bail despite trying to leave Australia
Updated
Courts

Alleged illegal tobacco syndicate ringleader granted bail despite trying to leave Australia

Nazir Haddara,the alleged ringleader of the $30 million syndicate,was arrested at Melbourne Airport on Tuesday as he was attempting to board a flight to Dubai.

  • byMarta Pascual Juanola andLachlan Abbott
Australian gaming billionaire ‘beat up’ in failed Estonian kidnap plot

Australian gaming billionaire ‘beat up’ in failed Estonian kidnap plot

The men allegedly posed as painter-decorators,wore hi-vis vests and entered the stairwell of an Old Town apartment building where Tim Heath lives.

  • byRob Harris
Police arrest alleged leader of $30m crime syndicate but warn tobacco wars are here to stay

Police arrest alleged leader of $30m crime syndicate but warn tobacco wars are here to stay

Police arrested 25-year-old boxer Nazir Haddara at Melbourne Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai.

  • byMarta Pascual Juanola andCassandra Morgan
Celebrity crooks existed long before Carl Williams. The method’s different,but the aim is the same
Analysis
The Age 170

Celebrity crooks existed long before Carl Williams. The method’s different,but the aim is the same

Gangsters,massive protests,drug busts and police corruption have been around as long as The Age. Here’s a look back at Melbourne’s underbelly decades before the Underbelly war.

  • byJohn Silvester
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Police fear explosion in home-made guns poses huge threat to public safety
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Crime

Police fear explosion in home-made guns poses huge threat to public safety

3D-printed and privately made guns are becoming the weapon of choice for criminals with some weapons now able to fire dozens of rounds within a few seconds.

  • byMelissa Cunningham
Inside the ‘organised crime’ arson attacks on FriendlyJordies’ Bondi home

Inside the ‘organised crime’ arson attacks on FriendlyJordies’ Bondi home

A stolen Mercedes,cloned plates,a bikie stabbing and two arson attacks – a police file released to the Herald outlines the alleged underworld attack.

  • byPerry Duffin
Detainee handed hefty jail sentence for running ‘brazen’ drugs business from Yongah Hill
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Courts

Detainee handed hefty jail sentence for running ‘brazen’ drugs business from Yongah Hill

Andrew Hickling imported drugs and dirty money into WA,running a lucrative business all while incarcerated at Northam’s Yongah Hill Detention Centre.

  • byRebecca Peppiatt
How a failed bid to carve up Melbourne’s illegal tobacco trade sparked a violent war
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Crime

How a failed bid to carve up Melbourne’s illegal tobacco trade sparked a violent war

A failed bid to form a “commission” among major crime players that would set turf boundaries and split profit from the lucrative illicit tobacco trade ignited a war that has resulted in 100 firebombings and escalating violence.

  • byChris Vedelago andMarta Pascual Juanola
‘You’re an idiot’:Judge lashes bikie’s sister in sending her to jail

‘You’re an idiot’:Judge lashes bikie’s sister in sending her to jail

The sister of an exiled Comanchero bikie was yesterday sent to prison for 15 months for her part in laundering in almost a million dollars of dirty cash.

  • byRebecca Peppiatt