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Residents in an apartment building in Melbourne’s northern suburbs were evacuated overnight after arsonists firebombed another tobacco shop in the early hours of the morning.
Police say the attackers rammed the roller door of the shop on Wheatsheaf Road in Glenroy with a black BMW before setting the business ablaze and fleeing the scene about 2.30am.
Police say a black BMW rammed the roller door of a Glenroy tobacco shop on Wheatsheaf Road at 2.30am on Monday morning before setting the business ablaze and fleeing the scene.Credit: Nine News
Officers later found a BMW fully engulfed by flames on Shaftsbury Street in Coburg. They are investigating whether both incidents are linked.
The shop is the second tobacconist to be targeted in recent days, after arsonists attempted to torch a cigarette shop and convenience store in Bentleigh in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It was the second time the Centre Road shop had been targeted in the span of three weeks. The first attack was on September 23.
A CCTV camera had been set up at the front of the store in the days before Saturday’s suspicious fire.
Sam Mullavey, who lives near the Bentleigh shop, said there was a heightened police presence in the area in the hours before the latest arson attempt.
“We came home and there were three police cars within five minutes that kept driving back and forth,” he said. “It’s a bit weird because it’s usually a pretty quiet street.”
Police are investigating whether the Bentleigh attack is connected to a turf war between organised crime groups vying for control of the lucrative illicit tobacco trade that has been linked to several firebombings and shootings.
In August, this masthead revealed at least a dozen tobacco shops across Melbourne had been torched in a spate of arson attacks as organised crime groups extorted them, forcing small businesses to sell illegal tobacco the gangs supplied.
The trade is estimated to be worth millions – even tens of millions – of dollars each year to the racketeers.
Investigators are also probing whether the violence could be behind the daylight execution of Craigieburn man Robert Issa in front of horrified onlookers in the carpark of a local shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.
A home in Excelsior Heights, Craigieburn, linked to Issa had been previously targeted in a drive-by shooting in September. A couple in their 50s sleeping inside the home were lucky to escape injury during the attack, which caused extensive damage to the facade of the property.
Residents in a Glenroy apartment building were evacuated in the early hours of Monday, October 9, after arsonists firebombed a tobacco shop.Credit: Nine News
Anyone with information or CCTV/dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report the information online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
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