Crime gang ‘fractures’ as former tobacco empire goes to war against itself

Infighting in organised crime gang The Commission is suspected to be behind two murders, three shootings and a series of arson attacks as factions of the empire left behind by imprisoned kingpin Kaz Hamad scramble for control of the multibillion-dollar tobacco and drug enterprise.

Police and underworld sources, who cannot be identified publicly, say “fractures” inside the group have led to a power struggle and serious internecine violence since Hamad was jailed for life in Iraq in July.

This includes two recent drive-by shootings targeting the home of an underworld family that runs one of the largest tobacco distribution and retailing networks in the country. Members of the family, which The Age is choosing not to identify for safety reasons, were a key part of the nationwide cartel Hamad formed nearly two years ago.

They did not respond to a request for comment.

On November 3, a gun battle erupted outside a home linked to the family in Hadfield just after 4am. However, the members of the family allegedly involved in the illicit tobacco market do not live at that address.

An 18-year-old man suspected of opening fire on the house from a stolen white Toyota Kluger is believed to have been wounded in return fire by someone protecting the property. There were nine people inside at the time.

In a bid to defend the home, a dump truck was parked in front as a protective screen.

Just over a week later, the property was again targeted in a drive-by shooting. By this time, it had been abandoned.

It was at least the third time the family had been the target of violence since September, when a Sunshine tobacco shop operated by one of its members was burnt to the ground. Police have not made any arrests and the motive remains unknown.

The illicit tobacco cartel Hamad formed in early 2025 was created after a near two-year campaign of firebombings and shootings that forced a number of major players out of the market and compelled others to join forces with him.

The family most recently targeted were former allies of the Haddara crime gang, which Hamad virtually destroyed in 2024 following its attempts to control the underground market.

The Hamad cartel had grown to control thousands of shops around the country, which are expected to pay $5000 a month in “tax” and sell the gang’s discount illicit cigarettes. Hamad’s cartel united manufacturing, importing, distributing and retailing into a single network that came to dominate the black market.

Those alliances are now rupturing in the absence of firm central control, and a dispute over profits has arisen in the absence of his iron-fisted pressure.

“It’s a fight over turf. There’s no one really in control any more, and it’s all breaking down,” an underworld source said. “There’s way too much money to be left just lying around, but it’s getting harder out there to make money because of the crackdowns [from law enforcement and regulators].”

The Commission itself, a crime gang with an estimated minimum of 200 members, has also begun to “fracture”, a police source said.

“Hamad was like the undisputed heavyweight champion. There was always going to be a scramble once it was clear he was gone,” said an organised crime detective, who cannot be identified publicly. “But it’s just too early to see all the sides.”

The instability inside the syndicate has come about in part because Hamad’s succession plan was thrown into doubt by the arrest of his second-in-command and cousin, Ahmed Al Hamza, in Qatar in late 2025. Al Hamza’s current circumstances are unknown, leaving a vacuum following Hamad’s detention only months later.

Hamad was arrested in January 2026 by Iraqi authorities working off intelligence provided by the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police’s Lunar Taskforce. He was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison in late July.

At first, it appeared clear the new leader to emerge was 23-year-old Ali al-Huseini, a suspected Hamad triggerman who fled Australia for Iraq in June 2022 following a failed hit on Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim.

Huseini was one of a number of close associates on the run from Australian authorities who formed Hamad’s inner circle in Baghdad.

Police suspect Huseini was the commanding influence behind the so-called “bar wars” extortion plot that led to dozens of firebombings, kidnappings and shootings earlier this year targeting Melbourne’s nightlife scene.

But other centres of potential power have since emerged.

Victoria Police is investigating whether insider violence is behind at least two murders in less than a fortnight targeting members or known associates of the Hamad syndicate.

Hamad associate Ali Mohamad Albadri, 42, was gunned down in broad daylight inside his home on October 14 by a lone gunman. Less than a fortnight later, the father of alleged long-time Hamad associate George “Snowman Adam” Serevetas was gunned down outside a property in Reservoir.

Victim Elias Serevetas, 55, had previously been the listed owner of a tobacco shop in the West Australian town of Kalgoorlie but was not a member of The Commission. He was allegedly lured to the location by another lone gunman.

His son George had allegedly been the orchestrator of a string of extortions on Hamad’s behalf in the early days of the “tobacco war”. A prosecution against him was dropped reportedly after witnesses and victims refused to co-operate following a campaign of intimidation allegedly ordered by Hamad.

No one has been arrested for the murders of Albadri or Serevetas.

Sources with knowledge of the conflict, but who cannot be publicly identified, have described it as a worsening “fight between the two Alis” – Ali al-Huseini in Iraq and another Hamad lieutenant, 30-year-old convicted drug trafficker Ali Alkhafaji.

Alkhafaji, who is also known as Ali Ramos, was a close associate of Hamad’s brother Maytham and the organisation’s second-in-command, Ahmad Al Hamza.

All three were once implicated in the same 2017 underworld murder, but charges were dropped against Alkhafaji and Maytham, while Al Hamza was acquitted.

Alkhafaji is suspected by police of using the Hamad network to unleash a wave of firebombings, home invasions and shootings to settle a personal vendetta in January.

Al-Huseini and Alkhafaji operate from the shadows overseas, directing members in Melbourne through encrypted communications.

The Commission has moved in a distinctive new direction since Hamad’s fall from power, expanding to conducting extortions over legitimate businesses and committing acts of violence against innocent family members of gang targets.

It remains to be seen how the street crews inside The Commission, also known as the 313, will line up in the absence of their leader, Hamad. His control was infamously built on his charisma and a reputation for inspiring fierce loyalty in members.

The infighting has come as the organisation is under intense pressure from law enforcement seeking to capitalise on Hamad’s downfall, and in response to worsening violence around the state from what is known as “crime as a service” contract arson and shooting attacks.

Victorian police have arrested more than 540 people in operations targeting the tobacco wars, bar wars and the crime-as-as-service ordering system since 2023.

This has included the arrest of a significant “shot caller” in Melbourne in July linked to al-Huseni. The “shot caller” is allegedly responsible for orchestrating a string of the bar-warattacks and claims to have access to more than 2000 foot soldiers on the street.

There have also been more than 144 illicit tobacco shops shut down since new powers were introduced in the state in September, according to Tobacco Licensing Victoria.

The pressure on the illicit market has led to the syndicates attempting to shift tobacco through fronts like bait shops, florists and homewares outlets.

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