Victoria Police say they have made a major breakthrough in investigations into handwritten and typed notes left on shops around Melbourne and regional Victoria asking owners to ‘call the Commission’.
‘The Commission’ is a reference to the cartel targeting businesses in a years-long firebombing and extortion campaign linked to organised crime figures in the Middle East.
On Saturday, it was announced that detectives from Operation Eclipse had charged a teenage boy as part of their investigation 19 reported incidents of handwritten or typed notes across Melbourne and regional locations.
The 17-year-old boy was changed following the execution of a search warrant on Friday at a home in the Moonee Valley area.
The teen was charged with drug trafficking offences, dealing with property suspected to be proceeds of crime, possessing counterfeit money and fail to provide information to police.
He will appear at a children’s court at a later date and cannot be named because of his age.
Victoria Police said detectives believe he may have been involved in the tasking of crimes on behalf of an offshore syndicate and those investigations are continuing.
“Police seized eight mobile phones, a large number of SIM cards, traffickable quantities of drugs of dependence, counterfeit currency, and cash believed to be the proceeds of crime from his address,” a police statement reads.
Detective Inspector Graham Banks, who is leading Operation Eclipse, said a number of young people have been arrested “who were not previously known to police and who have had no prior police contact”.
“Lured by the prospect of what they are told is some easy cash and anonymity behind encrypted devices, young people are committing serious criminal offences which have grave or lifechanging ramifications,” he said.
“The outcomes can be devastating for their own family members, and for our wider community. This is not easy cash — these threats are playing with people’s livelihoods and their own sense of safety and it will not be tolerated.
“I’d urge all parents and caregivers to have conversations with the young people in their lives about what they may be up to online. They will be caught, and they will be held to account.”
Operation Eclipse was established in April to target the organised crime syndicate responsible for attacks on licensed venues in central Melbourne, as well against people associated to those businesses.
More than 200 venues have been hit in recent years, but bars, restaurants and clubs have been among the most recent targets.
The so-called “Kaz tax” has been linked to Kazem Hamad, who was jailed in Iraq last month for life.
As well as notes left on shopfronts, venue owners have been receiving haunting threats via text message, including one that read: “If you got this message were (sic) after you, your family, your business, homes and souls. We will take it by force if you don’t comply the police can’t help you. We will take it by force if you don’t comply the police can’t help you its inevitable we won’t stop till we get what we want.”
Anyone with further information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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