{"id":6224,"date":"2026-05-07T01:09:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T01:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6224\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T01:09:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T01:09:50","slug":"35-charged-over-melbourne-nightlife-attacks-as-police-hunt-ghost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6224\/","title":{"rendered":"35 charged over Melbourne nightlife attacks as police hunt \u2018ghost\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police have charged 35 people over dozens of violent attacks across Melbourne\u2019s nightlife \u00adsector in just over a month, as they race to identify who is directing a\u00a0crime campaign involving \u00adfirebombings, shootings and kidnappings. <\/p>\n

Victoria Police Commissioner Mike Bush said those charged were predominantly young \u00adoffenders and faced a combined 140 charges, describing the arrests as \u201ca good start\u201d but warning the investigation remained focused on those orchestrating the campaign of violence.<\/p>\n

Mr Bush said the offences \u2013 \u00adincluding shootings, home invasions and kidnappings \u2013 had \u00adoccurred since April 9, and prompted the launch of a major taskforce under Operation Eclipse. \u201cWe have to get ahead of these crimes on behalf of the people of Victoria,\u201d he said on Wednesday. \u201cWhat we must find out is who is orchestrating this crime scourge, who is behind this, who\u2019s pulling the strings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The arrests largely involve young, low-level offenders, many of whom police allege were recruited to carry out attacks for small payments.<\/p>\n

Many of the young offenders are believed to be directed through encrypted messaging platforms, earning the unseen \u00adorganiser the nickname of \u201cthe ghost\u201d. Mr Bush said some of those charged were not previously known to police.<\/p>\n

Police believe the attacks are being co-ordinated by a serious organised crime network, but Mr Bush stopped short of confirming reports linking the violence to an Iraqi-based syndicate. \u201cWe\u2019re open to all eventualities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Police, including the AFP and Border Force, are now investigating multiple possible motives that include whether the attacks are a precursor to an extortion campaign, part of a turf war over illicit markets such as drugs or \u00adalcohol, or an attempt to take control of security operations linked to the nightlife sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a number of theories \u2026 but not firm enough for us to hang our hat on any one of those,\u201d Mr Bush said.<\/p>\n

He said the network was primarily targeting Melbourne\u2019s adult entertainment and hospitality industry, although investigators were still working to determine the full extent of any links between victims.<\/p>\n

Former Married At First Sight contestant James Susler became the latest victim of the attacks on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

Masked offenders set fire to a Chery car showroom in Port Melbourne about 4.50am, causing significant damage to the premises managed by the reality-television figure.<\/p>\n

Mr Susler, who was a contestant on season eight of Married At First Sight, told reporters at the scene that he did not suspect his dealership would be targeted. <\/p>\n

It comes after suspected teenage foot soldiers struck the La Di Da nightclub in the CBD on Tuesday, which had been warned weeks earlier it would be targeted. <\/p>\n

The incident followed a botched kidnapping attempt involving a nightclub promoter linked to a nightclub and other venues, \u00adincluding Stamina Club and Brown Alley. The promoter is an associate of Paul Samlidis, who runs events at The Albion bar and was assaulted during an attempted kidnapping last month.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday evening a 48-year-old man was shot at while walking along an Essendon street, with a group of men allegedly firing multiple rounds at him.<\/p>\n

It came after a gunman opened fire on the Bodyline brothel in Yarraville in an early morning drive-by shooting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Venues caught up in the campaign of violence include The Emerson, the Electric Bar, Bar Bambi, France-Soir, Almina restaurant, The George Hotel, Kittens and The Men\u2019s Gallery strip clubs, The Osborne, Soho and Left Bank.<\/p>\n

It has been reported that investigators believe an Iraqi-based organised crime syndicate known as The Cartel is behind the \u00adattacks. The group is suspected of issuing threats to venue owners, warning their businesses and families would be targeted.<\/p>\n

There has been speculation that the crime group orchestrating the attacks is linked to an Australian national based in Baghdad who is wanted over the attempted murder of Sam \u201cthe punisher\u201d Abdulrahim<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"Mohammad<\/a>Mohammad Alfares<\/a>Journalist<\/p>\n

Mohammad Alfares is a journalist based in the Melbourne bureau of The Australian, where he covers breaking news, politics, legal affairs, and religious issues. He began filming and editing homemade ‘productions’ as a child \u2014 an early sign of his future in journalism. He holds a Bachelor of Communication from Massey University in New Zealand and began his career in broadcast news before transitioning to print. Outside the newsroom, Mohammad is an avid fisherman and adrenaline-seeker. When he\u2019s not chasing a big catch, he enjoys unwinding with a good coffee, fresh air, and a ride on his motorbike.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police have charged 35 people over dozens of violent attacks across Melbourne\u2019s nightlife \u00adsector in just over a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[847,23,133,7563,7554,6654,7570,1065,7571,7549,5050,7557,7566,7547,7552,7548,7555,7569,7556,7567,7568,260,7431,7559,7561,120,849,5175,7553,7558,7560,7565,376,7551,3299,7550,6383,7564,5972,68,7562,7546],"class_list":{"0":"post-6224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-melbourne","8":"tag-arson-attacks","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","11":"tag-australian-national","12":"tag-botched-kidnapping-attempt","13":"tag-car-dealership","14":"tag-crime-group","15":"tag-crime-wave","16":"tag-crime-wave-escalates","17":"tag-crime-wave-police","18":"tag-david-geraghty","19":"tag-encrypted-messaging-platforms","20":"tag-escalating-campaign","21":"tag-escalating-crime-wave","22":"tag-foot-soldiers","23":"tag-gang-crime","24":"tag-illicit-tobacco-war","25":"tag-issuing-threats","26":"tag-jules-robinson","27":"tag-left-bank-melbourne","28":"tag-masked-offenders-set","29":"tag-melbourne","30":"tag-mike-bush","31":"tag-nightclub-promoter","32":"tag-nightlife-sector","33":"tag-oceania","34":"tag-organised-crime","35":"tag-organised-crime-syndicate","36":"tag-organised-crime-units","37":"tag-overnight-fire-bombing","38":"tag-policing-model","39":"tag-prahran","40":"tag-press-conference","41":"tag-reality-television","42":"tag-sam","43":"tag-soho-and-left-bank","44":"tag-strip-clubs","45":"tag-teenage-foot-soldiers","46":"tag-venue-owners","47":"tag-victoria","48":"tag-violence-police","49":"tag-yarraville"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}