{"id":6338,"date":"2026-05-07T03:10:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T03:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6338\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T03:10:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T03:10:19","slug":"melbourne-bar-wars-up-to-10-venues-on-brink-of-folding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6338\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne bar wars: Up to 10 venues on brink of folding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Up to 10 under-threat nightclubs and bars say they are just weeks away from closing their doors for good amid a scourge of violent attacks<\/a> on their businesses. <\/p>\n

It comes as police held crisis talks with the state government and committed the same number of resources that were used to find cop killer Dezi Freeman to investigate Melbourne\u2019s ongoing bar wars.<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 100 intelligence reports have been received by Operation Eclipse, with Chief Commissioner Mike Bush on Wednesday revealing 35 people have so far been arrested and are facing a combined 140 charges.<\/p>\n

The Herald Sun can reveal longstanding Russell St nightclub and live music venue Billboard is the latest hotspot to be warned that they\u2019re a potential target. <\/p>\n

Police have been alerted to a message that was sent to an employee of the venue via social media that claimed Billboard was on a \u201clist\u201d of nightspots that have been marked for attack. <\/p>\n

The message was sent from someone friendly to the employee and it\u2019s believed that the intention was to help rather than intimidate, unlike another text \u2013 revealed by the Herald Sun on Monday \u2013 which warned venue operators that \u201cthe cartel\u201d was coming for their \u201csoul\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Bush said the cartel\u2019s encrypted message was yet to be traced back to any particular group<\/a> and said it would be difficult to track. <\/p>\n

One fearful high-profile bar owner said: \u201cIt\u2019s like Chicago during prohibition. These gangsters are just running amok\u201d. <\/p>\n

Mr Bush confirmed on Wednesday the force had been working with Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force, with one line of inquiry being whether the latest firebombing campaign was being waged by an Iraqi-based \u201ccartel\u201d. <\/p>\n

The Herald Sun has learned the Australian Federal Police has been given information about jailed underworld kingpin Kaz Hamad which alleges he is extending his organised crime model into the hospitality industry.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s understood Hamad is able to communicate with associates from an intelligence prison run by Iraqi authorities in Baghdad, where he has been held since February.<\/p>\n

Hamad\u2019s network took over the illicit tobacco market by waging a firebombing campaign across Melbourne and threatening tobacconists who refused to pay a \u201ctax\u201d.<\/p>\n

One line of inquiry<\/a> is that the latest arson attacks are part of a move to force hotels, bars and restaurants into selling illegal alcohol.<\/p>\n

But some nightclub owners do not believe bootleg alcohol is a factor and instead say the crime spree is \u201cpure extortion\u201d from an international crime gang linked to the tobacco industry.<\/p>\n

Police Commissioner Mike Bush on Wednesday said nothing had been ruled out. <\/p>\n

Among the other theories being investigated are criminals muscling in on drug trafficking, security wars, money laundering and religious motivation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll are possibilities \u2026 nothing\u2019s off the table,\u201d Mr Bush said. <\/p>\n

About 10 traders met with shadow police minister Brad Battin on Wednesday afternoon, declaring they were weeks away from going out of business.<\/p>\n

One trader revealed he had spent \u201c$15,000 a week for the past three weeks\u201d on 24-hour security at his venue, a guard at his home and equipment upgrades. <\/p>\n

Another venue owner revealed they were forced to move out of their home.<\/p>\n

Mr Battin said venue proprietors told him the cost of hiring security \u201cday and night\u201d and skyrocketing insurance premiums will cause venues to fold.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn four to eight weeks, some will pull the pin,\u201d he said, adding fear may also drive them to close their doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the biggest promoters of Melbourne and they are going out of business,\u201d Mr Battin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are shitting themselves. It\u2019s a crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Herald Sun can reveal that a team of nightclub promoters \u2013 including bashed hospitality worker Paul Samlidis \u2013 has links to four of the \u201chospitality terror\u201d attacks. <\/p>\n

The Levels Group \u2013 run by nightclub figures Borce Kajmakoski and Boris Radman \u2013 have had two of their venues scorched by arsonists and have been linked to two home invasions in the wave of violence that has terrified the city.<\/p>\n

Another operation \u2013 the Good Company bar group \u2013 is run by a crew of industry veterans who share ownership in South Yarra pub, The Emerson and Chapel St Bar, Electric. <\/p>\n

There is no suggestion the owners of any targeted venues have engaged in any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, a Port Melbourne car dealership owned by former Married At First Sight star James Susler became the latest victim of Melbourne\u2019s near-daily arson attacks.<\/p>\n

Two men smashed the front door of the Chery dealership on Plummer St about 4.40am and set fire to a vehicle inside before fleeing.<\/p>\n

Victoria Police early on Wednesday said its Operation Eclipse taskforce was not yet probing whether the firebombing was related to the attacks on Melbourne night-life venues, but Mr Bush later said links had not been ruled out. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Up to 10 under-threat nightclubs and bars say they are just weeks away from closing their doors for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[594,124,847,23,133,7653,7650,6654,7649,7643,5599,5050,1376,7656,7654,7655,7632,4307,7644,7628,7631,7624,889,7626,7629,7651,391,7625,7634,7637,7636,7652,7627,7660,7641,7623,897,4129,5973,7657,260,7635,7306,7639,5970,7642,119,135,120,7640,7622,7645,7661,7648,2043,7647,7630,7658,117,7659,7638,7646,68,7633],"class_list":{"0":"post-6338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-melbourne","8":"tag-agence-france-presse","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-arson-attacks","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","13":"tag-bashed-hospitality-worker","14":"tag-boris-radman","15":"tag-car-dealership","16":"tag-chicago","17":"tag-city-owner","18":"tag-crime-spree","19":"tag-david-geraghty","20":"tag-dezi-freeman","21":"tag-encrypted-message","22":"tag-fearful-high-profile-bar","23":"tag-fire-accelerant","24":"tag-firebombing-campaign","25":"tag-george-hotel","26":"tag-george-w-bush","27":"tag-good-company","28":"tag-high-profile-bar-owner","29":"tag-hiring-security","30":"tag-home-invasions","31":"tag-hospitality-industry","32":"tag-hospitality-terror","33":"tag-hospitality-venue","34":"tag-ian-currie","35":"tag-illegal-alcohol","36":"tag-illicit-tobacco-market","37":"tag-illinois","38":"tag-industry-veterans","39":"tag-insurance-premiums","40":"tag-intelligence-prison-run","41":"tag-intelligence-reports","42":"tag-international-crime-gang","43":"tag-jailed-underworld-kingpin","44":"tag-jerry-cans","45":"tag-king-street","46":"tag-la-di-da","47":"tag-levels-group","48":"tag-melbourne","49":"tag-money-laundering","50":"tag-newswire-photos","51":"tag-night-life-venues","52":"tag-nightclub-owners","53":"tag-nightclub-promoters","54":"tag-north-america","55":"tag-northern-america","56":"tag-oceania","57":"tag-ongoing-bar-wars","58":"tag-pure-extortion","59":"tag-seb-costello","60":"tag-security-wars","61":"tag-selling-illegal-alcohol","62":"tag-state-government","63":"tag-teenage-boys","64":"tag-threatening-tobacconists","65":"tag-underworld-kingpin","66":"tag-united-states-of-america","67":"tag-venue-operators","68":"tag-venue-owner","69":"tag-venue-proprietors","70":"tag-victoria","71":"tag-violent-attacks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6338","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=6338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}