A former Melbourne organised crime kingpin who was deported to Iraq in 2023, has been sentenced to life in jail by an Iraqi court after being convicted of drug trafficking.
Kazem Hamad, also known as Kadhim Malik Hamad Rabah al-Hajami, was alleged to be one of the key players in Melbourne’s tobacco wars.
In a statement, Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation (NCIJC) announced the life sentence had been imposed by the Karkh Criminal Court in Baghdad, and said he was responsible for importing large quantities of drugs into Iraq and Australia.
“Kaz” Hamad, also known as Kadhim Malik Hamad Rabah al-Hajami, is alleged to be one of the key players in Melbourne’s tobacco wars. (Supplied)
“The convict is considered one of the most wanted individuals by Iraqi and international judiciaries,” the NCIJC said.
“He is responsible for importing large quantities of narcotics into Iraq and Australia, smuggling heroin, and is linked to transnational organised crime gangs involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, kidnapping, extortion, and organised violence.
“The accused is one of the most dangerous wanted men in the world,” a statement from Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council also said in January.
“He is responsible for importing large quantities of drugs into Iraq and Australia, as well as smuggling heroin.
“He is also involved with the most prominent organised crime gangs in Australia — Sydney, responsible for shootings, murders, kidnappings, violent assaults, extortion, and drug imports.”
Hamad has been a person of interest relating to firebombings at Victorian tobacco shops and businesses.
His arrest in Iraq was announced in January, after the Australian Federal Police provided information to local authorities in late 2025 as part of its months-long Operation Carmen.
Kazem “Kaz” Hamad was deported from Australia in 2023. (Supplied)
A month later, the AFP said Hamad’s arrest had sparked infighting among the crime syndicate he was accused of leading.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett described Hamad at the time as her “number one target”, as her agency released a photo of him in Iraqi custody.
“I want every offender connected to Hamad or his syndicate to look long and hard at this photo,” Commissioner Barrett said in a statement.
“And I want to be very clear — just because Hamad is in custody, the AFP’s job is not done.”
She said his deportation had caused a power vacuum and infighting within his crime gang.
The AFP said it had been informed by Iraqi authorities that the life sentence had been handed down against Hamad.
“The AFP notes the work of our important partner. The AFP will provide further comment at an appropriate time,” a spokesperson told the ABC.
Deported amid tobacco wars
Hamad was deported from Australia in 2023 and has been a key person of interest relating to firebombings at Victorian tobacco shops and businesses.
In a Victorian court case, police said they believed Hamad orchestrated a series of firebombing attacks on rivals or Melbourne shop owners who defied his alleged standover men.
They said exorbitant extortion fees became known in Melbourne as the “Kaz tax”.
Senior police earlier confirmed that he was being looked at as part of the investigation into the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in December 2024.
The AFP suspects the syndicate linked to Hamad is operating in five Australian states and one territory.
After Hamad’s arrest, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke celebrated the moment.
“He thought he was offshore, he was out of reach … well he wasn’t,” Mr Burke told 7.30.
“We are talking about someone at the apex of a criminal network. For a whole process of organised crime in Australia road after road after road has continued to lead back to one individual.”
He came to Australia on a visa as a teenager from Iraq with his family in the late 1990s.
Over the next 15 years he transformed into a career criminal, surrounding himself with major underworld figures.
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