MIKE LORIGAN, REPORTER: Kazem Hamad, Australia’s alleged tobacco kingpin, was once considered untouchable.
TONY BURKE, HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER: He thought because he was offshore, he was out of reach, well he wasn’t.
ROHAN PIKEFORMER AFP DETECTIVE: I can’t think of any other criminal currently in Australia who has a higher profile in Kaz Hamad.
MIKE LORIGAN: Hamad had been living in Iraq and is now sitting in a jail cell after being taken into custody by local authorities.
What is Kaz Hamad accused of?
TONY BURKE: I’m not using his name very deliberately and nor are the Australian Federal Police.
The Police Commissioner made clear that he was our number one concern of anyone having an impact on Australia, and that the concern was in relation to organised crime.
MIKE LORIGAN: In a statement, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council made a series of allegations:
“The accused is one of the most dangerous wanted men in the world. 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.”
7.30 understands Kazam Hamad was arrested by Iraqi police independently from Australian authorities, allegedly for crimes he committed in Iraq.
Home Affairs minister Tony Burke says the AFP shared information with the Iraqis in October.
TONY BURKE: It’s not the end of a network, but when you say someone is your number one target in October and they’re locked up in January, it’s a reminder that being overseas doesn’t mean you’re beyond reach of the work of the Australian Federal Police.
MIKE LORIGAN: Hamad came to Australia as a teenager from Iraq with his family in the late ‘90s.
Over the next 15 years he transformed into a career criminal surrounding himself with major underworld figures before being jailed for eight years in 2015 over a heroin trafficking network.
On his release in 2023, he was deported to the Middle East.
ROHAN PIKE: Somewhere along that process he’s decided to diversify into illicit tobacco perhaps because it’s equally high profit and a much safer, lower risk crime type and he’s built a very large organisation in order to distribute these product.
MIKE LORIGAN: Over the last three years, Victoria has seen a bloody underworld war over control of the black market, involving fire bombings, extortion, daylight shootings and innocent deaths.
Former AFP officer and illicit tobacco expert, Rohan Pike says Kazem Hamad allegedly has had his hands on every level of the illicit tobacco pipeline.
ROHAN PIKE: It’s alleged that he’s actually helping produce illicit tobacco overseas with having a stake in certain tobacco factories.
He then is able to transport that to Australia. He’s able to smuggle it through the border, perhaps with the assistance of corrupted officers. He then distributes it and then also has control over a large number of the shops that are selling it to the consumers.
MIKE LORIGAN: Last year, the AFP accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp of orchestrating the Addas Israel Synagogue firebombing in Melbourne.
It also named Hamad’s organised crime networks as the alleged facilitators.
Where does this individual sit in the pipeline from Iran and the firebombing?
TONY BURKE: I’m not going to go through all the intelligence, and I think you’d respect why, but we are talking about someone at the apex of a criminal network, at the apex of a criminal network, and people and the way organised crime works always try to, the higher up you are, try to have clean hands in different ways of different crimes.
But for a whole process of organised crime in Australia, road, after road after road has continued to lead back to one individual.
ROHAN PIKE: After the synagogue firebombing, the AFP started to weigh into this problem, not necessarily on the illicit tobacco front, but more so to target Kazem Hamad himself due to the alleged terrorist activity that he’d directed from overseas.
So when the AFP came in, they also brought their international reach, their international cooperation to the table and no doubt that’s played a part in his arrest today.
MIKE LORIGAN: Up to this point, Kaz Hamad’s life in Iraq has been beyond the reach of Australian authorities.
ROHAN PIKE: It’s believed that he’s been living a life of luxury in a gated community, protected by family contacts in the government, plus also perhaps corrupted officials that he’s used his vast wealth to corrupt.
MIKE LORIGAN: Human rights lawyer, Greg Barns SC says Kaz Hamad’s fate is right now, beyond Australia’s judicial system.
GREG BARNS: It’s a matter for the Iraqi courts, and these of course are all allegations. He’s got a presumption of innocence. But the only point I’m making is that when it comes to serious allegations, then often it is more difficult to resist an extradition request.
TONY BURKE: Any decision on criminal charges in Australia or extradition is a decision for later.
We deported him from Australia. I don’t particularly want him here. I don’t particularly want him here ever, but I do want him locked up
ROHAN PIKE: We should be under no illusions that this is going to be the end of the problem. It may create a vacuum of leadership where some of his rivals might want to weigh back in and cause more violence that we’ve seen over the last three years.