A specialist police taskforce has been set up to investigate a wave of arson attacks on inner Melbourne hospitality venues, which have baffled law enforcement and venue proprietors over the past three weeks.
Fifteen incidents since 14 April, mostly fires and alleged arson attempts at restaurants, nightclubs and bars in the city’s CBD, South Melbourne, South Yarra and Prahran, will be rolled into the investigation, according to a statement from Victoria police on Tuesday.
Detectives from squads focusing on gang crime, arson and explosives, cybercrime, economic and organised crime will target organised crime syndicates that police said were believed to be connected to the incidents.
Police also suspect two kidnappings, a vehicle theft, a drive-by shooting and a factory fire at an alcohol distribution centre in Melbourne’s outer south-east were connected to the hospitality attacks.
Incidents in which people or vehicles were seen behaving suspiciously outside licensed premises or filling up jerry cans at service stations would also be investigated.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailDet Supt Jason Kelly said in a statement on Tuesday that the operation, named Eclipse, would target the people who were “currently commissioning and directing these crimes, and recruiting predominantly youth offenders to commit them”.
“Predominantly this has involved arson attacks, however we are also seeing instances where a firearm has been discharged or people have been kidnapped. The danger these offences place the community in is both significant and unacceptable,” Kelly said.
“While there has been a lot of speculation as to why these attacks are occurring and which serious and organised crime groups may be involved, this is something that we are still working to determine and we have to keep an open mind.”
He said the incidents have shared some of the “methodology we have seen play out previously, especially with regards to the illicit tobacco conflict”.
“For those working within the hospitality industry, I want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to prevent these attacks from occurring and hold those responsible to account,” he said.
To date, 12 people have been arrested in relation to the incidents.
Det Ins Chris Murray, the officer in charge of Victoria’s arson and explosive squad, said last week that there were no obvious links between the targeted venues, though some had shared ownership.
“Each and every owner who’s been subject to an arson attack and attempted arson state they haven’t been extorted, which is puzzling,” Murray told the ABC on Friday.
“The motive is unclear and we’re trying to understand what that motive is, but the owners have been very cooperative and say they haven’t been threatened.”
He said the suspected arsonists did not have clear links to crime gangs, but were instead recruited through an underworld gig economy and often did not know who they were working for.
