With leaders in jail, a tobacco empire is falling 'like a house of cards'

Jailed Iraqi crime lord Kazem "Kaz" Hamad appears to be losing control of his criminal empire as a bloody coup unfolds at every level of his international syndicate.

The ABC can reveal infighting has broken out because Ali al-Huseini, a key lieutenant, has embarked on an ambitious plan to seize control of the cartel's army of dedicated foot soldiers and billions of dollars in illicit profits.

Hamad controlled his syndicate with an iron grip, but earlier this year was jailed for life in Iraq. 

His brother, Maytham Hamad, is awaiting trial in Western Australia, accused of dealing in the proceeds of crime.

Hamad's underboss and cousin, Ahmed al-Hamza, has also been jailed in Qatar under circumstances that remain unclear, with Qatari authorities unresponsive to ABC requests for comment.

One federal law enforcement source said the disruption caused by Hamad and al-Hamza's jailings in the Middle East had fuelled a resurgence in firebombings, extortion and violence on home soil.

"Al-Hamza was a stabiliser through being ruthless," the source said.

"Now that there's a power vacuum, there's infighting and jockeying that al-Hamza's incarceration can't control."

Al-Huseini is now believed by detectives and underworld figures to be the main driver behind the recent chaos in Melbourne.

Like Hamad, al-Huseini had allegedly orchestrated those alleged attacks from Iraq, where he and an accomplice fled after allegedly trying to gun down notorious crime figure and long-time Hamad rival Sam "The Punisher" Abdulrahim during a funeral in 2022.

Al-Huseini is wanted by Victoria Police, accused of that attempted murder.

But the ABC can reveal questions are mounting across the underworld about the whereabouts and fate of al-Huseini's alleged accomplice, a long-term childhood friend who grew up with him in Melbourne.

It is understood Iraqi authorities are also hunting al-Huseini over other alleged crimes in the Middle Eastern country.

'All the coin and power'

Two sources who have had direct dealings with al-Huseini previously claimed the "rogue" 23-year-old could no longer be trusted with the immense power, reach and wealth afforded to him by his rank in the Hamad syndicate.

It is understood al-Huseini is now in hiding in Iraq, where he has been abandoned by former allies who could no longer accept his brazen approach to running, or attempting to take over, Hamad's empire.

"He is worse than Kaz," one well-connected underworld source said.

"Once Kaz got locked up he tried to take it all over.

"He wants all the coin and power."

Al-Huseini's influence is due to his control of street crews who have allegedly done the Hamad cartel's bidding since Victoria's tobacco wars erupted in 2023. 

The crews, many members of which are minors, are known as the 313s or Shia Boys, likely because Hamad is a Shia Muslim.

At least five unsolved murders are being attributed to the new underworld war, all with direct or indirect links to Hamad.

In the earlier stages of the fiery tobacco wars, direct rivals of Hamad were usually the ones being targeted.

Hawre Sherwani, a bikie-linked figure who clashed with Hamad's cousin Ahmed al-Hamza, was shot dead by a hit squad last January.

Days later, Sam Abdulrahim suffered the same fate in the basement car park of a Preston hotel.

But the execution of Athan Boursinos in Melbourne's outer-north in July last year was among the first high-profile killings of Hamad's own associates which police believed was organised by a NSW crime family.

Investigators said the men who carried out the hit travelled to Victoria from NSW, and had help from two local men.

Then, Hamad's friend Ali Albadri was gunned down in front of his family in Wollert last month.

Elias Serevetas, a high-ranking associate of Hamad's, was shot dead outside his brother's house in Reservoir last week.

Following those executions, one underworld source said the violence gripping the Hamad syndicate had reached another level.

"Like rats, they're dropping dead over the trophy," the source said.

"They're greedy; they all used to be close."

The gunmen in both murders are still on the run. 

The ABC is not suggesting al-Huseini is responsible for those deaths, only that both victims were closely tied to Hamad.

A federal law enforcement source said they were not surprised that Hamad's empire was collapsing because the kingpin had eliminated all his "competent" competitors.

"It was held together by a man who instilled fear, like those two-bit dictator countries," they said.

"Once the strongman goes it collapses like a house of cards."

After being deported from Australia, Hamad set up his own syndicate known as "the Commission" and launched a hostile takeover of the illicit tobacco market.

He was arrested in Iraq at the start of the year and in July was sentenced to life in an Iraqi prison.

Several hundred firebombings, along with extortions and murders, have all been linked to the ongoing illicit tobacco turf war that began in Hamad's home town of Melbourne but has since spread interstate.