Why members of Australia’s underworld are quaking in their boots today

Two men suspected of being hired by an international criminal mastermind have been charged over the death of a former Melbourne crime kingpin.

Victoria Police have made two significant arrests just days apart and with a huge $1million bounty on offer to catch those responsible with murdering crime figure Mohammad Keshtiar, it could be a nervous moment for others allegedly involved in the suspected conspiracy.

Abdullay Hussein, 25, fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with murdering Mohammed Keshtiar.

Hussein’s co-accused Idrees Kheyali, 23 was arrested last Friday and charged over the suspected murder conspiracy. 

Just days later, Homicide Squad detectives arrested Hussein, who was already in custody for other alleged offending, on Tuesday.  

Kheyali and Hussein, from Melbourne’s southeast, were both charged with murder and conduct endangering life.

Keshtiar, known in underworld circles as ‘Afghan Ali’, was gunned down near his South Yarra apartment in Melbourne’s inner east on August 4, 2023.

The gangster had been walking with another man when he was killed by a drive-by shooter in a laneway off Melbourne’s popular Chapel Street precinct.

Abdullay Hussein aka Abdullay Abdalla (pictured) fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with murder

Mohammed ‘Afghan Ali’ Keshtiar was allegedly killed in South Yarra in August 2023

Keshtiar and the other man had been on Almeida Crescent about 11.40pm on Friday night when a grey Toyota Prado pulled up and a passenger fired multiple shots at Keshtiar. 

The associate survived without a scratch but Keshtiar, 53, was rushed to hospital where he later died.

Homicide detectives discovered  the suspected getaway car burned-out in Melbourne’s southeast.

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas at the time described Keshtiar as being linked to a number of outlaw motorcycle gangs and associated with Middle Eastern-organised crime groups.

Victoria Police announced in September last year that the $1 million reward was on offer to catch the alleged killers and confirmed on Tuesday the cash carrot was still on the table.

Exiled crime boss Kazem ‘Kaz’ Hamad, who is believed to control Melbourne’s illicit tobacco rackets from overseas, is a prime suspect in ordering the brazen hit on Keshtiar.

Keshtiar, who had survived an assassination attempt six years before his murder, had been a major player in Melbourne’s criminal underworld.

Idrees Kheyali has been charged with murdering Mohammed ‘Afghan Ali’ Keshtiar

Police set up a crime scene after Keshtiar’s murder at South Yarra

Homicide detectives arrested Kheyali on Friday

Keshtiar, a ruthless criminal formerly linked to bikie gangs and Middle Eastern crime syndicates, was handed a 15-year jail term in 2004 for attempted murder.

The violent thug shot his ex-girlfriend and a friend during a drug-fuelled rage in 2003.

Keshtiar was also jailed for shooting a bouncer at the now-closed Dome Nightclub in Prahran in May, 2000.  

An assassin attempted to murder Keshtiar outside his Narre Warren home shortly after his release from prison in 2017 but the gunman mistakenly killed 26-year-old plasterer Zabi Ezedyar who had been at the home.

Keshtiar maintained his criminal enterprises and it’s suspected his murder was linked to the bloody and ongoing feud to control Melbourne’s lucrative illegal tobacco trade.

An underworld source recently confirmed Hamad is the king of the tobacco rackets but he still faced opposition in taking complete control.

Hamad rules his empire with an iron fist in Dubai or Iraq after he was kicked out of Australia for dealing heroin. 

Exiled crime boss Kazem ‘Kaz’ Hamad (pictured) is believed to control Melbourne’s illicit tobacco rackets

Homicide Squad detectives snared Hussein who was already in custody for other alleged offending

Middle Eastern organised crime and bikie gangs are fighting for market share and the huge profits from illegal cigarettes as the cost of legal smokes soars past $65 a pack in Australia.

Victoria Police launched Taskforce Lunar in October 2023 – just two months after Keshtiar’s murder – to curtail crime gangs and end the tobacco war.

Melbourne’s illegal cigarette rackets had ran peacefully without incident until Hamad entered the game.

An underworld source confirmed Hamad ‘wanted a piece of the pie’ and muscled into the lucrative and previously low-risk illicit tobacco industry which had been controlled by the Haddara clan.

Nazir Haddara (pictured) was charged with directing the activities of a criminal enterprise

The infamous war has been permutated with extortions, ram-raids and more than 100 arson attacks at smoke shops and convenience stores since it kicked off in March 2023.

Other businesses including restaurants and gyms have also been firebombed during the ongoing conflict.

Shootings, attempted executions and murders including those of Keshtiar and Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim are also suspected of being linked to the bloody war.

Underworld sources believe Abdulrahim had sided with the rival Haddara syndicate in an attempt to muscle in on the tobacco rackets against Hamad.

They believe that was a factor in his execution at the Quest Apartments in Preston on January 28.

Abdulrahim was ambushed by assassins who left behind two burned-out getaway cars before vanishing without a trace.

Abdulrahim was buried in a golden coffin after a short service at a mosque in Melbourne’s north on January 30 but the suspected professional murder remains unsolved.

Hamad’s suspected rivals the Haddara clan took a major hit just days before Abdulrahim’s murder.

The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard in January that police tracked an alleged $2.68million in illicit tobacco sales from stores linked to Nazir Haddara between January and August last year.

Haddara, who is related to Melbourne underworld heavy-hitter Fadi Haddara, was charged with directing the activities of a criminal enterprise after he was captured at the airport attempting to flee to Dubai.

Other suspected members of the syndicate were slapped with varying charges including distribute and supply illicit cigarettes, vapes and tobacco.

Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim (pictured) was murdered on January 28

Police also charged several members with directing or supporting a criminal organisation depending on their ‘different roles and levels of involvement’.

Haddara’s cousin Hassan Jassem is alleged to be a ‘violent enforcer’ in the suspected criminal organisation.

Prosecutors are yet to finalise a dollar amount on the loss of revenue Haddara’s syndicate allegedly caused but the court heard it was expected to be ‘well into the millions’.

Investigators seized almost a tonne of loose tobacco, 1.6 million cigarettes and 17,000 vapes but the court was told cops have warned crooks to expect more arrests, charges and seizures.

Police also seized $30,000 cash, a Lamborghini and various mobile phones from Haddara’s home in Melbourne’s west.

The court heard the syndicate was ‘maintained principally’ by Haddara who employed staff and ran his gang with ‘violence against competitors’ while ‘developing market share’.

Hussein, of Hampton Park, and Kheyali, of Narre Warren, have both been remanded to face court at a later date. 

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