澳大利亚犯罪组织The Commission在莫威尔对烟草店主的家庭成员实施了绑架和暴力袭击，这标志着该集团在争夺非法烟草市场控制权中的暴力手段进一步升级。[1] 事件发生在2024年8月1日下午12时40分，地点在莫威尔悉尼街和王子大道交界处，受害者被强行塞入一辆黑色轿车后遭刀子袭击，但伤情未危及生命。[1]
The Commission创始人卡泽姆·哈马德于今年1月在伊拉克被捕，上周被伊拉克法院以贩毒罪判处无期徒刑。[1] 该集团目前由23岁的阿里·胡赛尼领导。[1] 这次绑架案反映了澳大利亚非法烟草市场的巨大利益——该市场价值超过85亿澳元，黑市产品占该国尼古丁消费的80%。[1] 根据一位烟草连锁企业高管的估计，其60%的门店现已销售非法商品。[1] 相比之下，维多利亚州过去5年仅记录了43起绑架案定罪。[1]
Members of a tobacco retailer's family were kidnapped and attacked in Melbourne on August 1, 2024, in what authorities view as a significant escalation of violence by the criminal organization The Commission in its fight to control Australia's black market cigarette trade.[1] The abduction occurred at the intersection of Sydney Street and Prince Avenue in Morwell at 12:40 p.m., when the victims were forced into a black sedan and subsequently stabbed, though their injuries were not life-threatening.[1]
The Commission was founded by Kazem Hamad, who was arrested in Iraq in January 2024 and sentenced to life imprisonment on drug trafficking charges by an Iraqi court last week.[1] Despite their kingpin's incarceration, the organization continues to operate under the leadership of 23-year-old Ali Husseini.[1] The group's persistence underscores the scale of Australia's underground nicotine market, which is worth over A$85 billion, with illicit products accounting for approximately 80 percent of the country's total nicotine consumption.[1] In Victoria alone, kidnapping convictions have been rare, with only 43 recorded over the past five years.[1] According to one tobacco retail chain executive, approximately 60 percent of their stores now stock illegal merchandise, reflecting the pervasive reach of organized criminal involvement in the sector.[1]