Arabic version: سجن مجيد علي بادي على خلفية حرائق حروب التبغ في ملبورن

According to ABC News, Majid Alibadi has been sentenced to a maximum of five and a half years in prison for offences committed during Victoria’s tobacco wars. He will be eligible for parole after three years.

The County Court heard Alibadi orchestrated fires at the Karizma restaurant in Docklands in November 2023 and was linked to a fire at a reception centre in Tullamarine. Prosecutors estimated the blazes caused almost $2 million in total damage. Victoria Police’s illicit tobacco taskforce charged him in late 2023 with incitement to commit arson and car theft on behalf of the Hamad crime syndicate.

Judge Duncan Allen described the offending as “brazen” and “carefully planned”, saying there could be no doubt it was extremely serious. Alibadi appeared by video link on Wednesday after refusing to board a bus to attend court in person.

Prosecutors said Alibadi arranged stolen cars, fake number plates, petrol-filled jerry cans and clothing for people tasked with setting fire to venues across Melbourne. Investigators used trackers and listening devices in his cars, which prosecutors said placed him near the fires. The court had previously heard he administered an encrypted group chat with the Hamad brothers.

Judge Allen took account of Alibadi’s guilty plea and his stated determination to detox from methamphetamine, to which he had been addicted since age 13. The court also heard he had severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression after witnessing violence when his family returned to Iraq during ISIS activity. Judge Allen said Alibadi could have received up to seven years in prison had he not pleaded guilty.