A former Melbourne organised crime figure linked by Australian authorities to the city’s illicit tobacco conflict has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Iraq after being convicted of drug trafficking.
Kazem “Kaz” Hamad, also known as Kadhim Malik Hamad Rabah al-Hajami, received the sentence in Baghdad’s Karkh Criminal Court, according to Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation. The decision follows his arrest in Iraq in January and marks a significant development in a long-running international effort involving Australian and Iraqi authorities.
Iraqi court imposes life sentence
The Iraqi judicial cooperation agency said Hamad was responsible for importing large quantities of narcotics into Iraq and Australia and for smuggling heroin. It also described links to transnational organised crime groups involved in offences including drug trafficking and money laundering.
The Australian Federal Police said it had been informed by Iraqi authorities that the sentence had been handed down. The agency acknowledged the work of its Iraqi partner but said further comment would be provided at an appropriate time. Victoria Police also acknowledged the reported sentencing decision and directed questions about the Iraqi proceedings to the country’s judicial authorities.
Hamad was deported from Australia to Iraq in 2023. He was arrested there in January 2026 after the AFP supplied information to Iraqi authorities late last year through Operation Carmen. At the time, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett described him as the agency’s “number one target” and warned people associated with his alleged syndicate that the investigation was continuing.
Links to Melbourne’s tobacco conflict
Australian authorities have identified Hamad as a person of interest in their investigations into a series of firebombings targeting tobacco shops and other businesses in Victoria. Police alleged during a Victorian court case that he had orchestrated attacks against rivals and shop owners who resisted alleged standover demands. Those claims are distinct from the Iraqi drug-trafficking conviction.
He was also examined as part of the investigation into the December 2024 firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, according to previous statements from senior police. The AFP has said the syndicate associated with Hamad was believed to operate across five Australian states and one territory.
Australia’s illicit tobacco market has been accompanied by repeated arson attacks, extortion allegations and violence. Authorities have conducted multiple operations against suspected networks, but investigators and organised-crime specialists have cautioned that removing senior figures does not necessarily dismantle the groups beneath them.
Australian investigations remain active
After Hamad’s arrest, the AFP said a leadership vacuum had fuelled infighting within the network he was accused of leading. Former federal police officer and illicit tobacco specialist Rohan Pike told the ABC that Hamad’s incarceration had not stopped firebombings and alleged extortion in Victoria, with trusted lieutenants and lower-level participants potentially able to continue operating.
The life sentence gives Iraqi authorities control over Hamad’s immediate future, while Australian agencies continue separate investigations into alleged offences and associates in this country. No announcement has been made suggesting the Iraqi decision ends those inquiries.
Hamad arrived in Australia from Iraq with his family as a teenager in the late 1990s. His deportation decades later was followed by closer cooperation between Australian and Iraqi law-enforcement bodies, culminating in his arrest and prosecution.
Cross-border cooperation under scrutiny
The case demonstrates the increasing importance of international intelligence-sharing when alleged criminal networks extend beyond national borders. Australian officials had previously stressed that living offshore did not put suspected organised-crime figures beyond the reach of law enforcement.
For Victorian investigators, attention is now likely to remain on the structure and activities of the alleged network in Australia. The Iraqi conviction is a major outcome against a high-profile target, but authorities have repeatedly said their broader work against organised crime, illicit tobacco, arson and extortion is not finished.
