Melbourne’s nightlife has spent the past two months under attack. A coordinated wave of arson attacks, ram raids and intimidation tactics has torn through the city’s hospitality scene, with police linking the perpetrators behind the attacks to the illicit black-market alcohol trade.
Operation Eclipse investigators believe the violence points to venues allegedly being coerced into stocking bootleg alcohol, echoing the playbook of the city’s recent tobacco wars.
The numbers are escalating fast. Police have counted more than 21 separate attacks across 14 venues since late March.
The most recent flashpoint came overnight on Chapel Street, where Electric Bar in Prahran was nearly firebombed after a car was rammed into the venue and doused in petrol before offenders fled.
Just days earlier, Docklands’ Almina Lebanese restaurant was allegedly set alight in a pre-dawn attack that endangered residents living above the venue.
Among the most high-profile businesses caught in the crossfire are Bar Bambi, Love Machine, The Emerson, The Albion Hotel and Soho Restaurant and Bar.
The homes of venue owners have also become targets of the attacks.
@9newsmelbourne #BREAKING: A security guard has evacuated a family after a Melbourne house was firebombed overnight. #9News ♬ original sound - 9News Melbourne
Authorities say many of the alleged perpetrators are young recruits, sourced via encrypted apps and paid anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars per job — a kind of “underworld gig economy” fuelling the attacks.
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List of targeted venues/locations
Bar Bambi (CBD)
Love Machine (Prahran)
The Emerson (South Yarra)
The Albion Hotel (South Melbourne)
Soho Restaurant and Bar (Southbank)
France-Soir (South Yarra)
Bar Up (Melbourne)
Kittens (South Melbourne)
The Men’s Gallery (CBD)
Left Bank (Melbourne)
Electric Bar (Prahran)
Almina Lebanese Restaurant (Docklands)
The George Hotel (St Kilda area)
80 Proof distillery (Keysborough)
