Brother of gangland boss Kaz Hamad arrested in WA anti-money laundering operation

3 months ago 15

The brother of gangland kingpin Kazem “Kaz” Hamad has been charged in Western Australia following a major money laundering investigation into the nation’s biggest illicit tobacco cartel.

Maytham Hamad, 31, was arrested in a suburb of Perth on Tuesday by WA Police.

It was the culmination of a nine-month operation by WA Police and Victoria Police’s anti-tobacco Lunar Taskforce, which has targeted 16 people believed to be involved in criminal activity.

“It was identified in March of this year that large sums of cash and illicit wealth were allegedly being distributed across Australia, but in particular, between Western Australia and Victoria,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

“Investigators believe approximately $8 million in proceeds of crime has been sent from WA to Victoria and laundered on behalf of a man who is believed to be directing significant crimes in Victoria from offshore.

“The syndicate is believed to be laundering illicit wealth for serious and organised crime figures throughout the country.”

This included Lunar arresting a 42-year-old Craigieburn man in September who was allegedly transporting $1.2 million in cash on a trip from South Australia.

Maytham, who is Kazem’s younger brother, moved to Perth in 2022.

On Wednesday, a WA Police media release said that between February and September 2025, Maytham “allegedly ran an organised criminal enterprise, moving illicit tobacco profits interstate, and generating large cash sums through cash-only sales, using nominee accounts, encrypted messaging and postal deliveries”.

“WA Police believe the violent incidents at the Perth tobacco stores are linked to the man’s alleged illicit tobacco operations, and inquiries are continuing.”

Kazem Hamad has risen rapidly to become one of the nation’s most powerful organised crime players based on a “cartel” he has created to control the multibillion-dollar illicit tobacco market following a two-year war of firebombings and shootings.

The 41-year-old allegedly controls his operation from Iraq using a network of trusted lieutenants, often relatives or long-term criminal associates.

“The Hamad syndicate are responsible for a significant number of serious offences including arsons, extortions [and] shootings linked to the illicit tobacco trade as well as the importation and distribution of illicit tobacco,” a police intelligence report from 2024 states.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Detective Senior Sergeant Andy Baker, of WA Police, said police had a “fairly good picture of [Maytham’s] lifestyle and what he’s been up to”

“I’m certainly not driving around in a Lamborghini and living a life of luxury, that’s for sure,” Baker said.

“It seems fairly unfair to me that you’ve got good, hard-working members of the community doing it tough in a difficult economy, and there’s this syndicate out there profiting from illicit tobacco, living a good life. That’s just not on. We’re not going to tolerate it.”

Baker said investigations were ongoing into encrypted communications devices used by the syndicate to communicate without being detected by investigators.

“We have a multitude of options available to us from our partners and available to us as WA Police, and we will certainly pull out all the toys to make sure that we maximise the information that may be held on those devices,” Baker said.

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