2 weeks ago
8
The future of a notorious late-night venue in Prahran appears in doubt following a crackdown by police and the Victorian Liquor Commission over a series of brawls, firearms incidents and alleged licensing breaches.
Love Machine nightclub has been closed for three of the past four weekends, after management allegedly failed to notify liquor licensing authorities that it had temporarily appointed a new director of Sterling Nightclubs Pty Ltd, which owns the problem-plagued venue.
The outside of Love Machine nightclub on Malvern Road in August. Credit: Joe Armao
The company also faced separate enforcement action in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week, when Liquor Control Victoria accused the club’s operators of further licensing breaches from last year.
The venue, according to charge sheets, failed to provide information about its patrons in May 2024, while also allegedly exceeding its permitted patron capacity in April 2024.
Sterling Nightclubs and its director Dhir Kakar were put on notice by the regulator last year, when the club was fined $20,000 for repeated licensing breaches between 2018 and 2023, including hosting a function during the COVID lockdown.
Love Machine management was warned its licence was under scrutiny and it would face a “harsher outcome” if it appeared before the commission again, according to a Liquor Commission statement from June 13 last year.
Loading
Nightclub industry sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity have said the recent closures have had a significant impact on the club’s viability, with at least two promoters relocating their weekly events to venues in the CBD.
Another Prahran venue owned by Kakar’s company, Lux nightclub on Chapel Street, was destroyed by an arson attack in November last year.
Kakar did not respond to questions from this masthead.
A Victoria Police spokesman said it conducted “ongoing monitoring of licensed venues to ensure a safe environment for patrons and the public.
“As part of this work, Victoria Police is reviewing processes regarding the appointment of directorship for the Love Machine and subsequent compliance with the Liquor Control Reform Act, the spokesman said.
A Victorian Liquor Commission spokesperson confirmed it was also “monitoring the operation of the Love Machine nightclub and taking steps to ensure that all legal obligations are being complied with”.
The latest enforcement action follows a string of wild brawls involving members of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang. Several bikies, including the gang’s former national sergeant at arms, Tarek Zahed, were involved in a brawl with security guards outside the club on July 27 which left three men in hospital.
On Friday, August 8, Comanchero members stormed the venue after another altercation. A 32-year-old man was treated by paramedics at the scene. A 28-year-old man from Narre Warren was later arrested and charged over both incidents, and with possessing a controlled weapon.
Detectives from the armed crime squad responded to another firearms incident outside the club on August 17 . A stray bullet narrowly missing Western Bulldogs player Jamarra Ugle-Hagan as he was entering a rideshare vehicle about 2.25am
The club has been a magnet for serious violence for more than five years. In April, 30-year-old father Ruka Carlson was stabbed to death on Chapel Street after reportedly being chased from Love Machine, following an altercation involving a gun at the premises.
Aaron Khalid Osmani (left) and Richard Arow died as a result of a drive-by shooting in 2019.
The venue is most infamous for a fatal drive-by shooting in 2019. In that incident, security guard Aaron Khalid Osmani, 37, and patron Richard Arow, 28, were killed when Jacob Elliott fired shots from a 32-calibre assault rifle into the crowd outside. Three other people were struck by bullets and another was injured trying to avoid the attack.
In June, Love Machine’s marketing manager and former co-owner Andrew Varigos faced the County Court over allegations he repeatedly raped and assaulted a female employee, after the pair partied in a private booth at the club in 2020.
Varigos, 38, is charged with three counts of rape and one count of assault. He has entered a plea of not guilty.
Philip Dunn, KC, acting for Varigos, told the court his client admitted having sex with the woman, but argued it was consensual.
A jury was unable to reach a verdict and Judge Stewart Bayles ruled a mistrial. Varigos is to return to the County Court in October for a mention hearing.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
