By Rebecca Peppiatt and Marta Pascual Juanola
The brother of a man believed to be a ruthless organised-crime kingpin has been granted bail in Western Australia, despite allegations he’s a high-level player in a violent illicit tobacco syndicate and fears he is a flight risk.
Maytham Hamad, 29, was released to home detention on Friday, two weeks after he was arrested in Perth when a phone tap led investigators involved in a large interstate police operation to an alleged $270,000 in dirty cash.
Maytham Hamad has been released to home detention.Credit: Nine News Perth
Hamad is the brother of Kazem “Kaz” Hamad, who police claim has emerged as one of Melbourne’s most powerful new kingpins after he was released from jail in mid-2023 and deported to Iraq.
Maytham Hamad is accused of laundering the $270,000, which police allegedly intercepted in a parcel he had sent to “a close relative” in Victoria.
Hamad appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday via video link from Hakea Prison. In court, defence lawyer Seamus Rafferty argued Hamad’s alleged involvement in the syndicate was minimal so he should be released on strict home detention.
Rafferty said Hamad intended to plead not guilty to laundering the cash, which was allegedly discovered by police following an intercepted phone call on April 25.
In pleading his case for bail, Rafferty told the court Hamad had been forthcoming about being previously charged with the murder of young Melbourne man Anwar Teriaki in August 2017.
Rafferty said Hamad had initially been charged with Teriaki’s murder, but the charge had later been downgraded to intentionally causing injury, for which he served a 2½ year prison term.
Hamad and several other men chased Teriaki through the streets of Roxburgh Park, in Melbourne’s north, before one drew out a gun and shot Teriaki dead in the front yard of a home he had gone to for help.
Hamad is believed to have moved to Perth from Melbourne upon his release from prison.
He is now married and expecting his first child, but the court heard he could soon be homeless after his landlord was made aware of a police presence at his Perth rental property.
Prosecutors opposed bail, arguing Hamad’s strong links to the Middle East and Melbourne and his ability to obtain fake travel documents made him a flight risk.
They told the court that the ongoing turf war between rival organised crime gangs, which has been linked to several shootings and more than 70 firebombings in Victoria alone, could also put the safety of Hamad and other potential witnesses at risk.
Victoria Police have previously described him as a “high-level co-ordinator of violence and other associated illicit tobacco activities”.
“We believe [he] is a puppeteer in relation to the fires that have been occurring across multiple states and a high-level player in the illicit tobacco trade,” Victoria Police Detective Acting Superintendent Mark Hatt said at a press conference in Melbourne last month.
In a joint media release, WA Police, Victoria Police and the Australian Border Force alleged Hamad’s criminal activity had escalated recently, leading police to execute 50 search warrants at homes, storage units and shops across WA.
Thirteen people were arrested and millions of illicit cigarettes and cash, tonnes of loose illicit tobacco, tens of thousands of vapes, drugs, firearms and cars worth more than $500,000 were seized.
Magistrate Tanya Watt approved Hamad’s release, bailing him to his Perth address for home detention on a $100,000 surety that included electronic monitoring. He will be back in court in September.