Two Melbourne shops burnt in Christmas ram raid

Police are investigating after two shops were damaged by a suspicious fire believed to be linked to Victoria’s tobacco wars after a Christmas attack.

Emergency services were called to Croydon’s Main St in the city’s east at around 6am on Christmas morning

Officers believe the tobacco shop was ram raided with its roller door forced open and a fire lit inside.

An adjoining shop had its window damaged in the incident.

Police are investigating whether it is the latest incident in Victoria’s escalating tobacco wars.

“The fire, believed to be targeted, is being treated as suspicious,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“A crime scene has been established and an arson chemist will attend the scene this morning.”

Dozens of shops have been set alight since March, with organised crime syndicates pressuring owners to sell illegal tobacco products.

Victoria Police have since established Strikeforce Lunar to investigate the fires.

Some of the attacks are against legitimate businesses refusing to sell the products while others are clashes between groups.

It’s suspected that at least 800 stores are connected to the groups, who supply them with illegal cigarettes and vape products.

The illegal cigarettes are either legitimate products or counterfeit copies of brands of such as Double Happiness, Manchester, or Marlboro.

The majority of the products originate from China, South-East Asia or the United Arab Emirates and those who purchase them can pay half the price of a legitimate practice.

The fire was relatively small and was contained within 10 minutes.