A 17-year-old has been charged as police investigate a series of notes left on shopfronts instructing business owners to “call the Commission” before alleged arson attacks.
Detectives believe the teenager may have been carrying out criminal tasks in Melbourne on behalf of an offshore crime syndicate.
Notes linked to arson
Police say investigators have now linked 19 handwritten or typed notes found across Melbourne and regional Victoria, each directing shop owners to contact a suspected organised crime group known as “the Commission”.
In early July, several Victoria St shopfronts in Richmond were damaged in a suspected arson attack just days after one of the notes was found on the door of a local tobacco store.
Arrest and charges
Officers searched a home in the Moonee Valley area on Friday as part of the ongoing investigation. They seized eight mobile phones and a large number of SIM cards.
The teenager has since been charged with trafficking and possessing drugs, including cocaine, amphetamine and ketamine, as well as possessing counterfeit money and failing to provide information or assistance to police. He is expected to face the Children’s Court at a later date.
Operation Eclipse
Police established Operation Eclipse in April to investigate a suspected organised crime syndicate believed to be behind arson attacks on nightclubs, bars and restaurants across Melbourne, as well as people linked to those businesses.
The operation has since widened to include other acts of violence allegedly directed by the syndicate, which police believe are being used to extort businesses and control illicit drug and tobacco markets.
Detective Inspector Graham Banks said officers were targeting “every level of the syndicate”.
“We are quite often arresting youths who were not previously known to police and who have had no prior police contact,” he said.
“Lured by the prospect of what they are told is some easy cash and anonymity behind encrypted devices, young people are committing serious criminal offences which have grave or life‑changing ramifications.”
He said the consequences extended far beyond the alleged offenders.
“This is not easy cash — these threats are playing with people’s livelihoods and their own sense of safety and it will not be tolerated.”
