Haddara crime family boss fighting for life after suspected gangland ambush

Police are investigating after alleged one-time gangland boss Fadi Haddara was shot in Altona North on Sunday evening.

Haddara, 48, was sitting inside a parked car in his driveway on Marigold Avenue near Millers Road when he was shot just before 8pm.

He is believed to be in a stable condition at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Half of Marigold Avenue remained completely blocked off on Monday morning.

The front lights at Haddara’s home are on, but police have taped off the driveway.

Haddara, the alleged patriarch of the Haddara crime family, once held a commanding position over the illicit tobacco trade in Melbourne but had been squeezed out by new gangland boss Kazem “Kaz” Hamad in early 2024.

Police said a 48-year-old man was shot and later taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries in what they believe, at this stage, was a targeted attack.

The Age has previously reported that the Haddaras surrendered their stake in the illicit tobacco smuggling and distribution market following a relentless firebombing and shooting campaign waged by Hamad in 2023-2024, including Fadi finding multiple GPS trackers on his car .

The attack on Fadi has been met with surprise in the underworld given the clan was largely sidelined following Hamad’s establishment of cartel-like control over the tobacco market.

Attempts by some criminal players to take advantage of Hamad’s arrest in Iraq in January have met with acts of serious retribution by Hamad’s gang, known as The Commission or the 313.

Four businesses and a home owned or linked to the crime gang led by Haddara were attacked in March of this year alone, including the torching of the Capriccio Gelateria in Williamstown and a drive-by shooting targeting a crowd of men standing outside an Altona North kebab shop in the heart of the gang’s territory.

Emergency services were at the house on Sunday night where Haddara was shot with Armed Crime Squad detectives investigating and the major crime scene unit set to attend the scene early on Monday.