Second ACDC Lane arson attack

Three teenage boys were charged and remanded in custody after an arson attack on an ACDC Lane bar on Anzac Day weekend.

The attack was reportedly the second on the venue in a week and one of a string of dramatic recent incidents targeting alcohol and hospitality businesses in Melbourne’s inner suburbs that have left venue operators nervous, according to the Victorian Chamber of Commerce.

Police said they were notified by the City of Melbourne about a suspicious vehicle near the corner of Flinders and ACDC lanes shortly after 5am on Saturday, April 25, after council staff spotted it on safety cameras.

They had arrived to find the front of the ACDC Lane venue alight.

The business, Bar Bambi, had closed for the night.

“Swift-footed” officers chased down two offenders and had taken them into custody while a third person was arrested in a nearby laneway a short time later.

Three teenaged boys - a 17-year-old from the Darebin area, a 16-year-old from Hume and a 15-year-old from Merri-bek were arrested.

The trio were charged with criminal damage by fire, burglary, theft of motor vehicle and handle stolen goods, police said, with the 17-year-old also charged with commit indictable offence while on bail, and are due to appear in the Children’s Court at a later date.

Firefighters arrived quickly and had the the blaze under control in less than 15 minutes, Fire Rescue Victoria said.
Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives were still investigating an earlier attempted arson and burglary at Bar Bambi on April 18.

In that attack, officers had also been called due to reports of a suspicious vehicle outside the ACDC Lane premises in the early hours.

It was believed unknown offenders had forced entry to the business in an attempt to set it on fire but had fled the scene, police said.

A jerry can was found outside.
Meanwhile, in Southbank, another prompt arrest had foiled a planned arson attack on a licensed premises on Monday, April 27, police believed.

Officers conducting proactive patrols on Southbank Boulevard had noticed two teenagers “loitering in the vicinity of a restaurant” just after 4am on the public holiday, they said.

The boys were seen putting on balaclavas and latex gloves before officers “swooped in”, arresting the pair.

A vehicle believed to have been used by the teens was found parked nearby containing jerry cans and a sledgehammer, police alleged.

A 15 and 16-year-old from the Hobson’s Bay area would be interviewed, they said.

It follows two teenagers being charged after an alleged arson on neighbouring Southbank venue Soho on Riverside Quay at around 4.20am on April 17.

It is alleged the teens started a fire at the licensed premises, which was closed at the time, then fled in a silver Nissan Patrol brandishing machetes.

Officers followed the Nissan to Balwyn where it came to a dead-end on Dundee St.
Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) officers arrested the teenagers.

Media reports suggest there have been more than two dozen incidents of arson, shooting or attempted kidnapping over the past three months which could be linked to an extortion scheme by a criminal gang.

Detectives from the arson and explosives squad are continuing to appeal for public assistance over the series of hospitality venue-linked crimes across inner metropolitan Melbourne, the motive for which they said was unclear.

“We have not had any reported extortions from any of the owners of the venues which have been subjected to arson or attempted arson,” Detective Inspector Chris Murray, from the Arson and Explosives Squad said recently.

“Our specialist investigators are still working to determine a link between the incidents.”

Police were continuing to increase their presence around entertainment precincts in both “an overt and a covert capacity”, they said.

Anyone with information or dashcam/CCTV footage of the incidents was urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at crimestoppersvic.com.au.

Anyone witnessing suspicious activity in the vicinity of licensed premises should contact Triple Zero (000) immediately, police said.

Caption: Holes smashed in the glass entrance to start the Bar Bambi fire had been boarded up by the following day.