Three arrested as police claim breakthrough in CBD nightclub arson spree

Victoria Police says it has now arrested someone in relation to every alleged Operation Eclipse arson offence in Melbourne’s CBD, following the arrest of three more people over a series of nightclub fires and attempted fires earlier this month.

Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives announced on May 15 that three males had been arrested over a string of alleged attacks on licensed venues in the city, including the high-profile fire at La Di Da nightclub on Little Bourke St, where one of the alleged offenders is said to have set his own clothes alight during the incident.

The arrests mark a significant update in what has become one of the most alarming recent crime trends affecting inner Melbourne’s hospitality sector, following a series of suspected arson attacks on bars, restaurants and nightspots across the CBD, Southbank and Docklands.

Police said the trio were linked to three separate venues visited in the early hours of May 4 and 5, with one venue, La Di Da, allegedly targeted twice.

According to Victoria Police, the incidents under investigation include an alleged ram-raid at an industrial premises about 4am on Monday, May 4, where a male allegedly entered the building carrying a jerry can; an attempted attack on La Di Da about 5.20am the same morning, when a vehicle was allegedly driven into the venue’s door; an alleged attempted arson at Electric Bar on Chapel St about 5.40am; and then a second alleged attack on La Di Da about 3.30am on Tuesday, May 5.

Police allege that during the second La Di Da incident, two males damaged the front door and poured accelerant through the premises, before one of the accused had his clothes catch fire.

Search warrants were executed in Tarneit and Wyndham on May 15, with an 18-year-old Tarneit man arrested first, followed later that morning by another 18-year-old from Tarneit and a 17-year-old from the Wyndham area at a shopping centre in Maribyrnong. Police allege the 17-year-old was armed with a machete at the time.

All three were being interviewed in relation to arson, attempted arson, criminal damage, burglary and theft of motor vehicle.

The arrests are the latest major development in Operation Eclipse, the specialist police taskforce established in April to investigate what authorities believe are serious and organised crime-linked attacks on licensed venues across inner metropolitan Melbourne.

The operation has already featured prominently in recent local incidents. In Docklands, as previously reported by Docklands News, restaurant Almina was targeted in an early morning firebombing on May 2, the second time the venue had been attacked in three years. In Southbank and the CBD, concerns have also been growing among hospitality operators over the brazenness and frequency of the attacks.

Acting Melbourne CBD Superintendent Anthony Vella said police were sending a clear message.

“Today’s results mean we have now arrested someone for every arson attack that has occurred against licensed venues in Melbourne’s CBD, as well as several incidents in the Prahran area,” he said.

“If you are coming to a venue to commit arson, the chances of you getting caught by police are almost certain.”

“Fire is unpredictable and dangerous – not only are these people putting innocent community members at risk, but they are putting their own lives in grave danger.”

Police said they would maintain an increased overt and covert presence across entertainment precincts, including more patrols and visits to licensed venues, as investigations continue.