Demands for protection payments are believed to be behind the closure of a Lara tobacco and gift shop that was targeted twice in four days, prompting the operator to shut the doors for good.
The Smoke Shop, located in The Centreway, is this morning boarded up with a sign in the window that reads “Tobacconist permanently closed.”
The store suffered minor damage in a weekend fire bombing, before a car was driven into the shopfront just before 4am on Wednesday.
The driver had fled by the time police arrived.
Geelong Broadcasters understands the shop’s owners have refused to submit to demands for protection money and to stock illegal tobacco – also known as ‘chop-chop’.
Police are yet to confirm whether the attacks are linked to Victoria’s tobacco wars, which have seen dozens of shops in Melbourne damaged in arson attacks in recent months.
A store employee told the Geelong Broadcasters newsroom she had no idea why the shop was being targeted.
“Nobody else has been targeted, just us,” the woman said.
“There’s no reason for it, we don’t sell vapes or anything like that, we’re just a little gift shop.”
The staff member said she and her colleagues just wanted to be left alone.
“We haven’t done anything wrong. There’s innocent people that work here, none of us should be scared to come to work.”
Do you know more? Contact our newsroom on 5223 2323 or at news@geelongbroadcasters.com.
