Ring Road shooting ambush an ‘attempted hit’ in tobacco war

Fractured loyalties in the tobacco war are the suspected motive behind a daylight drive-by shooting on the M80 freeway that saw a former senior associate of the Haddara crime family nearly killed in a shotgun blast.

Victoria Police have released new dashcam footage of the May 7 attack, which involved up to five people in two cars attempting to ambush a 51-year-old man at traffic lights at the intersection of the Western Ring Road and Pascoe Vale Road in Jacana.

The video shows a grey Ford Falcon with false number plates pulling up next to the victim’s dark-coloured Mercedes wagon before a shot is heard ringing out.

Police also believe a white Holden Commodore captured in the footage doing a small burnout, then turning left in front of the grey Ford is also linked to the incident.

Earlier this month, Ocean Kidwell, 25, and Timoteo Timoteo, 30, were charged with attempted murder, intentionally cause serious injury in circumstances of gross violence and firearm offences over the attack.

However, police are hunting for at least three other people that could be directly involved in the shooting, as well as an unknown number of others who are suspected of ordering and planning what has been described as an “attempted execution”.

The gunman fired less than two metres from the other car, and the victim’s life was probably saved because he turned his head, police said.

“It’s extremely concerning. I don’t think you can have a more dramatic incident than this. It’s the middle of the day at a very busy intersection and a reckless discharge of a firearm,” Detective Inspector Graham Banks said.