Former Melbourne organized crime figure Kazem Hamad has been sentenced to life imprisonment by an Iraqi court after being convicted of drug trafficking.

Hamad, who was deported from Australia to Iraq in 2023, was accused of importing large quantities of drugs into both Iraq and Australia.

Iraqi authorities described him as one of the country’s most wanted criminals, linking him to international organized crime networks involved in drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, kidnapping and extortion.

Australian Federal Police provided intelligence that helped Iraqi authorities arrest Hamad earlier this year.

He has also been identified as a key figure in Melbourne’s ongoing tobacco trafficking, and a person of tobacco business in Victoria.

Finaly, the life sentence marks a significant milestone in the international effort to dismantle one of Australia’s most notorious organized crime networks.