Speaking exclusively to The Trial Australia podcast, former criminal turned journalist Ryan Naumenko revealed how his insider coverage of Melbourne‘s tobacco wars nearly cost him his life.

The tobacco wars are a violent gang conflict that has erupted over control of Australia’s lucrative illegal tobacco trade. It has been raging for over two years.

Since 2023, the turf war has resulted in over 125 firebombings, multiple murders, and innocent civilians killed in mistaken identity attacks.

Naumenko began documenting the conflict after a friend from his time in prison was murdered, taking it upon himself to find out who was responsible.

He told The Trial’s Wayne Flower: ‘The whole thing started when my friend, ‘Afghan Ali’, was murdered.

‘He was the bloke who looked after me, took me under his wing and showed me the ropes in prison.

‘Afghan was a really solid guy. When I heard he had died, I thought this [the tobacco wars] had really gotten out of control.’

Illicit tobacco has become big business in the Australian underworld, particularly in Melbourne, after the government slapped an astonishing 65% tax on tobacco products, with black market cigarettes selling for a fraction of the legal price.

A packet of cigarettes can now cost as much as £32 ($57 AUD) from a legal vendor, leading to a dramatic rise in pop-up black markets selling smuggled tobacco.

With the cigarette trade now more valuable than the drug trade in some areas, criminal syndicates violently vie for control of turf.

Using his underworld connections, Naumenko has posted exclusive footage and insider updates on the conflict to TikTok and Instagram under the handle, ‘Outlaw Media’.

The journalist revealed he recently survived an assassination attempt after being fed false information by now deceased gang leader Sam Abdul Rahim, known as ‘The Punisher’, which made him a target for multiple crime figures.

‘I was in my backyard, sunbathing’, Naumenko recounted.

‘My phones going off. The Gang Crime Squad were trying to call me at 3 o’clock on a Saturday. I thought, let me enjoy my day – my kids were coming over.

‘I didn’t realise at the time, but there were cops outside my house – the dogs were going crazy.

‘The police told me: ‘You almost died, you realise that?’

‘There had been blokes sitting in a Mercedes outside – the cops were calling to get me out of the house.

‘I am paranoid, I don’t trust police – so at first I didn’t believe them. It didn’t hit me until later that night – like f***, I almost died.

‘After that, I didn’t see my kids for a month or so. It was not pleasant, but that’s what you have to do to protect them.’

Naumenko described how after the failed hit, he went on the run for ten months, constantly moving locations to stay safe.

It wasn’t until Sam Abdul Rahim was murdered in January 2025 that the immediate danger passed and he could return to reporting openly.

‘I was just all over the place. I couldn’t settle anywhere’, he said.

‘I couldn’t see my family, my kids. I couldn’t even go to the supermarket. The risk was that great. It was wild.

‘I can’t sulk about it though – I chose it. I enjoy the adrenaline; the rush this gives me.’

Flower asked Naumenko whether he sees the violence in Melbourne calming down anytime soon. The host noted that the city has become a ‘very scary place’ since the conflict started.

‘I actually asked the same thing to a very serious crime figure recently’, the journalist responded.

‘Their simple response was – there will never be peace while there’s money around.

‘I think, if anything, we’re going to see a lot more bodies start dropping, a lot more fires start up, before we see anything calm down.

‘That’s the honest truth, in my opinion.’

To get an insiders look into Melbourne’s tobacco wars, search for The Trial Australia now, wherever you get your podcasts.