An innocent woman is the first civilian life lost in Victoria's tobacco wars after two "gutless" arsonists set a home ablaze in a case of mistaken identity, as detectives begin to close in on the perpetrators.
Katie Tangey, 27, died after arsonists hit the wrong address while she was house-sitting her brother's home in Truganina, in Melbourne's west, in the early hours of January 16.
Police are searching for the "faceless, gutless individuals" responsible for the blaze, Arson and Explosives Squad Detective Inspector Chris Murray said.
"We want some names to those faces," he told reporters on Tuesday morning.
"What we do know is this, people will talk.
"These two individuals will have family, they'll have friends, they'll have criminal associates. And what I would say to them is, have a conscience ... do the right thing."
Mr Murray vowed the force will track down the criminals, whose relentless drive for profits and flagrant disregard for human life has cost an innocent life, in order to get justice for the Tangey family.
“Katie Tangey, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a beloved member of her community, has needlessly lost her life in this senseless and despicable incident, which we are investigating as a deliberate act," he said on Tuesday.
"This is the type of crime even the most hardened criminal would be disgusted with."
The Hoppers Crossing woman, a popular burlesque performer, called emergency services for help from the three-storey townhouse, but she and the family's golden retriever did not survive the blaze.
Investigations over the past month have led police to believe the arson attack was likely linked to Victoria's illicit tobacco trade wars.
A dark coloured vehicle – similar to a BMW X3 – was seen travelling north on Forsyth Road in Truganina at 2.12am before a ring camera at the house captured it engulfed in flames and two men, one carrying what appears to be a jerry can, fleeing the scene.
Ms Tangey's mother Tracey said the blaze devastated the family, including her son and his wife who were on their honeymoon when tragedy struck.
"My son and daughter-in-law have lost everything they own, their sister, their dog Sunny ... we will never be the same again," she wrote on Instagram at the time.
Premier Jacinta Allan offered her sympathies to the family while indicating federal police have been cracking down on the illicit trade at the border.
Parliament passed legislation in late 2024 to introduce a tobacco licensing scheme in Victoria in a bid to quell the tobacco wars after an increase in illegal tobacco importations into the country.
The scheme, which will only allow licensed retailers to sell tobacco products and includes a "strict" fit-and-proper-persons test, is scheduled to be rolled out from mid-2025.
Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said the government must enact the scheme quicker.
"We've said far too many times that lives will be lost," he said.
"A life has been lost because this government has failed to act."
Taskforce Lunar, set up to investigate Victoria's illicit tobacco trade, has carried out more than 200 raids, arrested 80 offenders and seized up to $37 million worth of illegal tobacco products.
