It is a tale worthy of a Scorsese script: warring factions and families embark a bloody battle to reign over a city’s organised crime scene, spanning two decades and involving death, destruction and mayhem on the streets of one of Australia’s biggest cities. But this drug turf war is fact, not fiction, and this week it erupted again.

The underworld battle – dubbed Victoria’s gangland war – began in 1998 and has resulted in the deaths of more than 30 people. On Monday, after two years of relative peace, it was re-ignited with the broad daylight killing of a member of one of the leading families.

The alleged murder was followed by a dramatic series of events which left even the hardened police investigating the Sopranos-style saga scratching their heads in disbelief.

The story, centred around the Moran and Williams' family battles, has been the subject of many books. It was immortalised in two high-rating television series, called Underbelly, in Australia. A third series is being written, and this week’s events may give screenwriters plenty of fodder.

Even the Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland – who previously ran the Purana task force which has been investigating Melbourne’s organised crime networks for two decades – admitted that the saga is so far-fetched it is hard to fathom.

“Fact is almost stranger than fiction with what we've seen,” Commissioner Overland said on Wednesday. “If you were a scriptwriter and sat down and wrote this stuff you'd probably say, ‘look, no, it's a bit far fetched no one will believe it'.”

This week came an extraordinary turn of events with the killing of Des "Tuppence" Moran, 61, the last male member of the family, as he sipped his daily coffee in a café in suburban Melbourne. The death of Des Moran, considered one of the more amiable members of the family, was initially regarded by Victorian police as not gangland-related, but a dispute related to a previous attempt on his life in March, when a masked gunman shot at him while he sat in his car.

About 15 minutes after his death, Mr Moran's sister-in-law Judy Moran – the matriarch of the family – arrived at the crime scene in tears screaming “Dessy, Dessy”. Within 24 hours she had been charged in relation to his death.

Mrs Moran is a widow. Her husband Lewis, Des Moran’s brother, was killed during the gangland wars along with her two sons, Jason and Mark.

Mrs Moran was charged along with a family friend Suzanne Kane, the sister-in-law of Jason Moran, and Kane's de facto boyfriend Geoffrey Amour. Mrs Moran, 64, and Ms Kane, 45, were charged with being an accessory after the fact. Amour was charged with murder.

Police alleged during a court hearing that Mrs Moran had dumped the suspected getaway car and was monitored talking about disposing of items used in the murder. A police search of Mrs Moran's home had uncovered three handguns, a loaded shotgun, stolen number plates and clothing – including a wig – matching the description of that worn by the two gunmen who shot her brother-in-law.

On Wednesday Mrs Moran was refused bail by a Melbourne magistrate after police deemed her a flight risk. Jelena Popovic said she was concerned about Mrs Moran’s access to several firearms and that she was “unacceptable risk to the community”.

In a further twist, Mrs Moran’s house was severely damaged on Tuesday night by what police were describing as a “suspicious” fire.

It was just the latest chapter in the gangland war, in which the Moran family played a major role, battling for control of Melbourne's drugs trade. Other players include Carl Williams, currently serving life in prison for three murders, the Carlton Crew, an Italian-Australian criminal organisation, and underworld figure Mick Gatto, a professional mediator and former heavyweight boxer.

There are fears that this week’s events – while seemingly kept within one family – could lead to a renewal of hostilities.

Commissioner Overland was at pains to say that while “violence begets violence”, the police are keen to “get on top and put a stop to it”. “The community wants to know – is this a restart of the gangland wars? I don’t believe it is,” he said on Wednesday. “The evidence or briefings that I’ve got indicate to me that its not, but we’ll obviously continue to watch the situation pretty carefully.”

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