A vicious gangland struggle that has gripped Melbourne for more than a decade took a surprising twist this week when the matriarch of the city’s most powerful criminal clan was charged in connection with the murder of her brother-in-law.

Behind the image of friendly suburbia the city presents to the world, a battle for control of the lucrative drugs trade has led to the deaths of more than 30 people and brought mayhem to the streets.

The past two years have been quiet — relatively speaking — but that all changed with the killing of Des “Tuppence” Moran, 61, on Monday. He was shot a number of times, at close range, by two masked men as he sipped his daily coffee in a café in the busy Ascot Vale area.

He was the last surviving male member of a crime family that has fought a turf war with the rival Williams clan.

About 15 minutes after the shooting, Judy Moran — whose two sons, Jason and Mark, and husband Lewis (Des’s brother) have all been killed in the gangland wars — arrived at the crime scene in tears, screaming his name.

The murder was linked initially to a previous attempt on Mr Moran’s life, in March, when a masked gunman shot at him while he sat in his car — and suspicion naturally fell on gangland rivals.

However, within 24 hours Mrs Moran, 64, and her friend Suzanne Kane, 45, were charged with being accessories to the murder, with Ms Kane’s partner, Geoffrey Amour, being charged with the killing.

Police told a court that officers saw Mrs Moran dumping the getaway car and a rifle used in the murder, while phone taps caught her discussing the disposal of other items used in the killing. A search of Mrs Moran’s home uncovered three handguns, a loaded shotgun, stolen numberplates, clothing and a wig matching the description of those worn by the gunmen who carried out the hit.

In a further twist, Mrs Moran’s house was damaged severely on Tuesday night in a fire described by police as suspicious.

Yesterday Mrs Moran was refused bail by a Melbourne magistrate after she was deemed a flight risk. The magistrate, Jelena Popovic, said she was also concerned that Mrs Moran’s potential access to more firearms made her an unacceptable risk to the community.

The twist in the gangland wars tale has surprised even Melbourne police officers. “Fact is almost stranger than fiction with what we’ve seen,” said the Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland. “If you were a scriptwriter and sat down and wrote this stuff you’d probably say: ‘Look, no, it’s all a bit far-fetched; no one will believe it’.”

The story of the turf wars in Melbourne has been the subject of many books, with the rivalry between two crime families immortalised in Australia by the award-winning television series Underbelly — which had to overcome various legal hurdles before it could be screened in the Victoria area.

The series is based on the book Leadbelly: Inside Australia’s Underworld, by The Age journalists John Silvester and Andrew Rule. A third series of the show is being written — and the latest developments should give the screenwriters plenty of fresh material.

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

Other leading players in the gang wars have included Carl Williams, who is serving a life sentence for three murders; the Carlton Crew, an Italian-Australian criminal organisation; and the underworld figure Mick Gatto, a former heavyweight boxer.

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