Five men charged after bullets fired into Merrylands home of alleged crime figure Ali Elmoubayed
Five men have been charged after shots were fired at the Western Sydney home of an alleged senior crime figure on Thursday.
Ali Elmoubayed, 32, was on his way to court when the shooting occurred, with police accusing him of being associated with the notorious Alameddine crime family.
His lawyer told the court in Parramatta that his client had experienced "a number of threats to his life" and wished for his bail conditions to be amended.
A magistrate granted Mr Elmoubayed's wish to move to a high-security Sydney apartment block.
Taskforce Falcon detectives investigating the shooting at Earl Street in Merrylands had found a burnt-out Porsche located nearby in Chester Hill on Thursday morning.
Three of the men had allegedly left Chester Hill in a Hyundai and were tracked by PolAir before being arrested in Yagoona trying to flee from police on foot.
The men — aged 20, 22 and 23 — were taken to Granville Police Station, where they were charged with conspire to discharge firearm, intend cause grievous bodily harm and fire firearm at dwelling.
Additional charges related to organised criminal activity and participate in a criminal group.
The 22-year-old man was also charged with acquire pistol, subject to firearms prohibition order.
Around the same time, a Ford Territory was allegedly seen driving erratically before crashing in Greystanes.
The male passengers of the car, two 17-year-olds, were detained by citizens before police arrived and placed them under arrest.
During a search of the car, police located and seized jerry cans containing fuel, bleach, balaclavas and a knife.
The teens were taken to Bankstown Police Station, where they were charged with take and drive conveyance without consent of owner, accessory before the fact to damage property by fire, custody of knife in public place and participate in a criminal group.
The 17-year-olds were both refused bail to appear in Children's Court on Friday.
NSW Police said they were continuing to investigate whether the Ford Territory crash in Greystanes was linked to the Merrylands shooting.
The older three males were refused bail to appear in Parramatta Local Court, also on Friday.
The charges came after Mr Elmoubayed's lawyers suggested he had "fallen out" with members of the Alameddines.
The Alameddines are a Western Sydney family who police have long claimed control Sydney's drug trade as an organised crime network.
Mr Elmoubayed's home was peppered with bullets just 18 days after crime figure Dawood Zakaria was shot dead in Granville while a car he was in was stopped at traffic lights.
Mr Elmoubayed lived in Merrylands with his pregnant wife and three children.
Police said no one was home at the time and there were no reports of injuries.
Taskforce Falcon was formed last month in the wake of the shootings of Zakaria on May 25 and tradie John Versace, who had no known links to organised crime, in Condell Park a week earlier.
The taskforce is led by the State Crime Command, with the NSW Crime Commission, to investigate and suppress violent crime in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
- Daily Telegraph
Troy Wilkie charged with intimidating partner
Don't miss out on the headlines from Central Sydney. Followed categories will be added to My News. A former senior policy adviser in the Berejiklian government and ex-television presenter has been forbidden from seeing his partner after being charged with intimidating her. Troy Wilkie, 35, was charged with intimidation after an alleged incident involving his long-term partner at his Zetland home on February 15 this year. He will defend the charge at a hearing at the Downing Centre Local Court on November 14, and is currently restrained by an apprehended domestic violence order from contacting or approaching his partner in any way except under a limited range of court-ordered conditions. Wilkie was a senior parliamentary adviser to the NSW government's first ever female Speaker and then local government minister Shelley Hancock. A three-year stint as a senior political adviser in the Berejiklian government followed, then three years as a senior government relations manager at the RSPCA. Troy Wilkie. Picture: John Appleyard 'As a senior political adviser in the Berejiklian government, I managed extensive stakeholder relationships and successfully navigated the passage of numerous bills, handled media and public relations, and provided briefings to high-ranking government officials,' Wilkie wrote on LinkedIn. 'Notably, I contributed to addressing the challenges posed by the prolonged drought, catastrophic bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic, and record-breaking floods.' Wilkie now runs his own strategic communications firm called Seat At The Table, and a disclosure log reveals he met with NSW Government Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic Violence Jodie Harrison on September 4, 2023 alongside the RSPCA. Wilkie's diverse career – documented in fulsome detail on LinkedIn – also includes a two-year stint as the host of Nine's Luxury Homes Revealed. A seven-year stretch of freelance creative gigs included 'memorable performances' in television commercials for Qantas and McDonald's, and as a backing singer for international superstar Adele during her 2017 Australian tour. However, Wilkie's intricately detailed employment history online is peculiarly missing an important role – his candidacy for what was then the Palmer United Party in the mid-north coast seat of Lyne at the 2013 Federal Election. Troy Wilkie on the campaign trail during his stint as the Palmer United Party candidate for Lyne in 2013. His candidacy was the centre of an awkward mishap when Clive Palmer hung up during an ABC Mid North Coast radio interview that year after being unable to call Wilkie's name to mind when repeatedly asked. 'I was watching Lateline one night and up came Clive Palmer: 'This will be interesting,' I thought,' Wilkie said in a 2013 interview with a local news publication. 'His ideas really struck a chord with me, and I was inspired by his passion. 'These were the kind of new ideas I had been wishing someone would talk about.' Wilkie was born and raised in Port Macquarie, graduating from St Columba Anglican School in 2008. Got a story? Email
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Woman jailed for five years over role in Kimberley meth trafficking ring
The final member of a drug trafficking ring caught transporting methylamphetamine on a remote highway in WA's Kimberley has been jailed for five years. Merlou Abais Ruiz, 47, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing methylamphetamine with intent to sell or supply it. Ruiz received the five-year sentence in the Perth District Court on Thursday. Detectives charged Ruiz in 2022 as part of Operation Beaufortia, a major offensive by WA police to crack down on the supply of drugs in the Kimberley region. All three of her co-accused have already been sentenced for their part in the drug operation. Gary Troy McIntosh and Mark Richard Shadforth were sentenced to five years and six months and five years and eight months, respectively, in October 2024. Trent Bin Omar was sentenced to five years and nine months in December 2024 for his role in the operation. As part of the police operation, detectives intercepted Shadforth's calls in July 2022, leading authorities to intercept the group's car on the Great Northern Highway near Broome. Ruiz was initially released without charge until she was again intercepted three months later, on October 13, carrying 10.58 grams of methylamphetamine. Judge Gary Massey told the court he was "prepared to accept" Ruiz had "very much played a lesser role" in the offending, primarily driven by her own addiction to the drug. Judge Massey described his consideration for Ruiz's personal circumstances, including her unstable childhood, with emotional and physical abuse, neglect and poor attachments to her parents. However, the District Court Judge said there was a "significant need for general deterrence" given the harm caused by meth in the state's north. "Small towns in the Kimberley have been very much affected by methylamphetamine reaching the streets in those communities," Judge Massey said. "Those who seek to profit from that misery can expect to receive significant terms of imprisonment … to stop others from offending in this way. "You chose to possess methylamphetamine with intent to sell or supply to others on separate occasions." The 47-year-old's sentence was backdated to December 2022 to account for the time Ruiz had already spent in custody. She will be eligible for parole on December 31 this year.
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
Jewellery store ram raided by alleged thieves who smashed their car through shopping centre
Watches and jewellery have allegedly been stolen from a store after a car ploughed through the glass doors of a shopping centre. Police allege a man jumped out of a black Citroen and broke into a jewellery store at the Gladstone Centre Plaza in Qld about 2am on Friday. Footage of the alleged incident shows the car drive onto a footpath outside the centre then smash through the doors to gain entry. Vision from inside the jewellery store shows the car ram the security roller door which buckles, before a person makes their way inside. Watches and other items were allegedly taken before they fled in the car. Police are appealing for information about the break and enter and have asked anyone with vision or information to contact police. Investigations continue.
