The signs and deaths pointing to a renewed gangland war in Sydney's underworld

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

Crime figures travelling with bodyguards, moving houses and a new police mega taskforce are all signs "the war" is on again.
Having seen this all before, NSW Police's squad of detectives are determined that no more bodies — criminals or bystanders — will fill the morgue.
Taskforce Falcon, as police have called it, already claimed a win when it located a "kill car" with two guns and a jerry can inside a day after being formed this week.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged with three offences over the discovery, and Detective Superintendent Jason Fox warned of networks recruiting children to carry out their dirty work.
"There's obviously financial enticement, word of mouth. They see friends that might be involved of the same age and they think that's a path to go down," he said on Friday.
Samimjan Azari avoided bullets in the attack last Sunday night that killed Dawood Zakaria and injured lawyer Sylvan Singh while they waited at the traffic light of a busy intersection in Granville.
Mr Azari was charged a day later with possessing a pistol found by police in the car and he was granted bail.
It was revealed in court the 26-year-old has spent the last four months with "bodyguards" and had taken up a senior role in the Alameddine crime network.
An earlier shooting, in which bullets narrowly missed him and the late Mr Zakaria in February in Brighton-Le-Sands, was the catalyst for his increased security measures.
He is not the only one taking extra precautions.
The ABC has been told of "multiple" crime figures changing address and travelling in company.
Mr Azari is believed by police to have been the target of last weekend's attack, with one theory that he was being followed while he reported for bail with his solicitor Mr Singh.
Mr Singh is likely to make a recovery.
When contacted by phone, someone at his Parramatta law firm said: "I'm not in any position to give any comment or statement."
The door to their office was bolted shut when the ABC attempted to visit this week.
Guttural screams were heard on the driveway of a Condell Park property on May 19.
The slaying of plumber John Versace outside his family home proved to be the final straw for police attempting to stop feuding gangsters spilling blood on Sydney's streets.
The 23-year-old only had a traffic offence on his criminal record with no known underworld connections.
A video of the scene moments after the killing was shared online, attracting millions of views.
"Oh my god," a woman can be heard wailing in a video.
"Who would do this?" a man yells.
If no link can be substantiated, his death would be the eighth fatality as either an innocent bystander or mistaken identity of the gangland war since the shootings began in 2020.
Police are investigating whether the current conflict centres around an internal struggle between two crime gangs favoured by the Alameddine clan — "Ready 4 War" and "KVT".
Ready 4 War has been described in previous court documents as the drug dealing arm of the Alameddine criminal empire.
Its leader, Asaad Alahmad, was jailed for more than two years for his role in running the syndicate in 2024.
Alahmad was entrusted with the role because he is the brother-in-law of Alameddine family patriarch Rafat Alameddine.
KVT are a street gang hailing from Mt Druitt consisting mostly of young Pacific Islander men.
They have been strongly linked to a number of underworld crimes police have tied back to the Alameddine crime network.
One law enforcement source told the ABC the relationship between the Alameddines and KVT had "seriously soured".
The Alameddine crime network leadership fled to Lebanon in 2023 under increasing police pressure leading to the belief they were now "vulnerable in Sydney", the source added.
In a war of changing loyalties, rapper and accused Alameddine crime network associate Ali Younes posted a pointed picture to his Instagram this week.
In it was himself with Rafat Alameddine and Dawood Zakaria's older brother Masood.
"What's understood don't need to be explained," read the caption, followed by a blood drop emoji.
Sitting in a suite at NSW correctional centre, Masood Zakaria may watch his brother's funeral from the cell he now calls home.
Sources said there were provisions to allow prisoners to attend funerals, but that was highly unlikely for high security inmates currently on remand.
Masood Zakaria is currently awaiting trial for a conspiracy to murder plot against rival Ibrahem Hamze in 2021.
He was due to appear in the Supreme Court on Thursday via video but did not show in person.
Dawood Zakaria may not have been a major underworld player, but wherever his big brother went, so did he.
Whether it was photoshoots showcasing their friend Mr Younes, or following him down the gangland path that started with the notorious "Brothers 4 Life".
In their heyday, the gang controlled by crime boss Bassam Hamzy struck fear into many on the streets of Sydney.
A young relative of the Zakaria brothers was shot when gangsters looking for Masood Zakaria fired through the front door of the government housing property in Blacktown in 2013.
He was not home at the time, but when their father opened the door the young child in the home received "over 300 pellet injuries to (the) kidney, throat, liver, spine and lungs", a court would eventually hear.
Dawood Zakaria's own foray into crime began as a teenager, court records show.
His most serious stint of offending occurred in 2012 when he was charged with a string of armed robberies.
He was found not guilty of several charges at trial but was convicted of robbery in company and handed a two-year jail term to be served as an intensive corrections order in the community.
Three days before he was shot dead, Dawood Zakaria was due to appear in Parramatta Local Court on a charge of drug possession.
He never showed and was convicted and fined $400 in his absence.