‘Bad blood': Man met with brother of slain gangster Bilal Hamze after realising fake plates he supplied were used in the shooting
Bilal Hamze, 34, was shot dead as he left a restaurant in Sydney's CBD on June 17, 2021, and a court has heard his brother, Ibrahem, narrowly escaped a murder plot months later on August 14, 2021.
Samuel John Rokomaqisa, who allegedly had links to the Alameddine family, is standing trial accused of Bilal's murder and allegedly plotting to kill Ibrahem.
There was a clear conflict between crime families the Hamzes and Alameddines by the time Bilal was shot, the jury has previously been told.
NSW Supreme Court was previously told a stolen Audi was allegedly used in the shooting, while a stolen Mercedes was allegedly used to surveil Ibrahem's home on August 14.
A man on Monday told the court he met with Ibrahem after Bilal was killed when he realised number plates he had ordered on behalf of a group appeared to be used in the shooting, noticing the plates in a news article.
'I was interested because I was contacted by police soon after Bilal Hamze was murdered and they had spoken to me about this, about the plates,' he said.
'I wanted to inform (Ibrahem) of what the police are saying to not have any sort of bad blood or any sort of issues later on, and I wanted it to come directly from me.'
The man said he didn't want Ibrahem 'to think that I had any sort of involvement at all'.
'Why were you worried that he would think you had any sort of involvement?' Crown prosecutor John Sfinas asked.
'Because people don't necessarily say the truth, and coming from a second or third or fourth person, stories might change a lot, and I didn't want that to happen, because that's not what happened,' the man replied.
He knew Ibrahem through one of the man's cousins, who he had gone to school with, but said he had no connection with the Hamze or Alameddine families aside from that, the court was told
Stolen plates hidden in cemetery
The man said he would order fake plates online and supply them to others, including a group of Middle Eastern people he agreed were 'regular customers'.
The man would often leave the fake plates at an abandoned house, Rookwood Cemetery, and in the bushes of parks for the Middle Eastern group to pick up.
'They'd just go and if (the plate's) not there they'd go back in a few days,' the man said.
'There was no other communication unless they wanted to order something else.'
The plates used in the alleged crimes were ordered on May 20, 2021, according to records shown in court.
He couldn't remember any names and said he didn't know most of the people he dealt with face-to-face, but they had got his address.
'I don't know how they figured it out … someone gave them that information that I can source these (plates), and, um, one day I just got the knock on the door,' he said.
He said he never asked the Middle Eastern group why they were making regular orders, as he was 'going through a lot' and 'just wanted the drugs' he was given in exchange for the plates.
He was paid in drugs and cash for orders made with him online and face-to-face between 2019 and 2021.
The court was earlier told how stolen cars, including the one used in Bilal's shooting, were allegedly used as part of a criminal scheme across Sydney to affix cars with imitation plates, move the vehicles around between garages, and burn them out when they're done being used.
Mr Rokomaqisa is also accused of threatening an elderly man with a gun into giving him and another man his car after they got a flat tire during a police chase after surveilling Ibrahem's home on August 14.
The victim of the alleged carjacking on Monday told the court how a Mercedes had pulled up next to him while he was pulled over, the balaclava-clad passenger pointing a gun at him.
'(The passenger) looked at me and he point a gun to my face and he said get out of the car,' the man said.
He said the man sounded 'rather polite' and 'well spoken' as he threatened him, before the driver came round and pulled him from the car, the pair driving off with the elderly man's Camry.
Mr Rokomaqisa has entered not guilty pleas to murder, conspiring to murder and aggravated assault.
He has denied any involvement in the crimes and to having any links with the Alameddine family.
The trial continues.
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