Latest news with #Alameddine
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
‘It just doesn't seem fair': Clarendon Courtyard patios to close early due to NCC construction
At the Clarendon Courtyard in the ByWard Market, some restaurant patios are surrounded by stone walls with cobblestone lining the ground. Tall trees cast shade upon the tables and chairs, and fairy lights are draped above. Article content But for these restaurants, patio season will end more than a month earlier than expected. Article content Article content Restaurants must clear their patios from the courtyard to make way for National Capital Commission (NCC) construction expected to begin on Aug. 11. Being made aware of the closure from a July 18 NCC letter, restaurants whose patios extend to the courtyard are now grappling with the impacts on their business and anticipated revenue losses. Article content Article content 'We recognize the challenge these essential repairs pose to our tenants,' the NCC communications adviser Benoît Desjardins wrote in a July 28 email statement. 'We made significant adjustments to the construction plans and timelines to reduce disruptions to this patio season and the 2026 patio season, but the fact remains that this type of work can only be done during a certain time of the year.' Article content Article content The scope of the project includes addressing potential safety hazards, replacing pavers, upgrading stormwater management systems, creating a universally accessible courtyard and new lighting installations, according to the letter businesses received. Article content The statement added that construction is set to begin in mid-August and be completed by spring 2026. Article content 'The pain is very big, more than you can imagine,' said Moe Alameddine, the owner of Dark Fork restaurant on the corner of the courtyard. Article content Article content Dark Fork's patio service offers patrons the opportunity to order their food in American Sign Language, while being served by a deaf waitstaff, Alameddine said. With his 42 seats in the courtyard patio getting shut down, Alameddine says he anticipates at least $50,000 in revenue losses and having to dismiss eight employees. Article content 'The NCC is a government. They should be the parents, they should take care (of us),' he said. 'I'm very disappointed.' Article content Article content Across the courtyard, Social Restaurant + Lounge general manager Jessica MacEwen says 60 per cent of the restaurant's capacity operates on the patio. The restaurant also offers its courtyard space for wedding bookings and photo opportunities. Article content 'Think low lighting, cobblestones, twinkle lights and beautiful trees. It's almost like a mini Quebec City in a corner,' MacEwen said of the area. 'It's quite picturesque.'
News.com.au
4 days ago
- News.com.au
Alameddine split blamed for Sydney underworld shootings
Sydney's most powerful organised crime network has split in two, sparking a series of recent public shootings, detectives investigating the new underworld conflict believe. The Alameddine clan rose to public notoriety during a bloody gangland struggle with rivals the Hamzys in the early 2020s, but police say they are now divided. has learned it is believed a man formerly alleged to be a senior Alameddine member, Samimjan Azari, has defected to a new crew. Mr Azari, 26, has become a marked man and survived three high-profile assassination attempts this year – including a brazen shooting at an Auburn kebab shop in June. A few weeks earlier, he escaped unharmed when gunmen opened fire on a car he was travelling in near Parramatta. His bodyguard Dawood Zakaria died after being shot in the head during the May 25 incident. It followed a previous attempt on his life at Brighton-Le-Sands in February, where Mr Azari and Zakaria, 32, managed to avoid a hail of bullets. Police have revealed Mr Azari also escaped a suspected fourth murder plot that was abandoned a few days before the kebab shop shooting. 'Collective' to conflict Detective Superintendent Jason Box told the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday there was a 'division' between old Alameddine allies. 'It was one organised crime network working as a collective – there's now a division and that hasn't been accepted internally, hence the conflict,' he said. Detective Superintendent Box heads Taskforce Falcon, a team established after the May 25 shooting in Granville that left Zakaria dead to investigate rising underworld violence in Sydney. The taskforce is probing several incidents including a June 12 shooting at the home of Ali Elmoubayed – who police believe is the Australian head of the Alameddines. The group's patriarch, Rafat Alameddine, has been offshore since 2022 and is believed to be in Lebanon. He is wanted by police over an alleged plot to kill rival Ibrahem Hamze, and the alleged double-murder of father and son Salim and Toufic Hamzy, in 2021. Lawyers for Mr Alameddine's cousin, the rapper Ali Younes aka Ay Huncho, told a court on June 5 he held fears for his safety after the fresh outbreak of violence. Mr Younes this month had his $1.8 million bail revoked over an alleged speeding offence, as he faces a charge of aggravated kidnapping. does not suggest Mr Azari, Mr Elmoubayed, Mr Alameddine , Mr Younes or anyone else named or pictrured in this article had any involvement in the recent shootings. 'Muscle' and tobacco Taskforce Falcon detectives also believe that a subgroup which formerly acted as the 'muscle' for the Alameddines' vast drug supply network had defected to the new crew. The KVT, a street gang made up predominantly of Fijian-heritage men, has joined the new network and its alleged leader Joseph Vokai has taken up a senior role. Detective Superintendent Box said there had been a 'significant divide at the highest level' which had resulted in 'the Alameddine and KVT split'. Police allege the illicit tobacco market has underpinned operations for the new group and it has allegedly stolen millions of dollars worth of the products. Court documents tendered in the bail application of an alleged KVT member this year state Mr Azari allegedly planned to 'rip' $4.5 million worth of tobacco and vapes from a Condell Park warehouse on January 4. During the incident, three men were allegedly bound and 'believed that they ere going to die'. One of the detained men allegedly had his right big toe 'partially severed'. Mr Azari was alleged to have 'orchestrated' the plot and has been charged with offences including being accessory before the fact to kidnapping and breaking and enter. Detective Superintendent Box has said the cause of the split was not yet known, adding 'anyone connected with this conflict is a potential target for retribution'.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
A feared crime family ruled Sydney's underworld. Now it's at war with itself
The first cracks in the facade of the Alameddine crime network started to show just over six months ago. On a February afternoon, one of the network's long-time members, Samimjan Azari, and two associates were shot at in the car park of a Brighton-Le-Sands restaurant, where gunmen ambushed them in a brazen assassination attempt. From the outside, it appeared the Alameddine network, which has for several years controlled Sydney's illicit drug market, was again at war with rivals staking their own claim on the lucrative trade. But rather than fighting off cross-town enemies making a play for its turf, police say the Alameddine network was entrenched in a conflict within its own ranks. In the months before, the feared network was fractured when one of its senior members defected to form his own criminal organisation, sparking a gangland war that spilt onto Sydney's streets that February day. By the time the first shots were fired, a chasm had long opened up within the powerful organisation, splitting it in two as once-loyal members defected to join the new organised crime network founded by the senior Alameddine figure. Since defecting, the former member, who the Herald cannot name for legal reasons, has bolstered his new network, turning other senior Alameddine figures against their long-time allies as shootings have plagued both sides of the conflict. This masthead does not suggest any of the individuals identified in this article are responsible for any of the shootings. 'There's been a division and that's the problem,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said. 'It was one organised crime network working as a collective – there's now a division and that hasn't been accepted internally, hence the conflict.' At the centre of the conflict, Azari has become Sydney's most marked man after taking up a senior role in the new network alongside Joseph Vokai, the alleged head of KVT. A street gang with a membership of predominantly Fijian men, the KVT long acted as muscle for the Alameddine network in its multimillion-dollar drug-trafficking operations. But when the network fractured, Vokai turned his back on the gang's long-time employer, aligning himself with Azari. 'There's been a significant divide at the highest level of this organised crime network, resulting in, we believe, the Alameddine and KVT split,' Box said. Since he was targeted at Brighton-Le-Sands, Azari has survived three separate attempts on his life, the most recent last month when masked gunmen cornered him inside a Turkish restaurant in Auburn. Azari was shot twice, in the arm and the shoulder, but survived. An associate of Azari, a 25-year-old man, was shot in the face, while an innocent restaurant employee, a 47-year-old woman, was shot twice in the torso during the attack. Three weeks earlier, Azari survived an assassination attempt that killed his associate, Dawood Zakaria, when assailants opened fire on a Toyota HiLux the pair was travelling in with two other men in Granville. Zakaria, 32, who was with Azari when he was targeted in Brighton-Le-Sands and had been acting as a bodyguard for the 26-year-old since he took up his role at the head of the new network, was shot in the head and died in hospital several days later. Days after Zakaria was shot, police established Taskforce Falcon, made up of 100 detectives from various squads and 50 uniformed officers, to quell the violence linked to the conflict. Azari has dismissed repeated warnings from police to alter his movements, choosing instead to frequent public places, where he continues to be targeted. 'He's been told numerous times that he's at risk, and I think surely that he would be aware of that after four attempts on his life, and the movements for him is a matter for him to determine, but I hope that he makes the right decisions for his welfare,' said Box, the commander of Taskforce Falcon. Expanding on the Alameddine network's historic control of the drug trade, the new network has infiltrated Sydney's illicit tobacco market, with several members and associates allegedly involved in a number of thefts, or 'rips' of tobacco worth millions of dollars since last year. Several have been charged and remain before the courts. Police insist illicit tobacco is not the cause of the conflict, but rather the commodity of choice for the new network, which is largely comprised of defected Alameddine and KVT members. On the other side of the conflict, some members remain loyal to the Alameddine network and its patriarch, Rafat Alameddine, as they grapple to retain control of Sydney's underworld. Alameddine fled Australia for the safety of Lebanon, where he is a citizen, in November 2022. He remains wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze in 2021. 'The Alameddine organised crime network is obviously still functioning and there are still representatives here and people are active; whether they're onshore or offshore, they're still active and still part of that network,' Box said. Alameddine's former bodyguard, Ali Elmoubayed, who police believe runs the crime family's operations in Australia, remains aligned with the kingpin, as does rapper Ay Huncho, whose real name is Ali Younes. In May, Younes posted a photo of himself alongside Alameddine to his Instagram. 'What's understood don't need to be explained,' the caption read. As shootings on both sides of the conflict continue, Younes' loyalty to Elmoubayed and Alameddine has sparked concerns he may be targeted. Last month, Younes successfully applied to vary his bail conditions, which now allow him to report to police by phone, in an attempt to make his movements less predictable for would-be assassins. A week after Younes varied his bail conditions, Elmoubayed himself narrowly escaped a shooting at his Merrylands home, which was peppered with bullets minutes after he left to front Parramatta Local Court. Hours later, a magistrate allowed Elmoubayed and his young family to relocate to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features that his lawyers argued would safeguard him from future attacks. Police say it is unclear exactly what led to the divide within the Alameddine network, with petty grievances between former allies likely to have added fuel to the conflict. 'There's a lot of reasons this could have happened, from the leadership down, to decisions that are being made, to who holds a certain amount of power, and if people aren't adhering to leaders' instructions,' Box said. Despite the targeting of leaders on each side of the divide, police have warned members of each network that they are in the firing line as the conflict continues. 'The reality is: anyone connected with this conflict is a potential target for retribution,' Box said.
The Age
6 days ago
- The Age
A feared crime family ruled Sydney's underworld. Now it's at war with itself
The first cracks in the facade of the Alameddine crime network started to show just over six months ago. On a February afternoon, one of the network's long-time members, Samimjan Azari, and two associates were shot at in the car park of a Brighton-Le-Sands restaurant, where gunmen ambushed them in a brazen assassination attempt. From the outside, it appeared the Alameddine network, which has for several years controlled Sydney's illicit drug market, was again at war with rivals staking their own claim on the lucrative trade. But rather than fighting off cross-town enemies making a play for its turf, police say the Alameddine network was entrenched in a conflict within its own ranks. In the months before, the feared network was fractured when one of its senior members defected to form his own criminal organisation, sparking a gangland war that spilt onto Sydney's streets that February day. By the time the first shots were fired, a chasm had long opened up within the powerful organisation, splitting it in two as once-loyal members defected to join the new organised crime network founded by the senior Alameddine figure. Since defecting, the former member, who the Herald cannot name for legal reasons, has bolstered his new network, turning other senior Alameddine figures against their long-time allies as shootings have plagued both sides of the conflict. This masthead does not suggest any of the individuals identified in this article are responsible for any of the shootings. 'There's been a division and that's the problem,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said. 'It was one organised crime network working as a collective – there's now a division and that hasn't been accepted internally, hence the conflict.' At the centre of the conflict, Azari has become Sydney's most marked man after taking up a senior role in the new network alongside Joseph Vokai, the alleged head of KVT. A street gang with a membership of predominantly Fijian men, the KVT long acted as muscle for the Alameddine network in its multimillion-dollar drug-trafficking operations. But when the network fractured, Vokai turned his back on the gang's long-time employer, aligning himself with Azari. 'There's been a significant divide at the highest level of this organised crime network, resulting in, we believe, the Alameddine and KVT split,' Box said. Since he was targeted at Brighton-Le-Sands, Azari has survived three separate attempts on his life, the most recent last month when masked gunmen cornered him inside a Turkish restaurant in Auburn. Azari was shot twice, in the arm and the shoulder, but survived. An associate of Azari, a 25-year-old man, was shot in the face, while an innocent restaurant employee, a 47-year-old woman, was shot twice in the torso during the attack. Three weeks earlier, Azari survived an assassination attempt that killed his associate, Dawood Zakaria, when assailants opened fire on a Toyota HiLux the pair was travelling in with two other men in Granville. Zakaria, 32, who was with Azari when he was targeted in Brighton-Le-Sands and had been acting as a bodyguard for the 26-year-old since he took up his role at the head of the new network, was shot in the head and died in hospital several days later. Days after Zakaria was shot, police established Taskforce Falcon, made up of 100 detectives from various squads and 50 uniformed officers, to quell the violence linked to the conflict. Azari has dismissed repeated warnings from police to alter his movements, choosing instead to frequent public places, where he continues to be targeted. 'He's been told numerous times that he's at risk, and I think surely that he would be aware of that after four attempts on his life, and the movements for him is a matter for him to determine, but I hope that he makes the right decisions for his welfare,' said Box, the commander of Taskforce Falcon. Expanding on the Alameddine network's historic control of the drug trade, the new network has infiltrated Sydney's illicit tobacco market, with several members and associates allegedly involved in a number of thefts, or 'rips' of tobacco worth millions of dollars since last year. Several have been charged and remain before the courts. Police insist illicit tobacco is not the cause of the conflict, but rather the commodity of choice for the new network, which is largely comprised of defected Alameddine and KVT members. On the other side of the conflict, some members remain loyal to the Alameddine network and its patriarch, Rafat Alameddine, as they grapple to retain control of Sydney's underworld. Alameddine fled Australia for the safety of Lebanon, where he is a citizen, in November 2022. He remains wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze in 2021. 'The Alameddine organised crime network is obviously still functioning and there are still representatives here and people are active; whether they're onshore or offshore, they're still active and still part of that network,' Box said. Alameddine's former bodyguard, Ali Elmoubayed, who police believe runs the crime family's operations in Australia, remains aligned with the kingpin, as does rapper Ay Huncho, whose real name is Ali Younes. In May, Younes posted a photo of himself alongside Alameddine to his Instagram. 'What's understood don't need to be explained,' the caption read. As shootings on both sides of the conflict continue, Younes' loyalty to Elmoubayed and Alameddine has sparked concerns he may be targeted. Last month, Younes successfully applied to vary his bail conditions, which now allow him to report to police by phone, in an attempt to make his movements less predictable for would-be assassins. A week after Younes varied his bail conditions, Elmoubayed himself narrowly escaped a shooting at his Merrylands home, which was peppered with bullets minutes after he left to front Parramatta Local Court. Hours later, a magistrate allowed Elmoubayed and his young family to relocate to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features that his lawyers argued would safeguard him from future attacks. Police say it is unclear exactly what led to the divide within the Alameddine network, with petty grievances between former allies likely to have added fuel to the conflict. 'There's a lot of reasons this could have happened, from the leadership down, to decisions that are being made, to who holds a certain amount of power, and if people aren't adhering to leaders' instructions,' Box said. Despite the targeting of leaders on each side of the divide, police have warned members of each network that they are in the firing line as the conflict continues. 'The reality is: anyone connected with this conflict is a potential target for retribution,' Box said.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Alameddine crime family: Network that once ruled Sydney's underworld is now at war with itself
, register or subscribe to save articles for later. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The first cracks in the facade of the Alameddine crime network started to show just over six months ago. On a February afternoon, one of the network's long-time members, Samimjan Azari, and two associates were shot at in the car park of a Brighton-Le-Sands restaurant, where gunmen ambushed them in a brazen assassination attempt. From the outside, it appeared the Alameddine network, which has for several years controlled Sydney's illicit drug market, was again at war with rivals staking their own claim on the lucrative trade. The Alameddine crime network fractured when a senior member defected to start his own rival organisation. Credit: Nathan Perri But rather than fighting off cross-town enemies making a play for its turf, police say the Alameddine network was entrenched in a conflict within its own ranks. In the months before, the feared network was fractured when one of its senior members defected to form his own criminal organisation, sparking a gangland war that spilt onto Sydney's streets that February day. By the time the first shots were fired, a chasm had long opened up within the powerful organisation, splitting it in two as once-loyal members defected to join the new organised crime network founded by the senior Alameddine figure. Since defecting, the former member, who the Herald cannot name for legal reasons, has bolstered his new network, turning other senior Alameddine figures against their long-time allies as shootings have plagued both sides of the conflict. This masthead does not suggest any of the individuals identified in this article are responsible for any of the shootings. 'There's been a division and that's the problem,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said. 'It was one organised crime network working as a collective – there's now a division and that hasn't been accepted internally, hence the conflict.' Samimjan Azari has become Sydney's most marked man after defecting from the Alameddine crime network. Credit: Nine News At the centre of the conflict, Azari has become Sydney's most marked man after taking up a senior role in the new network alongside Joseph Vokai, the alleged head of KVT. A street gang with a membership of predominantly Fijian men, the KVT long acted as muscle for the Alameddine network in its multimillion-dollar drug-trafficking operations. But when the network fractured, Vokai turned his back on the gang's long-time employer, aligning himself with Azari. Detective Superintendent Jason Box says the Alameddine crime network's leadership has fractured. Credit: Sam Mooy 'There's been a significant divide at the highest level of this organised crime network, resulting in, we believe, the Alameddine and KVT split,' Box said. Since he was targeted at Brighton-Le-Sands, Azari has survived three separate attempts on his life, the most recent last month when masked gunmen cornered him inside a Turkish restaurant in Auburn. Azari was shot twice, in the arm and the shoulder, but survived. An associate of Azari, a 25-year-old man, was shot in the face, while an innocent restaurant employee, a 47-year-old woman, was shot twice in the torso during the attack. Three weeks earlier, Azari survived an assassination attempt that killed his associate, Dawood Zakaria, when assailants opened fire on a Toyota HiLux the pair was travelling in with two other men in Granville. Joseph Vokai, the alleged head of the KVT gang, turned his back on the Alameddines to side with the new rival network. Credit: NSW Police Zakaria, 32, who was with Azari when he was targeted in Brighton-Le-Sands and had been acting as a bodyguard for the 26-year-old since he took up his role at the head of the new network, was shot in the head and died in hospital several days later. Days after Zakaria was shot, police established Taskforce Falcon, made up of 100 detectives from various squads and 50 uniformed officers, to quell the violence linked to the conflict. Azari has dismissed repeated warnings from police to alter his movements, choosing instead to frequent public places, where he continues to be targeted. 'He's been told numerous times that he's at risk, and I think surely that he would be aware of that after four attempts on his life, and the movements for him is a matter for him to determine, but I hope that he makes the right decisions for his welfare,' said Box, the commander of Taskforce Falcon. Expanding on the Alameddine network's historic control of the drug trade, the new network has infiltrated Sydney's illicit tobacco market, with several members and associates allegedly involved in a number of thefts, or 'rips' of tobacco worth millions of dollars since last year. Several have been charged and remain before the courts. Police insist illicit tobacco is not the cause of the conflict, but rather the commodity of choice for the new network, which is largely comprised of defected Alameddine and KVT members. Police believe Rafat Alameddine, pictured outside Parramatta police station in 2019, runs the crime family's operations from Lebanon. Credit: Kate Geraghty On the other side of the conflict, some members remain loyal to the Alameddine network and its patriarch, Rafat Alameddine, as they grapple to retain control of Sydney's underworld. Alameddine fled Australia for the safety of Lebanon, where he is a citizen, in November 2022. He remains wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze in 2021. 'The Alameddine organised crime network is obviously still functioning and there are still representatives here and people are active; whether they're onshore or offshore, they're still active and still part of that network,' Box said. Alameddine's former bodyguard, Ali Elmoubayed, who police believe runs the crime family's operations in Australia, remains aligned with the kingpin, as does rapper Ay Huncho, whose real name is Ali Younes. In May, Younes posted a photo of himself alongside Alameddine to his Instagram. 'What's understood don't need to be explained,' the caption read. Alleged Alameddine crime network boss Ali Elmoubayed arrives at Parramatta Court after his house was targeted in a drive-by shooting. Credit: Janie Barrett As shootings on both sides of the conflict continue, Younes' loyalty to Elmoubayed and Alameddine has sparked concerns he may be targeted. Last month, Younes successfully applied to vary his bail conditions, which now allow him to report to police by phone, in an attempt to make his movements less predictable for would-be assassins. A week after Younes varied his bail conditions, Elmoubayed himself narrowly escaped a shooting at his Merrylands home, which was peppered with bullets minutes after he left to front Parramatta Local Court. Hours later, a magistrate allowed Elmoubayed and his young family to relocate to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features that his lawyers argued would safeguard him from future attacks.
