Latest news with #underworld
ABC News
27-05-2025
- ABC News
Police announce new taskforce targeting spate of underworld violence in Sydney
NSW Police will set up another mega taskforce over growing fears underworld violence will explode on Sydney's streets again. Taskforce Falcon will consist of more than 150 officers and draw help from the New South Wales Crime Commission in a bid to put pressure on feuding organised crime networks. It will absorb investigations currently underway as part of 13 different underworld based strike forces and will be led by Criminal Groups Squad Commander Jason Box. Police Minister Yasmin Catley on Tuesday morning promised to "find every single one of these crooks". "The recent violence we have seen on our streets is absolutely horrific," Ms Catley said. "We will not tolerate these lawless thugs getting out there with their vendettas against each other and putting in danger innocent victims in our community. "Let me tell you, if you intend to become part of these organised gangs you are either going to end up in a small cell for the rest of your life or indeed at the morgue." Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said police believed the current conflict centred around the battle for drug supply networks around Sydney. Referencing previous efforts that saw organised figures flee overseas, Deputy Commissioner Hudson warned officers would leave "no stone unturned". "We consider periphery players in the commission of these jobs as equally as responsible as those who pull the trigger. "We will pursue them relentlessly." The move comes after three shootings in the space of a fortnight sparked fears of more retaliation. Underworld figure Dawood Zakaria, 32, is not expected to survive his injuries from the shooting that wounded him and Parramatta lawyer Sylvan Singh on Sunday afternoon. A week before that 23-year-old plumber John Versace was gunned down on the driveway of his family home. That came just days after a 29-year-old man survived an attempt on his life, when a gunman ambushed him on a Yennora industrial estate. The move from police comes after the force's previous efforts through Taskforce Magnus quelled underworld bloodshed that began in 2020 and saw more than two dozen people killed. It drew 100 officers from across Sydney's local police area commands in an attempt to stop the bloodshed between the warring Hamzy and Alameddine families in Western Sydney. At the time it was set up in 2023, Magnus detectives claimed to have thwarted two gangland murders in the space of just five weeks. Its most notable underworld scalps saw arrests in the murder of crime boss Alen Moradien, whose Bondi car park slaying sparked the taskforce's formation. Before the recent spate of shootings there had been a seven month gap between fatal attacks linked to underworld disputes.
ABC News
26-05-2025
- ABC News
Crime figure and lawyer shot in Granville street as gangland violence escalates
A man with links to the Alameddine crime family and a Sydney solicitor have been shot in what police believe is the latest escalation in underworld violence. Dawood Zakaria, 32, remains in hospital after being shot inside a car on Church Street, Granville just after 5pm on Sunday. Also injured was Sydney lawyer Sylvan Singh, who works at a nearby Parramatta law firm and was admitted as a solicitor in 2023. Their Toyota Hilux was sitting at a red light under the M4 overpass when the gunman opened fire. Mr Zakaria is the brother of notorious underworld figure Masood Zakaria, who was extradited from Turkey last year to face charges stemming from the attempted hit on rival Ibrahem Hamze in 2021. The charges relate to two failed attempts on Hamze's life at the height of the gangland war between his and the Alameddine families in Western Sydney. The majority of the Alameddine crime network remain in Lebanon, where leader Rafat Alameddine is also wanted on a warrant for charges relating to the same conspiracy to kill Hamze. Mr Zakaria and Mr Singh were among four people in the car at the time when the gunman opened fire. The two other occupants were unharmed in the shooting but have been charged with firearm offences and refused bail. The men, 28 and 26, will front Parramatta Local Court today charged with possessing a pistol and acquiring a pistol. Police are investigating whether a car set alight a short time later in Sherwood Street, Merrylands West, was the getaway vehicle. The shooting is the third in a fortnight police are attributing to rising tensions in Sydney's underworld. Last Tuesday 23-year-old plumber John Versace was gunned down outside his family home in Condell Park. He is understood to have no criminal links police are aware of and only had a traffic offence on his record when he was shot dead. A week before that, a 29-year-old man escaped an attempt on his life in Yennora after he was ambushed by a gunman while parking his truck.
News.com.au
25-05-2025
- News.com.au
Horror scenes as two shot on Sydney street in suspected underworld attack
Two men, one with links to the Alameddine crime gang and the other a solicitor, are fighting for their lives after they were shot in a public attack in Sydney's west on Sunday evening. Alameddine associate Dawood Zakaria was shot in the head, and legal professional Sylvan Singh in the arm and leg, when a gunman opened fire on the white Toyota HiLux ute as they waited at a red light on Church St in Granville, underneath the M4 overpass, about 5.10pm, The Daily Telegraph reports. Witnesses said the car containing Zakaria, Singh and two other men was set upon as it waited at the busy intersection, which is right on the border of Granville and Parramatta in the heart of Sydney's west. The incident is a suspected underworld attack. A court heard in March how Zakaria had been among a group targeted in a broad daylight shooting at Brighton-Le-Sands earlier this year, in which no one was injured. He is now fighting for life in a critical condition in hospital, with multiple gunshot wounds, while Singh who is understood to have been an innocent victim caught in the crossfire, was said to be in a stable condition. Police were called to the scene following reports of a shooting and located two men suffering multiple gunshot wounds in a car. The injured men were treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to hospital. Another two men, who were uninjured, were also located inside the vehicle. A short time later, police were called to Sherwood St in Merrylands where they located a car and nearby tree well alight. Fire and Rescue NSW were able to extinguish the blaze, but not before the vehicle was destroyed.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Shock twist after Bentley driver was bashed with milk crates in wild brawl
A man at the centre of a wild brawl at a Sydney petrol station last week almost lost his life in an attempted underworld two years earlier. William Siale, 33, barely escaped with his life when a masked gunman allegedly ran into a Marrickville barber shop and fired at him and his brother Eric in July 2023. Both brothers were hit - one in the chest and the other in the lower back. Daily Mail Australia was told at the time they were regular customers at the barber. Siale was also one of the men involved in a violent brawl at the Metro Petroleum on Belmore Road, in Sydney 's south-west, last Thursday. CCTV from the petrol station showed Siale and Habib Alameddine talking inside the service station, before things quickly soured between the pair. Two of Siale's friends came to help him throw Alameddine to the ground before they beat him with milk crates and a concrete bollard. One of the men then threw the bollard through the back window of Alameddine's Bentley Bentayga. The latest model starts at $396,500. Alameddine was heard crying out in pain as the trio fled the scene. NSW Police said in a statement that Alameddine was taken to hospital and was treated for facial injuries and a broken arm. A manhunt has been launched for the two other men involved in the brawl described as being of Pacific Islander/Maori appearance and aged in their 30s. It comes as police charged a man they allege was responsible for shooting at Siale and his brother in 2023. There is no suggestion the brawl and the 2023 shooting are linked in any way.
ABC News
19-05-2025
- ABC News
Man dead after late night shooting on suburban Sydney street
A man is dead after the second shooting to rock Western Sydney in a week. The man in his 20s died at the scene on Dalton Avenue at Condell Park about 10:30pm on Monday. Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports of gunshots, the man was treated at the scene by paramedics but could not be revived. Police have set up a crime scene blocking off the entry to Dalton Avenue where forensic specialists are combing over the scene. Officers are investigating whether a burned out car found in Fairfield East a short time later is linked to the shooting. Police said anyone with information or CCTV footage from the nearby areas were urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. It came just a week after another man survived an underworld hit in Yennora last Monday night. The 29-year-old was ambushed and shot at by a gunman while parking his truck, though survived despite sustaining gunshot wounds to his torso and wrist.
