Professor Kennedy, who spent years investigating organised crime, is critical of the recent heavy-handed response taken by NSW Police to large criminal enterprises. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. The Ones That Didnt Make It: Australia-Bound Refugees Languish in Indonesia, Circle Sentencing: Alternative Justice in Australia, Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs, Nelson Mandelas Extraordinary Life: An Interactive Timeline, How Did Gaddafi Die? Cloudy. Sydneys crime bosses rule the streets with fear and violence. Haouchar lost his eye in a drive-by shooting at his family's Merrylands home in 2008. 'There's no great mystery that families who come here with nothing will do the hard yards and whatever it takes to get money, and many individuals end up in crime.'. Hamze is the cousin of Bassam Hamzy, 41, who is serving more than 40 years for a spree of killings and gang-related crimes, and Mejid Hamzy who was shot dead in his Condell Park driveway in October 2020. His cousin Mahmoud, a fellow Brothers 4 Life member, was also shot dead in 2013 as he was caught in the middle of an attempt on another cousin,Mohammed 'Little Crazy' Hamzy. And despite the fact that Machhour had not visited Bqarsouna in more than 30 years, Ahmad maintains that he kept strong links. SYDNEY'S CRIME GANGS WIN DRUG WAR SITTING at the top of the 607 names of organised crime figures plying their evil trade in NSW was a former Hells Angel bikie called Wayne Schneider. NSW Police assistant commissioner Peter Thurtell claimed the ongoing gang wars on the streets of western Sydney are drug related. All rights reserved. Supporters including Rachad Alameddine (front) leave court after Talal Alameddine was given a 13-year sentence in 2018 for supplying the gun used to kill police accountant Curtis Cheng, Bilal Alameddine (left) could face more than five years in jail when he is sentenced on gun and drug running charges on December 11. Osman was interrogated after returning from the Turkey and Syria border in 2015, as it was a designated no-go zone. The shooting death of Mejid Hamzy has sparked fears of a gangland war in Sydney's western suburbs, where Middle Eastern crime gangs have long run rampant. Earlier we met Redfern-based Frank Hakim, the first major Lebanese criminal in Sydney, and younger men such as Louis Bayeh and Danny Karam. Low 37F. Bilal had been serving time on a murder charge which was later downgraded to him being an accessory. Sydney Terrorised By Lebanese-Muslim Crime Gangs (Miranda Devine's article from the Sydney Morning Herald on 22 December 2005.) Read on to find out more about the most wanted perps throughout Sydneys history. After finishing school, Basha became involved in more serious crimes. In 1999, his son Bassam shot dead a teenager during a night out in Sydney and was himself jailed for 21 years. At 2am that Saturday, the home of Maha Hamze was shot at in a drive-by attack. Id punch any Aussie kid who even looked at me., (MORE:Circle Sentencing: Alternative Justice in Australia). 'They are organised criminal groups targeting each other,' Asst Comm Thurtell said. Powerful members involved in criminal activity tend to come and Keep Reading, Earlierwe met Redfern-based Frank Hakim, the first major Lebanese criminal in Sydney, and younger men such as Louis Bayeh and Danny Karam. They were followed by other groups of criminals of Lebanese descent, many of whom, in contrast to their predecessors, preferred to remain in the part of Sydney where Keep Reading Tri Minh Tran This amounts to 0.025%. Slowly, but surely the new crime wave focus was against the Lebanese community and this has been the case since the 1990's. And an otherwise law-abiding majority erect a wall of silence when dealing with police they regularly accuse and sue for thuggery and racial profiling. Once Lebanese kids gets involved in gangs, theyre killed or in prison before they get a chance to grow up., There is no data available on the prevalence of criminality in Sydneys Lebanese community because people who are arrested are not legally required to give information on their ethnicity or heritage. Talal Alameddine is the most infamous in his family, despite having numerous criminals among his relatives. A gang boss in Sydneys underworld rarely starts at the top they slowly build their way up from the bottom; starting out networking with other young criminals in juvenile detention centres, then committing small crimes as young adults. Mohammad, better known as 'Butch', arrived at John Ibrahim's clifftop home and attempted to provoke a confrontation over money. Adnan "Eddie" Darwiche, the general of the Darwiche family, controlled drug runs stretching from Punchbowl to Penrith, leaving the outskirts, from . And since their areas dont have a lot of police presence, they act a lot more openly and get into turf wars quite often. NSW Police had reportedly believed he was involved in the shooting death of Hamad Assaad, who was gunned down in his driveway in 2016. CCTV footage of the brutal showed the two going head-to-head before Alameddine got the upper hand, leaving Hamzy battered and bruised. Tensions in the city's south-west and western suburbs are at a long-time high. A source close to Bassam told Daily Mail Australia he was 'shattered' at news of his brother's death, which came just months after the passing of his father. Thats whats so disturbing., Lebanese-born educator Keysar Trad believes criminality in the community is a by-product of overly strict parents who expect their children to excel at school, and racism in the classroom and playground that prevents them from doing so. They are in continuous rivalry over the country's resources and budgets. Crime Families in Sidney: The Darwiche-Razzak-Fahda Family Conflict Then, when theyve proven themselves enough, they rise in the ranks and move onto larger scale illicit activity. If I opened up my lunchbox and pulled out a Lebanese roll, I would get hassled. 'Organised crime is not going anywhere, you can't regulate it, and so you need them to self-regulate. Beware the TikTok Will Vladimir Putin's empress pay the ultimate price for his war on the West? While less well known than younger brother Bassam, 41, who is serving more than 40 years for a spree of killings and gang-related crimes, Mejid was still a key underworld figure. On the day before the first of the Skaf rapes, the gang's leader was only a few weeks away from his 19th birthday. In addition to the mentioned Ibrahim members, the Haouchars have also had a long running feud with some of the Hamzys. Mohammad, better known as 'Butch',arrived at John's clifftop home and attempted to provoke a confrontation over money. Often different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a fair amount of violence. But one things for sure: foreign criminal investment in Sydney has largely replaced domestic gangs. While they may be smaller compared to their city counterparts, theyre also one of the more dangerous groups. Play it now! Sydney Crime Museum is an online history of crime in Sydney, which has often affected the lives of ordinary people and popular culture as well as corrupting the processes of policing, justice and government. All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission. And given the revolving trend of crime in the city, sometimes bosses lie low or act via a proxy, making the head figures hard to pin down. The geographic heartland of Australias 100,000-strong Lebanese community, its red brick apartments and cement-sheet homes are peppered with mosques, musallas and churches. Gusty winds this evening. Most mob bosses dont last long as they are taken out by rival gangs or police operations. . Lebanese mafia is a Colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and Levant. 'You will often see that organised crime groups keep things in the family, because it brings a level of trust and unity, but also they don't want to share what they have. Once you got into the zone where you are powerful and people are scared of you, you dont want to stop. And while theyre still a long way off from completely getting gangs off the streets, theyre making a lot of progress. The main activities of Arab gangs in Australia are narcotics and weapons trafficking, extortion, prostitution, car theft and money laundering. Asian gangs in Sydney are the most prominent members of the criminal underworld; they control most of the money laundering that goes on in the city, often in the heart of the urban areas. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that Rafat Alameddine was responsible for, or in any way involved, in the shooting. Bassam's cousin Mohammed 'Little Crazy' Hamzy (right) is currently serving time in jail for shooting two men in 2012. Prior to his assassination, Mejid Hamzy was more than happy to fly under the radar as he went about his business in the underworld. The initial dispute was a turf war over drugs in the Greater Western Sydney area. Finally, the rural areas of Sydney are home to small-time gangs who act as enforcers for the bigger gangs in the city. In the immediate aftermath of Mejid's death, police banned members of his crew, the Alameddine crew and others from certain parts of Sydney their rivals were known to haunt in an attempt to avoid an all-out gang war. 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Growing up in western Sydney, I was bullied and picked on for everything I did and stood for. While Talal will be off the streets for at least the next decade, his five relatives have continued to develop into a prominent crime entourage in western Sydney. Hamzy, 44, was gunned down in the driveway of his home at Condell Park at 7.30am on Monday, October 17 by two balaclava-clad gunmen. All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission. Six male members of the Alameddine crew are already in jail or before the courts, facing charges related to guns, drugs, violence and organised crime. Restaurateurs in Bankstown pay up to $50,000 a year in protection money or risk having their premises firebombed, while Shia and Sunni Muslims exchange invectives and blows on the streets. Hed also provide these establishments with protection from other violent gangs. From the outset, the City of Bankstown in south-western Sydneys sprawling migrant belt is a picture of multiculturalism. 'If you use the word "mafia" it gives the wrong idea, but it's essentially the same thing in that you have a close knit system,' Professor Kennedy said. A former member of his brother Bassam's gang Brothers 4 Life, Mejid was connected to several underworld killings. Police believe up to 5,000 mafia members are operating in Australia, in league with their colleagues in Italy. Retired NSW detective turned Western Sydney University lecturer Michael Kennedy has seen generations of organised crime groups in Sydney. One of the brawlers was spotted with a large knife in his hand. A source close to Bassam told Daily Mail Australia he was 'shattered' at news of his brother's death, which came just months after the passing of his father. February 27, 2023 . A former member of his brother Bassam's gang Brothers 4 Life, Mejid was connected to several underworld killings. When father and son Salim Hamze and Toufik Hamze were gunned down in broad daylight in western Sydney on Wednesday, they became the third and fourth members of the infamous crime family to be shot in a little over 12 months. Australia's Pacific gangland. [4] Some of the more notorious Arab mafia families include the infamous el-koura Younes Clan, the Shams Clan the Al Zein Clan[5] and the Miri Clan from Bremen. Oscar Cainer tells all. Over recent years Strike Force Raptor against bikies and the middle-eastern crime squad has seen criminals riled up and retaliate. "We ask Allah to give his family, wife and children comfort during this test." A witness told 2GB he heard about 10 bullets fired in the street outside his car workshop on Thursday morning. But these days its worse. While Sydney crime figures have been dropping steadily for the past couple of years, there's data (like the Campbelltown crime rate) that tell of a much larger problem facing New South Wales. The Lebanese mafia "Al Cossa Kella" is unlike any other well-known traditional/hierarchical mafia and has an exceptional structure. MAFS Daniel breaks silence on criminal charge. Osman's brother Bilalfled Australia for Lebanon in 2018, but remains a key person of interest over a spate of murders - however Australia and Lebanon have no extradition treaty. Previously, criminal gangs were ruled by one family or figure, similar to the Russian mafia. In analogy with Australia, Arab organized crime also came to Germany following the Lebanese Civil War. Until that time there had been little demand for heroin, and indeed most serious criminals, like the rest of society, regarded heroin dealers with contempt. Police swoop on Sydney crime families in mass raids, 115 people charged By 9News Staff 9:49pm Jan 30, 2022 Sydney's decade-long gang war is believed to have been smashed by police in just 48 hours, with 115 people charged during a two-day operation targeting alleged members, associates and supporters of organised criminal networks. In the aftermath of Hamad Assaad's death, a one-eyed man carried his coffin down the steps of Lakemba Mosque. Ahmad estimates that there are now up to 300 members of the Chaouk family living in Melbourne and Sydney. Lebanese mafia is a Colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and Levant. 17K subscribers in the AutoNewspaper community. 'Whoever pulled this stunt is a madman for sure.