In 1999, his son Bassam shot dead a teenager during a night out in Sydney and was himself jailed for 21 years. Days before the 34-year-old was fatally shot in the heart of Sydney, NSW Police had gone to his home and warned him that his life was in danger. Hed also provide these establishments with protection from other violent gangs. Mohammad, better known as 'Butch', arrived at John Ibrahim's clifftop home and attempted to provoke a confrontation over money. [2], Arab organized crime was introduced in Australia after the mass immigration of Arab people after the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s to the end of the 1980s. Lebanese Family Terrorises Neighbourhood Redfern Police Station in Sydney. The very next day, bullets were fired into the home of another Alameddine. Growing up in western Sydney, I was bullied and picked on for everything I did and stood for. The killings were straight out of a mafia . ', Mahmoud Hamzy (pictured), a fellow Brothers 4 Life member, was also shot dead in 2013 in an attempt on another cousin, Mohammed 'Little Crazy' Hamzy. In 1999, his son Bassam shot dead a teenager during a night out in Sydney and was himself jailed for 21 years. A well known Lebanese family who lived not far from the old Redfern Police Academy were terrorising the locals with random assaults, drug dealing, robberies and violent anti-social behaviour. 'It shouldn't be any surprise that organised crime crews remain staunch and refuse to stand in the witness box and give each other up,' Professor Kennedy said. But one things for sure: foreign criminal investment in Sydney has largely replaced domestic gangs. 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. Mohammad, better known as 'Butch',arrived at John's clifftop home and attempted to provoke a confrontation over money. Crime families exchange gunfire and trade narcotics with apparent immunity; arrestees in Bankstown are 60 times more likely to use heroin than those in other parts in Australia. Several other gang members were seriously injured. Then click on any blue marker to find out more. , they suspect that the conflict was between two rival gangs in Western Sydney. . The Beqaa Valley, a fertile valley in east Lebanon and one of the country's most important farming regions, is also known for being one of the most important cannabis cultivating regions in the Middle East. On the day before the first of the Skaf rapes, the gang's leader was only a few weeks away from his 19th birthday. Lebanese mafia is a colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and Levant. He long blamed Michael Ibrahim, the younger brother of famed Kings Cross identity John. And while theyre still a long way off from completely getting gangs off the streets, theyre making a lot of progress. 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. RELATED: MAFS Daniel breaks silence on criminal charge. Because of Hakims rising power and influence, he became the first prominent Lebanese criminal and, eventually, the unofficial, Crime Families in Sidney: The DarwicheRazzakFahda Family Conflict. Middle Eastern gangs, on the other hand, have made extortion against nightclubs, ram raids, and car theft more common in the CDB. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. The bank was definitely involved in laundering (for a 22 per cent fee), tax fraud, and stealing from investors, and has been Keep Reading, All around the world, first and second generation immigrants often form a higher proportion of criminals than of the general population. They include some members of the Hamzy crew being banned from entering Mount Druitt, Rooty HIll, Blacktown and Merrylands where the Alameddine gang frequents. Bassam's cousin Mohammed 'Little Crazy' Hamzy (right) is currently serving time in jail for shooting two men in 2012. Killing and shooting and illegal activity have become part of daily life. A contract gunman and an associate of Osman Houchar, Assaad was believed to have been the trigger man. Man stabbed in the neck at Wynyard station in Sydney CBD, The Criminal Sydney Underworld (And The Australian Families Of Crime). We are no longer accepting comments on this article. The initial dispute was a turf war over drugs in the Greater Western Sydney area. 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 The recent brawl followed a similar fight last year behind bars between the two most infamous people with Hamzy and Alameddine as a surname. The important thing to remember is to always report any suspicious activity to the authorities, and if a situation seems sketchy, stay away! [4] Some of the more notorious Arab mafia families include . He was stabbed in prison last week. jewish british actresses; how old is meryl lipstein Earlier we met Redfern-based Frank Hakim, the first major Lebanese criminal in Sydney, and younger men such as Louis Bayeh and Danny Karam. Three Australian-Lebanese crime families in Sydney the Darwiches, Razzaks, and Fahdas were involved in a series of killings and other violent acts from 2001 to 2009. Retired NSW detective turned Western Sydney University lecturer Michael Kennedy has seen generations of organised crime groups in Sydney. Bilal had been serving time on a murder charge which was later downgraded to him being an accessory. According to Sydney police on. However, many others could have been selected, as the gangs have an extensive history of crime and no particular hierarchy. McPherson decided to take Hakim under his wing and offered protection to the would-be gangster. Unwelcome at school, too much discipline at home, so where do these teenagers go to find respect? Trad asks. Adnan "Eddie" Darwiche, the general of the Darwiche family, controlled drug runs stretching from Punchbowl to Penrith, leaving the outskirts, from . NSW has been the centre of an ongoing task force called Strike Force Taipan, which has made a lot of progress into stopping organised crime funded by international criminals. He set up the gang Brothers 4 Life, and with a bevvy of mobile phones hidden in his cell, ran a sophisticated drug and crime ring. 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Police allege Masood Zakaria, 26, and prominent rapper Ali Younes, 24, are working with the Alameddine crime network, which is involved in ongoing gangland wars in the area. Most arrested gangsters over the years all looked like ordinary citizens. Professor Kennedy, who spent years investigating organised crime, is critical of the recent heavy-handed response taken by NSW Police to large criminal enterprises. Talal Alameddine, who delivered the gun used to kill NSW Police accountant Curtis Cheng in 2015, took on Bassam Hamzy in an exercise yard at Goulburn's Supermax Prison. But these days its worse. There are fears a feud between two warring Sydney gangs could escalate after the public assassination of Bilal Hamze. RELATED: Man stabbed in the neck at Wynyard station in Sydney CBD. Ted Cruz accuses AG Merrick Garland of ignoring threats to Supreme Court justices and crisis pregnancy centers in VERY heated Senate exchange, AG Garland says every prisoner 'deserves dignity' when asked if 'biological males' should be in female jails - as Republicans grill him on the Hunter Biden investigation, fentanyl deaths and rising crime. BEL MOONEY:Why does caring for my dad take over my life? So the problem we have now in Sydney is a ramification of what has been going on in Lebanon.. 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. In that 8-year period, several men from each family were arrested, charged, and convicted for their crimes. A former associate of Mejid's said his death really could spark an underworld war. So the weapon of choice switched from guns to sharp razors, creating so-called razor gangs. Australian Bikie Gangs: Complete List of Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, McPherson decided to take Hakim under his wing and offered protection to the would-be gangster. The attacks were reported as a war between two rival Lebanese crime families, the Darwiches and the Razzaks. These were the families police identified in 2011 as causing most of the trouble in the band, which stretches roughly from Coburg North to Campbellfield, then in an arc around to Altona in the west. One of the brawlers was spotted with a large knife in his hand. Facing racism at school and pressure at home, children from Middle Eastern families in Australia are dragged into world of organized crime and ethnic bloodletting, Lebanese youths are searched by Australian police in Sydney. We are afraid there is some connection between these guys here and the guys in Lebanon, he said during a three-month visit to Sydney earlier this year to exchange information on criminal syndicates with the New South Wales Police Forces Middle Eastern Crime Squad. Sydney's western suburbs have long played home to dangerous criminal groups Among them were brothers Mejid and Bassam Hamzy, who is currently in prison Police believe Mejid may have been. Most of the gangs in Sydney are often offshoots of bigger, foreign organisations. Bassam will not be eligible for parole until at least 2042. As a 30-year-old man walked to his car in the shopping centre near Parramatta he . For about a decade the suburb also became the citys murder centre as very young, first-generation immigrant gangsters went to war. A former associate of Mejid's said his death really could spark an underworld war. The family of the late Kobe Bryant has agreed to a $28.5 million settlement with Los Angeles County to resolve the remaining claims in a lawsuit over deputies and firefighters sharing grisly . A burnt out car, believed to have been the one used by the two gunmen, was found on a nearby suburban street THE HAMZYS Khaled and Lola Hamzy moved their family to Australia in the 1970s as civil. He has since fled to Lebanon but he remains a suspect in a number of murders in Australia, however the countries have no extradition treaty, Osman Haouchar (left) carries the coffin at the funeral for murdered gangster Hamad Assaad. In a separate recent shooting prominent gangster Samer Marcus was left fighting for life in hospital after being gunned down outside his parents home. In total 22 people were banned from certain areas in Sydney's west and east. Most mob bosses dont last long as they are taken out by rival gangs or police operations. Ibrahim came out and spoke with the heavily-tattooed Haouchar and calmed the situtation, but police eventually arrested and charged the would be intruder. Today the War on Drugs continues to affect many lives in ways ranging from the trivial to the profound. '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. From the Russian Mafia in Sydney to executives at big-time banks involved in money laundering, here are some of the most infamous Australian crime bosses: If theres one boss to rule them all, its Fred Paddles Anderson. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. He was shot in the stomach and shoulder by an unknown person who police say was lying in wait for Hamze. In Germany these clans mostly settled in Berlin, Bremen and Essen where they became involved in narcotics trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, prostitution, illegal gambling, car theft, money laundering and armed robbery. Compared to the Arab population in Australia, a much larger number of Arabs are in Germany and have traditionally settled in large numbers in Lebanese regions such as Tripoli, the Beqaa Valley and Beirut where they have integral part of the country's Sunni community. Today, Lebanese crime gangs in Sydney and all over Australia are notorious for weapons & drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes. Mejid Hamzy, brother. Revealed: The new '23' number plates the DVLA deems offensive and has banned including EU23 OFF and GO23 HEL. The results were shocking and yet they were transient: Keep Reading, Police believe about a dozen Chinese importers have provided most of Sydneys heroin from the 1980s until now, generally accounting for over 80 per cent of the total supply. It is unclear exactly how many people belong to the 10 families thought to "run" various areas of the Neuklln district of Berlin (the arrests made this week also happened in this area), with. Talal Alameddine, who delivered the gun used to kill NSW Police accountant Curtis Cheng in 2015, took on Bassam Hamzy in an exercise yard at Goulburn's Supermax Prison. 'They are organised criminal groups targeting each other,' Asst Comm Thurtell said. We tried setting it up once but it didnt work, says Don Weatherburn, director of the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Mohammed, again a Brothers 4 Life devotee, was stabbed in prison in late-October where he is serving time for shooting two men in 2013. They believed that person was a member of the Haouchar crime gang. If I opened up my lunchbox and pulled out a Lebanese roll, I would get hassled. Haouchar lost his eye in a drive-by shooting at his family's Merrylands home in 2008. 'You don't give them a green light by any means, but you have an open dialogue so that you can go to them and say "this is a problem" and they will act. 'Bassam was big but Mejid is a different breed. In recent years 26-year-old Talal's brother Rafat, 28, and cousins Bilal, 21, Jihad, 31, Rachad (sometimes 'Richad'), 28, and Hamdi Alameddine 27, have all faced serious criminal matters in court. Mafiosi within "Al Cossa Kella" don't share any profit through a communal fund. 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. 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. Organised crime in Sydney may seem like a rare occurrence, but behind the citys peaceful exterior is a thriving criminal underworld! ', Pools of blood and ripped clothing lie on the ground outside the house of a friend where Mejid Hamzy stumbled to after being shot in the front yard of his own home on Monday, October 19, Blood stained shirts and other ripped clothing was taken away in evidence bags by NSW Police, A burnt out car, believed to have been the one used by the two gunmen, was found on a nearby suburban street. 943K views 1 year ago Police raid on luxury car firm part of aggressive crackdown on deadly crime family feud; combatants are the Alameddine family and the Hamzy family in Sydney,. The street side brawl came a day before a series of shootings at homes linked to both a Hamzy and Alameddine relative. Often different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a fair amount of violence. Sydney A. Charles joined the 4 News Now team as a Breaking News Anchor and Producer in June of 2022. In the violent feud, one of Mrs Darwiche's sons, AbdulQader, was shot dead and another was convicted of two murders. Sydneys underworld is surprisingly diverse, with gang members and mobsters coming from every background. The Facebook predator who lured schoolgirls to run away with him is one of 7,000 sex fiends who offended RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: As Florida governor and Donald Trump rival Ron DeSantis steps up his bid to win the Now California reparations panel RAISES amount it wants to give 1.8m black people from $220,000 to $360,000 Simon Cowell looks unrecognisable as he heads home with partner Lauren Silverman from the Together For Short My dream job has come upcan I make a TINY lie on my CV? In a separate recent shooting prominent gangster Samer Marcus was left fighting for life in hospital after being gunned down outside his parents' home. The improvement was remarkable Imagine what they would be capable of if they had a better start in life., PHOTOS:Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active globally, largely due to the mass Arab population. The angst between the two came to a head in 2013 during the botched shooting on Maha Hamzy, the aunt of Mejid and Bassam. NSW Police assistant commissioner Peter Thurtell claimed the ongoing gang wars on the streets of western Sydney are drug related. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Find out what Uber drivers really think of you! While you still have the ordinary hooligans that populate the quieter parts of the metropolis (like the Bankstown gangs) most key players in Sydney's gangs have all been funded by foreign criminals. 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. Lebanese organized crime is active in the country of Lebanon itself, as well as in countries and areas with a large Arab community, most notably United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Canada also in the Triple Frontier in South America. In addition to the mentioned Ibrahim members, the Haouchars have also had a long running feud with some of the Hamzys. Just recently, in July of this year, a fight broke out in broad daylight in a busy intersection outside Westfield Parramatta. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. Bassam will not be eligible for parole until at least 2042. These guys are the cream of the crop when it comes to Australian crime bosses, overseeing and commanding people all across New South Wales. The Calabrian mafia work with other organised crime groups including bikie gangs and . He did a stint in jail in the late-2000s, but was last year cleared on drug trafficking charges. During the 1990s, Lebanese-Australian gangs took hold of Sydney. 'The rationale behind targeting each other is obviously drug related. '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.'. In Sydney, Disaffected Lebanese Kids Caught in Spiraling Gang Violence Facing racism at school and pressure at home, children from Middle Eastern families in Australia are dragged into world. Schneider, until his murder, was considered by the NSW Crime Commission to be the most influential drug supplier to the state. In the past there was a code among crime gangs in Sydney that bodies in the street were bad for business, says Michael Duffy, the author of Drive By, a new novel about a Lebanese crime family and the efforts of a bigoted, dispirited police force to lock them up. Their camps appear on the sides of roads or in empty parking lots, then after a few days, lebanese crime families sydney. He told Daily Mail Australia that despite the hard tactics of police, antagonising these groups is in his opinion not the best way to go about it. Her journalism career began in early college at the University of California, Irvine where she . Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active globally, largely due to the mass Arab population. 'You don't give them a green light by any means, but you have an open dialogue so that you can go to them and say "this is a problem" and they will act. The Hamzys believed Assaad had been paid by another notorious group to carry out a drive-by shooting on the family's matriarch Maha, that left her wheelchair bound. Talal Alameddine is the most infamous in his family, despite having numerous criminals among his relatives. But as demand ballooned, Keep Reading, The Nugan Hand merchant bank operated from 1973 to 1980 and has been selected as a rare example of systematic money laundering about which there is public knowledge. In analogy with Australia, Arab organized crime also came to Germany following the Lebanese Civil War. Crime is an essential part of the city's history. He had connections everywhere: judges, politicians. Ahmad estimates that there are now up to 300 members of the Chaouk family living in Melbourne and Sydney. Id punch any Aussie kid who even looked at me., (MORE:Circle Sentencing: Alternative Justice in Australia). 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. Another source described the current situation in Sydney as being 'on a knife's edge'. Mohammad, better known as 'Butch',arrived at John's clifftop home and attempted to provoke a confrontation over money. At 2am that Saturday, the home of Maha Hamze was shot at in a drive-by attack. What we found was that in a matter of weeks they were excelling the other kids in school. Before we can solve it we need to understand it, he says, and Im not sure we do.. The shooting murder of Mejid Hamzy (left), older brother of notorious criminal Bassam (right), has sparked fears of an all-out war between criminal clans fighting for control of Sydney's west, (L to R) Criminals Rachad Alameddine and his brother Jihad pose for a photo with their cousins Hamdi and Rafat. 'What we've seen since back in the day with these families is that they move out for a new life in Australia, and will do anything to avoid going back to where they're from. He claimed he was there doing humanitarian work and has never been charged with a criminal offence. A source close to the Alameddines said: 'For years there were multiple families in that area, but most of the other ones were too focused on each other in the end.'. Sydney was founded by criminals who for years formed a majority of its population. A former member of his brother Bassam's gang Brothers 4 Life, Mejid was connected to several underworld killings. Various prohibitions have caused many citizens to engage in criminal behaviour over the subsequent years, most commonly illegal gambling and drinking. money laundering and armed robbery. Talal Alameddine is the most infamous in his family, despite having numerous criminals among his relatives. All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts.If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission. In total 22 people were banned from certain areas in Sydney's west and east. At the time of Mejid's killing, police said he may have been responsible for several assassinations including the 2016 death of Hamad 'The Executioner' Assaad, and that his murder was definitely part of a gang-related attack. 'What we've seen since back in the day with these families is that they move out for a new life in Australia, and will do anything to avoid going back to where they're from. Historical rivalries between gangs continue to build up, making Middle Eastern crime in Sydney more dangerous than ever before. In addition to the mentioned Ibrahim members, the Haouchars have also had a long running feud with some of the Hamzys. All rights reserved. One of the brawlers was spotted with a large knife in his hand. This amounts to 0.025%. 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. He did a stint in jail in the late-2000s, but was last year cleared on drug trafficking charges. That family member has since been revealed to be Rafat Alameddine. Because of Hakims rising power and influence, he became the first prominent Lebanese criminal and, eventually, the unofficial godfather of the Lebanese community. Murdaugh is heckled as he leaves court, Ken Bruce finishes his 30-year tenure as host of BBC Radio 2, Missing hiker buried under snow forces arm out to wave to helicopter, Hershey's Canada releases HER for SHE bars featuring a trans activist, Insane moment river of rocks falls onto Malibu Canyon in CA, Fleet-footed cop chases an offender riding a scooter, Family of a 10-month-old baby filmed vaping open up. NSW Police had reportedly believed he was involved in the shooting death of Hamad Assaad, who was gunned down in his driveway in 2016. Born in Lebanon, the 51-year-old is the brother of John Ibrahim, a popular figure and former Kings Cross, Sydney nightclub owner who has been accused of being a "major organized-crime figure" and labeled as "the lifeblood of the drugs industry of Kings Cross"; allegations that John Ibrahim denies. They are known for having control over the Merrylands area in west Sydney, Police believe Mejid Hamzy was responsible for the shooting death of Hamad Assaad, a close associate of Osman Haouchar (left) who is pictured with his wannabe standover man cousin Mohamad 'Butch' Haouchar (right). Low 37F. Despite being accused of murder, assault, race-fixing, bribery, illegal gambling and. As a high influx of predominately Lebanese people moved in to Sydney they settled in the Bankstown region in Sydney's South West. Since late 2019, the country's currency has lost over 90% of its value, and people's life savings are locked up in banks that have imposed discretionary capital. Sydneys crime bosses rule the streets with fear and violence. In 1929, it was discovered that gang lord Phil Jeffs was using boracic acid to cut his cocaine, causing major conflict between the two gangs. rancho bernardo country club membership cost; About. The angst between the two came to a head in 2013 during the botched shooting on Maha Hamzy, the aunt of Mejid and Bassam. His name wasOsman Haouchar. While they may be smaller compared to their city counterparts, theyre also one of the more dangerous groups. A Year Later, Unanswered Questions and Bad Blood, The Nanjing Massacre: Scenes from a Hideous Slaughter 75 Years Ago, U.S. Government Helped Rise of Mexican Drug Cartel: Report.