By Angus Dalton
NSW Police announced a new taskforce on Thursday aimed at scrutinising a string of deadly public shootings and the raging drug war that links the killings.
Taskforce Magnus, under the State Crime Command, will bring together eight existing strike forces and more than 100 officers and detectives.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the operation would seek to bust the “cone of silence” that veils the motives behind the tit-for-tat killings.
What does the taskforce look like and what is its scope?
Taskforce Magnus will scrutinise a month of violence that began with the slaying of cocaine kingpin Alen Moradian in a Bondi carpark on June 27. The most recent victims of the violence are Ahmad Al-Azzam, a 25-year-old who died on Thursday in hospital after he was shot in the head on Sunday at Greenacre, and Ferenc David Stemler, 28, shot dead outside his Canterbury home early Thursday morning.
The taskforce is an amalgamation of eight existing strike forces and 50 detectives already probing public shootings across Sydney, with an extra 20 detectives. Thirty police officers will be deployed to south-west Sydney to patrol areas plagued by violence.
The scene of Sunday’s shooting at Greenacre.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The taskforce’s detectives will attempt to solicit information from underworld sources with knowledge of the recent attacks. Deputy Commissioner Hudson said a coordinated taskforce would be better equipped to identify the links between the shootings, which share common “modus operandi” – including public ambushes and torched getaway cars.
The strike forces folded into Taskforce Magnus include those investigating the May 22 killing of Marvin Oraiha in Elizabeth Hills, the July 7 shooting of two men in Marrickville, and the ambush of three people in Greenacre on Sunday.
What are the taskforce’s tactics?
The taskforce is modelled on Taskforce Erebus, which was set up in May last year to probe gangland shootings.
The taskforce has resulted in a number of arrests over the killing of Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad, his nephew Rami Iskander and Lone Wolf bikie Yusuf Nazlioglu.
Taskforce Magnus will emulate Erebus’s tactics, Hudson said, which included more than 1400 firearm prohibition order inspections, talking to individuals on the street, and “kicking in doors” when required. Hudson said those strategies had stopped seven planned killings when police intercepted and arrested the would-be shooter – or their victim – before the attack could take place.
Who’s running the taskforce?
Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein, the head of the State Crime Command, will run the taskforce.
Weinstein has 30 years’ experience in the NSW Police and formed the Raptor Squad, the specialist force tasked with busting outlaw bikie gangs.
Head of operations at the State Crime Command and Raptor Squad leader Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein will head Taskforce Magnus.
In 2019, Weinstein was named commander of the Fairfield Police Area Command, overseeing three police stations and more than 300 officers and staff in the western Sydney suburb.
Why was the taskforce set up?
Deadly public shootings have bloodied Sydney streets in recent years as a gangland war rages over the drug trade. The killing of two women, which alarmed police last year, and a daylight attack this week on high-profile lawyer Mahmoud Abbas, are signs of escalating violence.
One of the burnt-out cars discovered after Thursday’s shooting in Canterbury.Credit: TNV
Despite the brazen and often public nature of recent shootings, police have made few arrests and a number of attackers are still on the run. Top cops admitted a refusal from criminal groups involved in the violence to speak to investigators – including victims – has stymied attempts to investigate and halt the violence.
The main remit of Taskforce Magnus will be to crack that wall of silence in the hopes of stopping the killings.
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