By Riley Walter, Perry Duffin and Josefine Ganko
Tensions in Sydney’s underworld have again spilled onto the city’s streets, sparking fears of retaliation in a “tit-for-tat” gang war after the attempted assassination of a senior figure in the notorious Alameddine crime clan.
Samimjan Azari was on Monday granted bail on firearms offences, less than 24 hours after gunmen opened fire on his car in traffic in Sydney’s west, despite warnings his release would trigger “bloodshed on the streets”.
Azari, 26, who police believe is one of the Alameddine network’s most senior members not serving a lengthy prison term or to have fled overseas, was in the back seat of a Toyota HiLux travelling on Woodville Road in Granville at 5pm on Sunday when his vehicle was set upon by occupants of a black Mercedes-Benz who fired at least seven shots at the car.
Azari and another man in the back, Levi Vitukawalu, 28, were uninjured in the shooting, which left Dawood Zakaria, an alleged Alameddine associate, hospitalised and “not expected to survive” after being shot in the head.
Zakaria, 32, was in the passenger seat beside Parramatta lawyer Sylvan Singh, 25, who was driving the ute when a gunman shot him several times at close range. Singh, a solicitor at Parramatta law firm Redline Legal, suffered several gunshot wounds to the arm and shoulder. He is not a member of the underworld and is not accused of wrongdoing.
Zakaria underwent emergency surgery at Westmead Hospital, while Singh remains in intensive care in a stable condition. In an attempt to escape the shooting, Singh drove the HiLux over the median strip and crossed to the other side of Woodville Road before coming to a stop underneath the M4 bypass.
Two men have been shot in Sydney’s west, one of whom has life-threatening injuries.Credit: Angus Dalton
Azari and Vitukawalu were kept under police guard on the footpath before being led away just after 7pm. Overnight on Sunday, they were each charged with possessing an unauthorised pistol and acquiring a pistol in contravention of firearm prohibition orders that had been previously placed on the pair. The pistol was allegedly found loaded on the front seat of the HiLux.
Detective Superintendent Jason Box, commander of NSW Police’s criminal groups squad, said the shooting was a “targeted and directed attack” and he believed “everyone in that vehicle was potentially an intended target”.
Opposing Azari’s bail application in Parramatta Local Court on Monday afternoon, police prosecutor Kai Jiang said the 26-year-old was at the “epicentre” of an ongoing “tit-for-tat feud” between the Alameddine clan and rival organised crime networks.
“This incident was targeted toward Mr Azari,” Jiang told the court.
Police say Samimjan Azari is a senior member of the Alameddine network.Credit: Nine News
“The reason why is his connection and significant holding in the Alameddine [organised crime network].”
Jiang said Azari, who the court heard had reported to Granville police station 15 minutes before the shooting, would commission “serious offences” if he was released on bail. Under his previous bail conditions, Azari had been required to report daily to police, which Jiang said had made his movements “predictable”.
“There will be further bloodshed on the streets – the streets will not be safe. And it’s because of Mr Azari’s standing and holding in the organised crime network,” Jiang said.
Jiang said Azari had “taken up a senior role” in the Alameddine network and had started travelling with several bodyguards after being targeted in an unsuccessful broad daylight assassination attempt in Brighton-Le-Sands in February. Zakaria, who acts as a bodyguard for Azari, was also targeted and uninjured in the shooting.
Samimjan Azari (pictured during an arrest in March).Credit: NSW Police
Ten days later, Jiang said, Azari acquired the HiLux involved in the shooting in another person’s name and had the windows tinted.
“This goes to the reason and motivation of why he needs to be accompanied by members of the group, members of the gang, including the co-accused and Mr Zakaria, who was seriously wounded,” Jiang told the court.
“The firearm, the tinting of the vehicle, the two bodyguards – this is consistent with a high-ranking member of an [organised crime network] and one who has been unsuccessfully targeted.”
Azari’s lawyer, Chris Parkin, said his client had not retaliated for the attempted assassination in February.
Dashcam footage captured the Toyota HiLux being chased by the black Mercedes.Credit: Nine News
“It seems it’s all tit and no tat for my client,” he said.
“He’s been shot at twice ... but [there is] no suggestion of any tat by my client.”
Shortly after the shooting, the Mercedes-Benz used in the attack was found alight in Merrylands West. The car, believed to have been stolen, was fitted with registration plates that did not match the vehicle, Box said. The firearm located in the HiLux “potentially could have been used by one of the persons in the vehicle”, Box said.
Parramatta lawyer Sylvan Singh is in a stable condition.Credit: RedLine Legal
Two other cars were found burnt out in Woodpark and Winston Hills later on Sunday night, but police had not determined if they were linked to the shooting.
Magistrate Bryan Robinson granted Azari bail after prosecutors unsuccessfully argued that he be placed in house arrest and banned from associating with other Alameddine members “for community protection, maybe his own protection”.
Under his bail conditions, Azari is required to report daily to police and adhere to a strict curfew – requirements Parkin said could leave his client a “sitting duck” for future assassination attempts.
Vitukawalu, who the court heard was on parole for previously supplying an unregistered firearm, was granted bail after his lawyer, Jeannette Fahd, argued that her client needed to be released so he could mourn Zakaria should he die.
“There is some level of sadness and grief,” she said.
Levi Vitukawalu in handcuffs near the scene of Sunday night’s shooting.Credit: Nine
Azari had been on bail since March, when he was arrested and charged for his alleged involvement in the robbery of a truck delivering tobacco in Guildford last November. During that incident, Jiang said, Azari had threatened the alleged victim before asking witnesses who fled the scene: “Do you wanna get shot?”
Azari was one of several alleged Alameddine associates arrested under Strike Force Sheringham, established last year to investigate the crime family’s involvement in Sydney’s illicit tobacco trade.
Weeks earlier, Azari was arrested and charged with knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group and being an accessory to an attempted tobacco robbery in January in which half a dozen Alameddine network associates and members allegedly detained three men inside a Condell Park warehouse and partially severed one of their toes.
Police allege the Alameddines have stolen millions of dollars worth of illegal cigarettes from rival organised crime networks importing the product into the country. It is not known if the shooting is linked to the illicit tobacco trade.
On Monday, NSW Premier Chris Minns promised to hold those responsible for the “abhorrent, appalling” attack to account.
“It’s naked violence on Sydney streets, and I want to make it clear that NSW Police put enormous resources into it,” Minns said.
“If you’re caught in relation to one of these horrifying acts of violence or murder, you can expect to spend most of the rest of your life in a small jail cell.”
According to Redline Legal’s website, Singh “loves criminal law” and “prides himself in providing a detailed, clear and ethical service to his clients”.
Box said Singh was known to police “for his association, for who he represents”. He had not been interviewed by detectives on Monday because of his condition.
Police working under Strike Force Arrino are investigating links between Azari’s attempted assassination and several other public shootings bearing the hallmarks of gangland attacks across Sydney in recent weeks.
“There’s always some form of conflict and potential for conflict that we’re assessing,” Box said.
“We’re looking at all incidents that have occurred over the last number of months to see if there’s any connection. We have strong forces that are working on every incident.”
with Angus Dalton and Sally Rawsthorne
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