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Second man charged over ‘meticulous assassination’ of Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad
A second man has been charged over organised crime figure Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad’s execution earlier this year.
Detectives will allege that Jason Laria, 37, was involved in planning Ahmad’s fatal shooting as he left a Ramadan celebration at an acquaintance’s Greenacre home in April.
Police try to save the life of Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad in April
Laria was arrested at a home on Tuesday afternoon and charged with accessory after the fact to murder and knowingly or recklessly directing a criminal group.
He was also charged with drug supply offences, and faced Fairfield Local Court on Wednesday afternoon where he was refused bail to re-appear in court on August 4.
Last month, Frank Delcol, 49, was arrested and charged over his alleged role in the murder and was also slapped with a raft of drug supply charges relating to 25 kilograms of methylamphetamine worth $22 million allegedly seized from his Wetherill Park home. Officers also seized $200,000 cash and cloned number plates.
Mourners attend Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad’s funeral at Rookwood Cemetery.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Police will allege Delcol left a getaway car in a strategic location close to the scene of the Narelle Crescent assassination, also allegedly swapping the number plates for a cloned set.
A towering figure in Sydney’s underworld, Ahmad had recently returned to Sydney from his native Lebanon when police advised him of a $1 million bounty on his head.
He failed to heed investigators’ warnings and was gunned down in a hail of bullets just days later.
“He continued to associate with people that were part of the criminal milieu and he did not want to hide,” homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters at the time.
“His life was always in danger. You’re either going to end up on a slab in the morgue or back in jail. Unfortunately for him, he’s in the morgue.”
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