Detectives identify alleged killers behind ‘gangland vendetta’ murder of underworld figure Hamad Assaad
THEY ordered a young boy out of the way before unleashing 22 shots at their victim and leaving him sprawled lifeless on the driveway of his Sydney home. Now detectives have identified the alleged killers of underworld figure Hamad Assaad.
NSW
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THEY ordered a young boy out of the way before unleashing 22 shots at their victim and leaving him sprawled lifeless on the driveway of his Sydney home.
Now detectives have identified the alleged killers behind the ”gangland vendetta” murder of feared underworld figure Hamad Assaad.
But there are two problems. One suspect is dead and the other is already in prison, but on other serious charges.
The suspects in the October 2016 murder were revealed for the first time during a NSW Supreme Court hearing this week.
Osama Hawat, a 24-year-old plumber accused of spying on the victim in the lead-up to the brazen daylight “gangland vendetta” shooting, made an unsuccessful bid for bail on Wednesday.
The court heard police had also identified two high-profile underworld figures — Kemel “Blackie” Barakat and Ahmad “Rock” Ahmad — as suspects in the killing.
Barakat, a Hells Angels bikie figure, was shot dead in May.
His execution was the last in a series of tit-for-tat shootings in western Sydney.
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Police submissions tendered in court outlined that Ahmad, the jailed brother of slain underworld figure Wally Ahmad, was also suspected of being involved in Assaad’s death.
The fact neither of the suspects had been charged was an unusual feature of the case, Justice Stephen Campbell said.
“One of them is dead and the other is in custody awaiting trial on other serious offences,” he told the court.
The suspects were identified in documents tendered by the prosecution to illustrate Hawat’s alleged links to the murder.
Assaad was getting into his car on October 25 last year outside his Georges Hall home when two gunmen emerged from a black Audi and unloaded 22 rounds towards the 29-year-old also known as “H”.
The court heard a 12-year-old boy waiting in the doorway of Assaad’s home was waved off by one of the gunmen before they opened fire.
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Police allege Hawat’s white van was captured on CCTV driving past or near the victim’s home in the weeks before his death and on the day of the murder. It is also alleged Hawat, facing charges of murder and participate in a criminal group, was seen with Ahmad and Barakat the day after Assaad was killed.
Defence barrister Winston Terracini SC argued in court the case against his client was “extraordinarily weak”. He said there was no evidence Hawat was involved in the “weeks of planning” that police had alleged.
“There is no evidence that we are aware of any of this or that we are involved in any meaningful way with any Middle Eastern organised crime group,” he said.
The court heard when detectives stormed Hawat’s Greenacre home to arrest him in June, his wife, Amany Merhi, dropped her husband’s mobile phone in the toilet. In court the beautician denied she was trying to conceal evidence, claiming the phone had private images on it.
Intercepted conversations between the husband and wife recorded Hawat making “partial or implicit” admissions about having a role in the shooting.
The court heard he allegedly told his wife: “I was looking out for my boy and helping out, that’s all it was.”
Justice Campbell said the murder appeared to be part of a gangland vendetta that led to a series of retaliatory shootings. If Hawat was released, he said, there may be people who would take justice into their own hands. Bail was refused.