Police link Mejid Hamzy, Fares Abounader murders
A blond gunman involved in bloody gangland hits on a former Comanchero and a leading member of the Hamzy crime family is being hunted by police after his hoodie slipped off and his image caught on CCTV.
NSW
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A blond gunman believed to be involved in at least one — but possibly two Sydney gangland hits — is being hunted by police after his hoodie slipped off and his image was caught on CCTV.
The man’s face was briefly exposed as well as his distinct blond hair after he and an accomplice shot and killed Mejid Hamzy in Condell Park last year. Police are confident at least one of the men was also the trigger man in the murder of former Comanchero Fares Abounader, which occurred three weeks earlier.
“We strongly believe that both crimes may be linked,” head of the NSW Criminal Groups Squad, Detective Superintendent Grant Taylor said.
Superintendent Taylor said police had CCTV and dashcam footage from areas in and around both crime scenes. “Of note are locations of the sightings of the men on Henry Lawson Drive and the vehicle in Horsley Rd,” he said. “These locations are close in proximity to one another, being only several hundred metres apart.”
Police said it appeared the men had local knowledge, which seemed to help them in their getaways. “The vision we have gathered indicates the offenders have reason to be there, that they know the area, or that they live or frequent the location,” he said.
“There are further similarities in the way these murders were committed – both execution-style where the offenders waited inside nearby vehicles for their targets, before fleeing in getaway cars.”
While the two murders appear unrelated, police believe that they were carried out by men possibly linked to a syndicate involved with contract killers.
“They are cowardly acts committed by cowardly men,” Superintendent Taylor said.
“Killing fathers in suburban streets at their homes with their families inside.”
Superintendent Taylor said it was obvious in the Hamzy murder that at least one of the men was caucasian.
“We hope that maybe someone might notice the way they run or some other feature, which could identify them,” he said.
Fares Abounader, 39, was shot multiple times when he arrived at his home in Wall Ave, Panania, about 11.30pm on August 29 last year.
The killers – two men – were lying in wait in a vehicle outside the home.
Abounader was a former Comanchero bikie who had done time for his involvement in the death of Hells Angel associate Anthony Zervas during a brawl at Sydney Airport in 2009. He was also a close associate of Mick Hawi, who was gunned down outside a Rockdale Fitness centre in 2018.
Before his murder, it was believed Abounader had patched over or was about to join the rival Bandido club.
Three weeks after his murder on the morning of October 19, Mejid Hamzy, 44 – the brother of Brothers for Life founder Bassam Hamzy – was shot outside his home in Condell Park.
Two men in a vehicle were waiting outside his home.
It was the first murder in what is now a bloody and ongoing feud between his family and the Alameddine crime family.
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