Ghassan Amoun latest Hamzy family member to be buried after gangland killing

Ghassan Amoun, the gangster known as “Fat Gas” was shot dead last week while leaving a Western Sydney beauty salon.

Slain underworld figure Ghassan Amoun has been laid to rest under the watchful eye of police amid fears of a further explosion in underworld tensions.

A small crowd of family, friends and associates gathered under grey skies next to Lakemba Mosque to pay their respects to the brother of notorious criminal Bassam Hamzy.

Amoun, 35, was shot dead on January 6 while leaving an appointment at the Lady Laser beauty salon in South Wentworthville. Police suspect the hit is the latest escalation of tensions between the Hamzy family and their rival clan, the Alameddines.

Amoun (left, with cousin Ibrahem Hamze) was a high-profile member of the Hamzy crime clan. Picture: Supplied

A dozen mourners gathered at the Islamic Funeral Services centre in Lakemba on Tuesday to farewell Amoun, with Raptor police patrolling surrounding streets and stopping vehicles to conduct identity checks on those in attendance.

The crowd of men dressed in all black, some heavily tattooed, were seen crying as they followed Amoun’s coffin, which was green and etched with Islamic writing, to a white hearse.

A procession of black Mercedes and Audis followed the hearse to his burial site at Rookwood Cemetery.

A larger crowd of around 100 men gathered at the cemetery, where Amoun was laid to rest metres just from his teenage relative Salim Hamze, who was gunned down in another gangland hit last October.

A handful of women in traditional Islamic dress watched the ceremony from a distance.

Amoun’s coffin was lowered into the ground as an imam recited prayers and onlookers bowed their heads.

Slain gangster Ghassan Amoun has been laid to rest at Rookwood Cemetery after his assassination last Thursday.

A small crowd of family, friends and associates gathered under grey skies next to Lakemba Mosque to pay their respects on Tuesday.

Amoun had been repeatedly warned by police that he was a wanted man, but he may not have expected his time to come only three days after he walked out of jail last week.

The 35-year-old had just left an appointment at the Laser Lady beauty clinic in South Wentworhville about 12.45pm when a stolen grey 2017 Mini Cooper pulled up at speed.

A balaclava-clad gunman got out and opened fire on the stocky gangster, hitting him twice in the head.

His death is the latest tragedy to strike his high-profile family.

Amoun’s older brother Mejid Hamzy was shot dead in October 2020, two months after their father Khaled passed away in August 2020.

The crowd of men dressed in all black, some heavily tattooed, were seen crying as they followed Amoun’s coffin.

Like Amoun and Mejid Hamzy, their cousin Bilal Hamze was also assassinated in mid-2021 after leaving a dinner in Sydney’s CBD.

Police intelligence reports into the Hamzy family reveal that despite at some point changing his surname to his mother’s maiden name, Amoun, he remained a heavily involved figure in family business.

Known by the nickname “Fat Gas”, the stocky gangster was the fourth of six children to his parents Khaled and Lola Hamzy. There are no allegations Lola Hamzy has been involved in any wrongdoing.

Born at Auburn Hospital on March 6, 1986, Amoun is the elder of twins, with his brother Haysam born just minutes after him.

Amoun was gunned down as he left a beauty clinic in South Wentworhville about 12.30pm on January 6. Picture: Supplied

Amoun’s assassination follows that of his brother Mejid Hamzy in October 2020, and their cousin Bilal Hamze in June 2021. Picture: Christian Gilles

His criminal history is lengthy, beginning at age 20 with minor driving matters and evolving into extended jail stints for his involvement in criminal enterprises – many of them run by his notorious brother Bassam Hamzy.

In 2008 he was sentenced to nine months jail for assaulting a police officer in the execution of duty.

Later that year he received a sentence of five years and two months for supplying a commercial quantity of prohibited drugs, as part of a syndicate being run by his older brother Bassam from inside Lithgow Prison.

Most recently, Amoun spent four months in prison after being charged last September with breaching a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) intended to control his movements and to defuse the situation with the rival Alameddine crime clan.

He was released on bail on January 3. Within 72 hours he was dead.