Hawi murder car stolen and stashed months earlier
THE getaway car used in the execution of bikie boss “Mick” Hawi was stolen nine months before the murder and most likely hidden in a storage unit or underground car park, the Daily Telegraph can reveal. See CCTV footage of the moment it was carjacked.
NSW
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THE getaway car used in the execution of bikie boss “Mick” Hawi was stolen nine months before the murder and most likely hidden in a storage unit or underground car park, the Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Police said it was not uncommon for high-performance cars to be stolen and stashed before being sold on for use in high-end crimes, such as professional hits and armed robberies.
“The vehicle would not have been specifically stolen to be used in the Hawi murder and kept for that length of time,” said Detective Chief Inspector Steve Patton, who is in charge of the investigation.
Sgt Patton said the car would be one of many stolen by criminals then sold to other criminals.
The owner of the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 Shooting Brake was about to get into his car in Fairfield at 2.30pm on May 19 last year when he was approached by man with a knife.
“As he leaving the vehicle, a male aged about 25, of Middle Eastern appearance, threatened him with the knife, demanding he hand over the keys to the car,” Sgt Patton said.
The owner handed over the keys to the $95,000 car he had bought less than a year earlier.
“As far as we know it was not used in any other crime between when it was stolen and the murder 10 months later,’’ Sgt Patton said.
A senior officer said the Mercedes could have fetched $20,000 to $30,000 for a murder.
“Sometimes a bikie gang will ... hear via the grapevine someone is looking for a getaway vehicle,’’ he said.
“The original thief, if he was working for himself, would probably only get a few thousand.”
Police believe that at midday on Valentine’s Day this year, the gunman and a driver took the stolen Mercedes to Fitness First in Rockdale, where the former Comanchero bikie boss was working out.
The gunman then lay in wait and when Hawi sat in his car the hitman walked across a small carpark, looked the bikie in the eye and shot him about a dozen times in the head.
The 37-year-old father died in hospital.
The Mercedes was later found on fire in nearby Chandler St, Rockdale.
BURNT OUT CARS IN CRIMES
The minute a high performance car is stolen, both criminal and cop alike know it is likely to be used in a serious crime.
Major armed robberies and murders are often followed by the discovery of a burnt out Audi or Mercedes.
WALID AHMAD
A former Mr Big among Sydney’s Middle Eastern crime gangs was shot dead at Centro Bankstown in April 2016. He died in a hail of bullets as he and two others were ambushed by a masked gunman on the rooftop carpark.
A white Mercedes AMG was used in the hit as a getaway car and was later found burned out in nearby Greenacre.
Police later uncovered a criminal syndicate which allegedly broke into homes to steal high-performance vehicles.
PASQUALE BARBARO
The man who liked to be known as “The Boss” around Leichhardt’s Italian Forum was a well-connected gangster on the rise when he was gunned down in November 2016. He was fired upon in Earlwood from inside an Audi Q7. The gunman continued to fire as he chased Barbaro down the street on foot.
Later that night, residents in Concord — a 30 minute drive away — spotted the Audi burning in the street.
EMAD SLEIMAN
The 38-year-old convicted killer was found shot multiple times in an apartment block in Sydney’s west in March 2017. He was shot in Auburn several times in the chest and leg, but managed to survive.
A white Mercedes was found burnt out a short time later in nearby Punchbowl.
KEMEL BARAKAT
The underworld figure also known as “Blackie” was shot dead in his secure Mortlake waterfront apartment block in March last year.
A burnt-out Mercedes believed to be used by the killers was found in Belmore.
The car was so severely burnt that it was beyond recognition
HAMAD ASSAAD
The killer-for-hire was gunned down in a suburban street in Georges Hall in Sydney’s southwest in October 2016.
The black Audi sedan was found up in smoke four kilometres away in Birrong.