Hooded underworld assassins caught on CCTV about to kill bikie Kemel ‘Blackie’ Barakat
FOUR hooded assassins have been captured on CCTV entering the secret lair of underworld identity Kemel “Blackie” Barakat before executing him as he lay in bed with a woman friend nearby.
NSW
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FOUR hooded assassins have been captured on CCTV as they enter the secret lair of underworld identity Kemel “Blackie” Barakat before cold-bloodedly executing him as he lay in bed with a woman friend nearby.
Bike associate Barakat, 29, died after being shot multiple times while he was in bed in his unit on Bennett Street at Mortlake in the early hours of March 10 this year.
A woman who was also inside the apartment was not injured in the attack on the Hells Angel figure whose murder was one of several brutal gang-related slayings across the city.
Barakat was well aware he may have been a target in Sydney’s gang wars and recently moved into the two-bedroom unit after an earlier attempted hit on him.
He was a suspect in the murder last year of a well-known gangster and hitman Hamad Assaad, who in turn was suspected of being involved in the murder of drug kingpin Walid Ahmad earlier last year.
Barakat, 29, was an enforcer for the Ahmad crime family, which has been at war with a number of other Middle Eastern crime families.
Detectives from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad established Strike Force Yarramba to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Barakat’s murder.
Their inquiries have revealed four men arrived at the unit complex in a Mercedes C63 wagon, which had been stolen during a break-in at Newtown on 30 June 2016.
The men entered the complex through a rear fire door, gained access to Mr Barakat’s unit and shot him dead, before fleeing the scene in the vehicle.
The Mercedes was later located burnt-out at Belmore.
As investigations continue, Strike Force Yarramba detectives have released CCTV of a group of men who were seen entering and exiting the building at the time of the murder.
The Homicide Squad’s Detective Chief Inspector Mark Henney said investigators are hoping someone may recognise the men by clothes or mannerisms.
“The CCTV depicts the Mercedes driving in and out of the area, and another clip depicts four men, who we believe were involved in Mr Barakat’s murder,” Det Ch Insp Henney said.
“We hope the CCTV may refresh – or trigger – someone’s memory who may have noticed something suspicious near the building that morning.
“Based on the information we’ve gathered, Mr Barakat’s murder was calculated and carried out with a fair amount of precision – we are talking about sneaking into a man’s home and executing him in bed.
“We are confident there are people who know what happened, even if they weren’t there at the time, and urge anyone who knows something about the incident to come forward with that information,” Det Ch Insp Henney said.