Mejid Hamzy: Murdered gangster himself accused of several killings
Senior police fear the Sydney underworld will explode in a “powderkeg” of violence and recrimination after jailed gangster Bassam Hamzy’s brother Mejid Hamzy was shot dead.
NSW
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Murdered gangster Mejid Hamzy was believed to be behind at least one underworld hit himself, including the shooting of Hamad Assaad, the man known as the Executioner.
A contract gunman, Assaad was suspected to be the trigger man in the botched 2013 murder attempt on the Hamzy clan’s matriarch Maha, aunt of Mejid and his notorious brother Bassam.
Assaad was thought to be paid by members of the Haouchar family, sworn enemies of the Hamzys. He was killed in 2016 at Georges Hall.
Police believe Mejid Hamzy, who had a loyal band of lieutenants, may have also had a hand in other shootings and bashings in Sydney over the past few years and fear his assassination could ignite a fresh round of retaliation.
“Where the next shot will come from and at whom is anyone’s guess,’’ said a senior NSW police officer.
“But you don’t shoot someone this high profile and not expect any retaliation.”
Mejid, 44, was shot several times outside his home in Condell Park at 7.30am on Monday by two men who were lying in wait, four days after he was charged with drug possession.
A burned out car the gunmen are believed to have used was later found in nearby Yagoona.
Police are now investigating if his murder is linked to a shooting on Saturday night in Auburn St, Auburn, the same street where his aunt Maha Hamze lives.
Bullet casings were found in the street at about 8pm but by the time police arrived there was no one in the area.
“At this stage no one knows if Mejid Hamzy was in the street visiting his relatives or if (the Auburn shooting) was totally unrelated,’’ the police officer said.
Hamzy had become one of the most powerful criminals in Sydney, filling the vacuum left by the killing of Wally Ahmad in 2016 and the jailing of other members of the Ahmad and Elmir families.
“Hamzy’s crew grew very powerful over the last couple of years and that would have made them a target to everyone,’’ the officer said.
Police looking at who ordered the hit are focusing on Bilal Haouchar as one suspect.
Haouchar, who fled Australia two years ago and is currently living in Lebanon, is said to have a pathological hatred of the Hamzy family ever since one of them bashed his young brother more than six years ago.
A senior NSW detective said Haouchar is closely linked to self-declared Comanchero boss Mark Buddle, who fled to Dubai.
“They have money and the connections to organise a hit of this type, which would not have been cheap,’’ the detective said.
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A number of underworld sources have said the southwest is now a powderkeg after the shooting.
”After the funeral is when there could be serious trouble,’’ one said. ”Mejid had a very tight crew of six or seven guys around him who have friends and associates everywhere and they will be looking for revenge.”
His brother Bassam Hamzy is considered one of the most violent and evil criminals of recent times, ordering murders even while behind bars in Goulburn’s supermax prison.
The brothers have not always seen eye to eye and feuded in 2008 when Bassam was a fugitive in Lebanon. Prison authorities refused to say when or who told him of the death of his brother.
Paramedics and police officers swarmed to Simmat Ave, Condell Park, about 7.30am when neighbours reported shots fired. Police believe Hamzy stumbled about 100m around the corner into Curtis Place where he collapsed and died.
Distraught relatives gathered in a park opposite the murder scene on Monday where they learnt what had happened.
“We only saw each other last night,” one relative said. “He was a really nice man.”
Former Nomads bikie Moudi Tajjour called Hamzy a “true gentleman”.
“RIP to Mejed (sic) legit this bloke was one off (sic) a kind. Haven’t seen him in a while was cell mates for 7 months back in the day and known him many years,” Tajjour wrote on social media. “Honestly a soldier and a true gentleman … RIP habib inshallah Allah forgives all ur sins.”
The execution follows the murder of Fares Abounader who was shot and killed outside his Panania home on August 29. Police and underworld sources agree both were professional hits possibly done by the same person or crew.