Underworld figures miss wake over fears of new police taskforce

A new taskforce investigating gangland killings has Sydney’s underworld on edge to the extent that friends of a recent shooting victim missed his wake to avoid being targeted by police.

Gangsters in Sydney’s underworld are so terrified of a new police taskforce investigating gangland murders they are avoiding farewelling their slain mates over fears the new crack unit will target them.

With Task Force Magnus kicking into its second week many among the city’s criminal milieu put on notice are now actively attempting to avoid the police radar at any cost.

Magnus’ first week of pressure has seen three people charged with a range of drug offences after it began a blitz on organised crime figures on the weekend.

Its quick start has prompted a reaction among Sydney’s underworld that has seen many “go to ground” after a week of sweeping raids and firearms compliance checks.

Underworld sources told the Saturday Telegraph that friends of drug importer Ferenc ‘David’ Stemler went as far as missing his wake last Friday to avoid being linked to the gangland war through police surveillance.

Stemler, pictured, while serving time in jail.

He was the 23rd victim of the gangland war since 2020.

Many, sources said, are stopping short of sending any kind of public condolences or posting on social media over fears police will use it to issue a Firearms Prohibition Order against them.

An FPO can be issued by police on anyone they reasonably believe has criminal connections.

“You’ve got some who are saying ‘I can’t even farewell my brother’,” one said.

A total of 23 people have now been killed since the shootings over the control of Sydney’s lucrative drug trade began in 2020.

Sources, who would only speak on condition of anonymity, believe the level of violence currently being seen on the city’s streets stems from criminals importing drugs but not having the money to pay for them up front.

Stemler died after leaving his Canterbury home last week.

Police are looking into whether drug debts, or missing drugs as a result of seizures, played a role in any of the 23 killings.

The most recent victim to gangland violence Stemler, 28, had spent time in jail for drug offences and was on bail at the time of his death last week for similar crimes.

It comes after one of the most violent weeks since the first shooting in 2020, with five people shot in the space of a few days prompting police to form Task Force Magnus.

One of the victims, criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas, has undergone three surgeries and had his kidney removed after he was shot at while leaving his Greenacre home.

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