Hussein Fawaz charged with kidnapping two men, robbing safe in Botany

A south Sydney barber was allegedly involved in a robbery during which a man was threatened with a gun and losing his thumb if he did not follow the kidnappers’ directions.

Hussein Fawaz was refused bail in Sutherland Local Court over charges related to a violent kidnapping and robbery in Botany last year.

A young barber has been refused bail for his alleged involvement in a terrifying kidnapping and armed robbery over a safe at a tobacconist warehouse in Botany.

Hussein Fawaz, 25, applied for bail in Sutherland Local Court on Wednesday following his arrest on February 14.

The court heard that police allege Fawaz, who lives in Kogarah, was with two men when they deliberately crashed their car into the alleged victim’s vehicle on the evening of July 16.

When the driver got out to assess the damage, Fawaz and the other men approached and allegedly grabbed hold of him.

Prosecutors claim they then allegedly punched the man, overpowered him and forced him into the rear passenger seat of a stolen vehicle.

The court heard the man resisted but he was allegedly punched repeatedly, tied up and had a plastic shopping bag put over his head.

The men allegedly threatened to cut off the man’s thumb if he did not tell them where a warehouse was located so they could access a metal safe that belonged to Broadway Tobacconist, the court heard.

The alleged kidnapping and robbery was a plot to access a metal safe belonging to Broadway Tobacconist inside a Botany warehouse. The shop is located in Glebe. Picture: Google Maps

It is alleged by police that the attackers changed the soft restraints for cable ties and bound the man’s feet and hands together.

The men allegedly then drove the man’s van to a Botany warehouse location where they beeped the horn, prompting another man to come out of the warehouse, the court heard.

Police allege the attackers pulled out a small black handgun and knife, and the second man was restrained and repeatedly beaten before he was zip tied to shelving.

Hussein Fawaz owns Cut and Shave Barbers at Narwee which he established in 2021. Picture: Google Maps

It is further alleged the men gained access to a metal safe but the details of what was taken and how much was not disclosed in court.

One of the alleged attackers drove off, leaving the other two men in the warehouse, but he collided with a police car.

The court heard the driver escaped and remains at large.

Fawaz and another man were arrested but released pending further investigations.

On Tuesday, Fawaz was charged with take and detain in company with intent to commit two counts of a serious indictable offence occasioning bodily harm and a charge of in company robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon.

In court, police prosecutor Sergeant James Glissan opposed Fawaz’s release saying the alleged incident involved “deliberate planning and preparation”.

“The allegations are extraordinarily serious and violent. There was a carelessness of human life with the [alleged] victims’ injuries harrowing to see,” Sgt Glissan said.

Fawaz’s lawyer said her client needed to be at liberty because he owned a business called Cut and Shave Barbers in Narwee which he established in 2021.

The court heard Fawaz had recently signed a three-year lease for the shop and needed to work to pay the rent.

Hussein Fawaz was charged with serious allegations and made a bid for bail in Sutherland Local Court.

The lawyer said Fawaz was the only person who worked at the store and no one else could take over his business.

The court heard he had married his wife in October last year and she was a schoolteacher, and his lawyer added they needed his income to pay their rent.

Fawaz’s wife and mother were in court to support him.

The lawyer said potential charges had been “hanging over his head” for eight months and noted Fawaz had not fled, avoided police and had appeared in Sutherland and Picton local courts in September and February to face unrelated charges.

She said if Fawaz was refused bail he could be on remand for 18 months before getting a trial date.

The lawyer said the case against her client was not weak but strict bail conditions including a 24-hour house arrest only allowing him to leave home for work, and to attend medical or legal appointments would ensure police knew where he was at all times.

Magistrate Hugh Donnelly refused to grant Fawaz release noting the seriousness of the allegations, strong prosecution case and the likelihood he would go to jail if convicted.

The case was adjourned to April 20.