Hamzy: ‘Youse don’t worry about me, I’m going straight to heaven’

Feeling betrayed by one of his friends, Bassam Hamzy reveals to his sister that he has consulted with a Muslim cleric in Lebanon about having him killed. What he doesn’t realise, is that police are listening in on his calls. READ THE TRANSCRIPTS.

• Part 1: How Hamzy began two decade reign of terror
• Part 1: Hamzy to mum: ‘Did you send me some undies?’
• Part 2: Hamzy: From murderer to cocaine kingpin
• What Hamzy’s handwriting says about him

When Bassam Hamzy learns through his mother Lola that he was on the TV news, his first question to her is whether she recorded it. She then urges him to stay away as “they are cooking it all up and want to blame it all on you”. In another call, an angry Hamzy recruits a young relative, aged just 12, to bash a man in Sydney because he “f**ked with the wrong people in Lebanon”.

But perhaps in one of his most-chilling calls, Hamzy tells his older sister Mejida he has already spoken to a sheik in Lebanon about killing his one-time friend Nedhal Hammoud — whom he blamed for causing him to shoot Kris Toumazis.

Bassam Hamzy with one of his uncles. Picture: NSW Police

Here is a transcript of those phone taps, which were tendered to court.

4 August 1998

LH: Lola Hamzy

BH: Bassam Hamzy

LH: Are you at you Uncle Bassam’s?

BH: Yes

LH: Do you still want to go with your Uncle Abdul Nasser?

BH: Yes, I’m going with him

LH: When?

BH: I may get there in three weeks

LH: Listen

BH : What?

LH: Try for as long as you can to stay away, to stay at your Uncle Abdul Nasser’s, if you don’t want to stay in Lebanon. Because they are cooking it all up and want to blame it all on you. Do you understand me? I can’t explain more than that to you over the telephone. Because it was all on the TV last night.

BH: Did you tape it?

LH: I recorded it on a small tape, yes

BH: What do you mean on a small tape?

LH: One the videotape, a little bit. But I’m telling you that all those whom you had considered friends are now turning around and want to blame it on you. So you have to look after yourself and be careful.

BH: Why? What has happened?

LH: Whereabouts is Nedhal now?

BH: In Romania

LH: Okay, aren’t you going to go to your Uncle Abdul Nasser’s?

BH: Yeah

LH: All right, go to your uncle Abdul Nasser’s and stay there for a few months. In the meantime we’ll see what will happen here and I then will let you know, okay?

BH: Maybe I will not go back there

LH: Where to? Here?

BH: Yeah

LH: Okay if you stay at you Uncle Abdul Nasser’s it would be better for you too. Let everyone get out of their own mess because everyone is saying it’s nothing to do with me, it’s nothing to do with me. And the police and the detectives are after your brother

BH: And what’s he doing?

LH: Who, your brother?

BH: Yeah

LH: He’s doing nothing. But it’s according to what the people are telling them and what the guys are saying son. and no one is saying the truth because everyone is telling lies and no one is taking the blame. You know what I mean?

Hamzy blamed his friend Nedhal Hammoud for the starting the fight at Mr Goodbar which led Hamzy to shoot Kris Toumazis.

Kris Toumazis was just 18 when shot dead by Hamzy in Oxford St, Paddington.

August 21, 1998

V9 Bassam

V10 Male

V9: Hey listen, there’s a bloke all right …

V10: Yeah

V9: … his house (can’t decipher)

V10 : Yeah

V9: He works across the road from (can’t decipher)

V10: Yeah

V9: He works across the road from (can’t decipher)

V10: Yeah

V9: All right

V10: Yeah

V9: I think it’s in the tyre place

V10: In the what?

V9: In the tyre place

V10: Yeah (can’t decipher)

V9: All right

V 10:Yeah

V9: His name is Hussein

V10: Yeah

V9: He’s about nineteen or twenty years old

V10: Yeah

V9: Alright. I want you to go and kick the f**k out of him …

V10: Yeah

V9: All right. But if you’re not gunna do it tell me you’re not gunna do it

V10: No I’ll do it, not at his workshop but

V9: Kick the f**k out of him. And tell him …

V10: Yeah

V9:. this is what you tell him — tell him you f**ked with the wrong people in Lebanon

V10: Yeah

V9: All right

V10: All right then

V9: When you gunna do that?

V10: I’m not gunna do it at his workshop

V9 : No take him round the corner, belt him round the corner or somethin’

V10: Yeah all right

V9: You know who I’m talkin’ about

V10: Nuh

V9: All right

V10: Yeah I know who you’re talking about, yeah

V9: Yeah

V10: Yeah, I know where he works. He works at the Knaj Tyre Shop

V9: You know who I’m talking about?

V10: Yeah I know who you’re talking about

V9: Yeah the bloke, you know which bloke I’m talking about?

V10 : Yeah

V9: Yeah he’s got two sister here in Lebanon

V10: Yeah

V9: All right

V10: And they’ve been talking

Hamzy had sort guidance from a sheik in Lebanon about wanting to kill his former friend Nedhal Hammoud.

November 29, 1998

V1: Mejida

V2: Bassam

V1: You have to give money to the poor all your life, all right?

V2: What do you mean? But that came (stutters) from my heart

V1: Well, if that came from your heart but you know, God will never forgive you for it

V2: No, no (stutters) was f**kin — look, what do you know? I’ve already talked to a sheik in Lebanon

V1 : Yeah

V2: I’ve already talked to the Sheikhs about killing Ned

V1: Yeah

V2: Okay. Oh well, I know everything

V1: Bassam, but did you know in the Koran it says only Allah the Compassionate, the Merciful can take a life?

V2: Yeah … but Allah says you defend yourself

V1: Yeah, but not in that way

V2: Yeah — shut up. What do you know? I know more than youse

V1: Yeah, all right. Are you praying?

V2: Youse don’t worry about me. I’m going straight to heaven

V1: Yeah. God willing

V2: Before all of youse (stutters) get there. I’ll be (stutters) there

V1: Yeah. God Willing. Say God willing

V2: God willing

V1: Yeah. Yeah all right, um, what else do you want?

V2: Does Victoria know what happened?

V1: (Laughs) Yeah, they seen your photo in the paper

V2 : Is it a good picture?

V1: My God (laughs)

V2: Does it look good?

V1: No, it doesn’t

V2: Yeah, what else?

V1: You know what, Bassam, but really, exactly you, mate

V2: Yeah, because f**kin Ned’s brothers drew the picture

V1: You know what Bassam

V2: And they’ve got pictures of.

V1: No, I’m gunna tell you, do you know that photo that you drew in Queensland, that one day hand?

V2: Yeah

V1: They had that hanging on your wall.

V2: Yeah?

V1 : Yeah, do you know, it disappeared like that. I just disappeared, that photo

V2: The coppers have probably got it

V1: No, you know what, I reckon Khalid’s taken it and he gave that to them

V2: Oh look, they’ve got pictures of me in every f**kin cop shop in New South Wales

V1: Yeah, Do you reckon my phone will be tapped?

V2: No