Alameddine, Hamze gangs flee Sydney to avoid crackdown
The Raptor Squad arrested three men over an alleged violent bashing of a man who abused senior Alameddine figures in a video, according to police.
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Members of the Alameddine and Hamze crews are trying to get out of Sydney after police stepped up their action against anyone close to the two gangs following last week’s double murder.
The double-murder of teenage gangster Salim Hamze, 18, and his father Toufik Hamze, 64, in Guildford led police to up the ante on their efforts to suppress the ongoing conflict between the two warring gangs.
In just one week the crackdown has already led to increased pressure and a number of those linked to both the Hamze and Alameddine families trying to flee Sydney for the country — concerned about early morning raids or additional scrutiny.
State Crime Command director Darren Bennett is overseeing the crackdown and makes no apologies.
“We want to put as many of these people in jail as we can and we want to stop any avenue for violence that we can,” Chief Superintendent Bennett told The Daily Telegraph.
“We don’t want any more public place shootings, whether they’re shooting houses, people or anything like that, and we certainly don’t want any more murders.”
The shooting in broad daylight last Wednesday is the latest escalation of the war between the two clans and follows similar executions of underworld bosses Bilal Hamze and his cousin Mejid Hamze. No charges have been laid.
In response to last week’s shooting, NSW Police launched Strike Force Hawk targeting not just the Hamzes and Alameddines, but also more than 300 of their associates, in a way not done before.
“It hasn’t been tried to this extent before and it’s all about basically suppressing a large criminal group,” Chief Supt Bennett said. “We’ve already noticed … that a lot of these people are trying to head to the country for a period of time and lay low.”
In just a week since the Hamzes were gunned down outside their home, police have seized $127,000 worth of drugs, $35,000 cash and guns.
They also made a major breakthrough in their murder investigation by finding a grey Ford Mustang used as a getaway car by the two suspects.
Stolen from a Manly Vale home on October 10, the high-performance car was caught on CCTV speeding out of Murdock Lane in Guildford just moments after a silver Lexus SUV – used in the shooting – was burnt out.
Detectives tracked the Mustang to a Guildford garage before it could be set alight.
“It links in with the modus operandi of how these people operate, aggravated break and enter, stolen Lexus, stolen Mustang and a few weeks or months later something like this happens,” Chief Supt Bennett said.
The police promise to crack down on all associates continued on Tuesday when Raptor Squad detectives arrested three men over an alleged violent bashing of Mohamad “Butch” Haouchar, who abused senior Alameddine figures in a video, according to police.
“F.... Rafat (Alameddine), f... Hamdi (Alameddine), f... Talal (Alameddine), f... the lot of youse,” Haouchar (inset right) said in the clip.
Abdul Zreika, 19, Bailey Togiavalu, 20, and Ali Elmoubayed, 28, were arrested in dawn raids at Merrylands and Lidcombe on Tuesday and charged with affray, assault occasioning actual bodily harm in company of others over the alleged attack.
None of the trio have been accused of involvement in any of the deaths being investigated by police. Chief Supt Bennett was adamant people in the community knew more than they were saying.
“I’m confident in the fullness of time we’ll get to the bottom of all these (murders) and clear them up,” he said.
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Read related topics:Crime NSW