Brother’s drug deal mix up spurred alleged Mariam crime clan gangster’s murder attempt: Court

Police claim Moustafa Mariam’s alleged attempt to shoot dead another man was sparked by a drug deal that left his brother fighting for life, it can be revealed.

Moustafa Mariam’s bail application has been heard at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

An alleged member of the Mariam crime clan tried to murder a man after telling his brother he was giving him cocaine but really gave him heroin, leaving him “gravely ill”, a court has heard.

Moustafa Mariam allegedly tried to shoot dead Asesela Davui in March 2021 after a wild night which began about 6pm with the kidnapping and detention of Mr Davui’s friend Issa Hammoud.

Police allege that in the 10 hours that followed Mariam and a co-accused tried to use the kidnapping of Mr Hammoud to lure Mr Davui to their location, before opening fire nine times on his car when he arrived – wounding him in the leg and buttock.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal police also allege the attempted murder was spurred by a problematic drug deal that saw Mariam’s brother Adam left fighting for life after consuming heroin.

The details of the allegations against Mariam were revealed in the Downing Centre Local Court last week as he unsuccessfully applied for bail.

Moustafa Mariam has been accused of the attempted murder of Asesela Davui.

“It is said that umbrage had been taken to the supply of drugs by … (Mr) Davui which left an Adam Mariam gravely ill after having initially thought he had taken and used the drug cocaine, only to find it was the drug heroin,” Deputy Chief Magistrate Theo Tsavdaridis said.

Mariam’s alleged attempted hit was spurred on by a drug mix-up that left his brother gravely ill, a court has heard.

The court also heard that police allege before Davui arrived, Mariam unleashed a torrent of violence against Hammoud.

He allegedly began by “punching (Mr Hammoud) all over the face and head countless times”, before taking out a wooden baseball bat which he used to hit “the victim to the head as he was cowering and attempting to shield his face.”

Mariam’s co-accused then allegedly dragged Mr Hammoud to a shower and “turned it on”, before continuing to “punch him about the head”.

With Mr Hammoud allegedly being subjected to ongoing attacks, the court heard that “at some stage a phone call was made by (Mariam) using Mr Hammoud’s phone so as not to raise any suspicions in Mr Davui’s mind” about him attending the location the alleged attackers were trying to lure him to.

Mariam’s legal team offered a $700,000 surety and proposed he be placed on stringent conditions, among them house arrest, drug and alcohol abstention, and electronic anklet monitoring.

But the proposed conditions were rendered irrelevant with Magistrate Tsavdaridis finding the show cause threshold had not been met, and refusing bail.

Having seemingly recovered from the illness caused by consuming the heroin, police sources told The Daily Telegraph Adam Mariam was among a number of Mariam family members to have headed overseas recently.

He left Australia on July 3, his brother Jalal departed on July 12 and Mahmoud Mariam – who was jailed in 2011 for more than nine years for the shooting death of truck driver Bob Knight – is also currently believed to be overseas, despite NSW Police having an arrest warrant out for him.