Fears Sydney’s gang war could explode as Mohammed ‘Little Crazy’ Hamzy freed from jail

One of the most senior members of the Hamzy family is back on the streets in a move that could reignite Sydney’s gang wars. Police tried to block his release for his own safety but now he’s out - and in the eyes of the underworld, he’s in serious danger.

• Trail of dead in bloody war

One of the most senior members of the Hamzy family is back on the streets after almost eight years in jail, with Sydney’s underworld on edge amid fears his release could reignite gang wars.

Mohammed “Little Crazy” Hamzy was given a special escort as he left Macquarie Correctional Centre in the state’s west about 9.45am on Tuesday, amid rumours underworld rivals were planning a $2 million hit on him the minute he left jail.

A NSW Police officer and two cars of elite correctives officers followed a Mercedes sedan and Porsche SUV – one of them carrying “LC” – as he was driven from the prison in Wellington, near Dubbo, back to Sydney.

Police have been working on a strategy for months to ensure his release does not reignite the gang conflict that has seen five of Hamzy’s relatives gunned down since he last tasted freedom in 2015.

As the Hamzys were felled and their rivals the Alameddines and Comanchero rose to power, the talk of the underworld turned to “LC” getting out of jail and if his return to the streets would lead to a resurgence of the war.

Mohammed "Little Crazy" Hamzy has been released from prison after almost eight years behind bars. Picture: Supplied

There were rumours underworld rivals were planning a $2 million hit on Hamzy the minute he left jail. Picture: Supplied

Hamzy’s older brother Khaled (right) was among the family there to see “Little Crazy” walk free on parole.

The underworld source said gang members may “feel honour-bound to avenge the deaths of Mejid, Bilal and Ghassan”.

“But he’s made so many enemies over the years that everyone from the Comanchero and Hells Angels to the Alameddines want him dead.

“The big issue for him is that from when he went to jail until now (when he got out), is that there aren’t as many soldiers in the Hamzy camp.”

Hamzy was driven out of Macquarie Correctional Centre at Wellington, in NSW’s far west, in a Porsche SUV on Tuesday morning.

A man waits outside the prison before Hamzy’s release.

NSW Police and Corrective Services officers wait outside the prison before providing an escort for Hamzy on his way back to Sydney.

Hamzy was jailed for 11 years and six months by the NSW Supreme Court for shooting dead Yeyha Amood.

At the time, Hamzy was a senior player in the family-run Brothers for Life (BFL) gang, which controlled crime in Sydney’s west and southwest in the early 2010s.

He developed his nickname “Little Crazy” by being hot-headed and having a penchant for violence.

But outside prison on Tuesday he was embraced by loving relatives, including his older brother Khaled, who had driven up early through the cold morning to drive him home.

Once back in Sydney he was met by someone who will become a regular acquaintance – the NSW Police State Crime Command Raptor Squad.

“They’ll be all over him,” one police source said.

Hamzy had initially hoped to walk free in February, but was knocked back by the State Parole Authority.

He then appealed the decision and despite objections of NSW Police his freedom was granted.

But just as his release neared, police threw an 11th-hour spanner in the works and raised concerns over where he would be living. Eventually that issue was resolved and his parole was approved.

Five of Hamzy’s relatives have been gunned down while he was in jail, including Bilal Hamze in 2021.

Ghassan Amoun (left), with his cousin Ibrahem Hamze, was killed in January 2022.

Hamzy’s release from prison comes with a number of strict conditions, including the requirement he wear an electronic monitoring anklet.

He is also banned from taking drugs, possessing a gun or prohibited weapon, and having any contact with bikie or crime gangs.

Police sources said that despite the strict conditions, they feared he would continue to “live by the sword”.

“You’d expect he would continue to live by the sword … and you know what they say,” one source said. “But I guess the thing that most people don’t take into account is the deterrence that jail provides.

“He has just spent years in jail and he won’t want to go back anytime soon, so he could also want to lay low or even try to head overseas eventually.”

Toufik Hamze, 64, and his teenage gangster son Salim, 18, were assassinated in 2021. The pair were distant relatives of the better known Hamzy and Hamze families.

A move overseas would require Hamzy to return before the parole board to vary his release conditions.

Overseas has been a popular place for members of Sydney’s underworld in recent months with high profile members of the Alameddine, Comanchero and other crime networks setting up new lives in Dubai, Turkey and Lebanon.

NSW Police have kept a list of more than 80 underworld identities who have left Sydney in recent years.

Some in that world believe the moves may have been directly linked to the pending release of Hamzy from prison.

“Give him a month or two to settle in and then he’ll get back to being the ‘Little Crazy’ we all remember,” one source said.

“If he was out, they (the Hamzy’s rivals) would never have done this.

“Look at what happened in the underworld, as soon as they heard ‘LC’ was up for parole they started going overseas.

“They all recognised it could be about to kick off again.”