Hamzy and Alameddine gang war: Police blitz targets both families
A two-day police operation targeting the Hamzy and Alameddine families involved in Sydney’s gang war has left both sides “confused and in chaos”. More than 100 people have been arrested and guns, cash and drugs worth $1.2m have been seized.
Police & Courts
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One of the state’s top cops says shutting down the key players in the conflict between the Hamzy and Alameddine families has left two warring sides confused and in chaos.
State Crime Commander Stuart Smith said most of the big guns have been targeted and the underlings are living on borrowed time.
“I’m happy for them to play it out in jail,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph after an “in your face” two-day operation that resulted in the charging of more than 100 people, Assistant Commissioner Smith had a strong warning for young “wannabes” considering taking a side, saying “these people are extremely violent, driven by money and status and they have no regard for you, their foot soldiers. They will use you, you are pawns”.
“Make no mistake, this criminal network will be dismantled. Watch this space,” he said.
During Operation Hawk 2022 that ended at 2am on Saturday, police seized 18 firearms, 672 rounds of ammunition, almost $100,000 cash, and a variety of prohibited drugs including methylamphetamine, MDMA, GHB and cannabis, with an estimated street value of more than $1.2 million.
Police executed 66 Firearm Prohibition Order searches and crime scene warrants, charging 115 people with a combined 292 offences.
Police also completed more than 450 bail compliance checks and almost 200 business inspections over the two-day period.
Additionally, a number of Casino Exclusion Orders were served on those suspected of using the gaming venues as a means to launder illicit funds.
The operation came after police last week made other significant arrests, including that of Abdul Zahed — the brother of high-ranking Comanchero bikie Tarek Zahed.
Zahed was arrested on January 20 as he attempted to jump the back fence of a Bankstown home.
Police allege 54g of heroin was located in the man’s underwear, which was seized along with $18,950 cash located at a nearby property.
Ibrahem Hamze, 29, has been charged in relation to a Sydney shooting with solicit or persuade to murder, accessory before the fact, shoot with intent to murder and acquire a firearm.
Senior detectives believe they have now neutralised most of the key players in the conflict and are getting in the face of the 300 identified associates.
“Now we have got two sides in a state of disarray, so the strategy over the two days was to put on notice the 300 people we have profiled and deal with anyone who thinks they are going to fill the void,” Mr Smith said.
“This operation was about the pawns, the people carrying out the work for the network, the drug dealers the people with guns, all of them.
“They invest money into young rapper groups, throwing cash at them to make videos, pretending to be gangsters.
“They do this so they don’t get their hands dirty, they’re happy for the young blokes to do the shootings, do the kidnappings, do the jobs and if they get caught they go to jail and they can say ‘no dust on me mate’.”
Mr Smith said many of the young people were being “lured into a life of crime” on false pretences.
“We would urge all parents to dissuade their kids from the stupidity of following to earn quick cash because it will lead to a lifetime of regret,” he said.
“A lot have dual citizenship and I’m not ruling out talking to the immigration minister so people get the clear message that if you’re running around shooting people, we don’t want you here.”
In photos obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, young people can be seen sitting in front of stolen cars that are likely to be used for criminal activity.
“So you have these gang members steal cars, high performance cars, then they disappear into storage facilities in the west to be used by another group of people who specialise in kidnapping, shooting and murder,” Mr Smith said.
“That’s where the goons come in, think there’s a quid in it, so they do the kidnappings for them.
“Just in the last week we locked up seven people involved in a kidnapping.”
Mr Smith said youths are being used to carry out killings, kidnappings and car stealings.
They have turned what was once a group thing, selling the drugs, doing the killings, laundering their money, into a commercial exercise by marketing the opportunities to work for them doing — offering up jobs on Dedicated Encrypted Communication Devices.
“The encrypted devices are what they use to facilitate everything,” Mr Smith said.
“What we’ve seen in the last two years is organised crime becoming a commercial enterprise.”
Police believe the business at the centre of the Alameddine-Hamzy feud is a drug important business worth $100 million a year.
“This is all to protect a significant drug distribution operation by both sides,” he said.
“What do these two warring factions do? They provide a distribution network for drugs, they both provide violent services, kidnapping, shootings and murders.”
The longstanding feud escalated in October last year when there was a very large shipment of drugs stolen.
“Internal activity between Comanchero and Alameddine and Hamzy families sparked a feud.
They have hated each other forever. But we have gone a long way to unravelling their operations and I will give an undertaking that they won’t be able to function.
“We are clear on that objective and they should be warned there is more to come.
“We are working closely with partner agencies, we are already talking with the Crime Commission around civil forfeiture, about seizing assets, things they own and we will hit them where it hurts.
“Money is a big driver and status is almost as big for them. But they are also opportunistic, happy to steal government grants. On Thursday during the operation we located fake medical certificates at four locations so they are happy to spread Covid around the inner west.”
Mr Smith said the blatant disregard for community safety was something police were well aware of — and a driving reason why they needed to be stopped.
He cited the example of a shooting in which an Alameddine associate was shot, as a young baby at a neighbouring daycare came within centimetres of being struck by a stray bullet.
“Someone brought an automatic weapon with no thought about the childcare centre. They could not care less about whether there were kids around they wanted their target,” he said.
“From our point of view we need the public to be assured that we are here and on the problem. And all the problems are going to jail.
“We are collecting evidence so when we get all these players behind bars and keep them there. It’s only a matter of time.”
Deputy Premier and Police Minister, Paul Toole, praised police for the success of Hawk, and said further targeted operations will continue for as long as they are needed.
“If you’re a criminal in Sydney, it’s now abundantly clear there is nowhere to hide – and that you’ll be leaving your current lifestyle behind for a set of prison greens and some plastic cutlery in the near future,” Mr Toole said.
“The NSW government will stop at nothing to ensure our communities are safe, and that police remain well-equipped to eradicate these people from our streets using any legislative means that are necessary.”
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