NSW Police arrest eight in dawn raids after Greenacre triple shooting
Anthony Pele is allegedly the gunman responsible for shooting three innocent people, leaving one of them a quadriplegic and another dead. It comes as numerous of his alleged associates were arrested and charged. See the exclusive photos.
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Anthony Pele is allegedly the gunman responsible for shooting three innocent people, leaving one of them a quadriplegic and another dead.
The 22-year-old allegedly fled the country just hours after the horror shooting at Greenacre on July 23 and is currently believed to be in Indonesia.
NSW Police on Wednesday were granted an arrest warrant for murder for Pele who they allege shot dead Ahmad Al-Azzam, 22, and seriously wounded Kaashif Richards, 25, and Achiraya Jantharat, 19.
Director of State Crime Command, Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein, said the Greenacre shooting was one of the worst he had seen in three decades.
“From my point of view, this is one of the most callous crimes that I have seen in my 28 years investigating organised crime,” Det Supt Weinstein said.
“It would be like your brother or sister pulling off to a side street at 2am in the morning, for whatever reason... they were conducting lawful activity, minding their own business.
“They are not connected in any way, shape or form to any criminal activity and have not been in their lifetime - and so this is what makes this so heinous.”
Sweeping arrests were made across Sydney of eight people police allege were either involved in the Greenacre incident or the Haouchar organised crime network (OCN).
Marko Saric, 24, and Ayman Manly, 40, were arrested in dawn raids at their Drummoyne waterfront units on Wednesday over their alleged role in what NSW Police allege is the Haouchar OCN, led by exiled underworld figure Bilal Haouchar.
Police allege this “criminal cell’s” feud with the powerful Comanchero bikie gang led to the Greenacre shooting on July 23.
Saric was taken to Burwood Police Station and charged with murder, two counts of shoot at with intent to murder, and participating in a criminal group, with police alleging he collected Pele in a car not long after the latter opened fire on Mayvic St.
His solicitor Talal Krayem adjourned the matter until Thursday for a possible bail application.
Manly was charged with failing to comply with a digital evidence access order direction, possessing a Dedicated Encrypted Criminal Communication Device (DECCD) to commit serious criminal activity, and participating in a criminal group.
The court heard Manly was accused of participating in a group chat on encrypted app Threema, with his lawyer saying the case against his client as “not strong”.
Manly was granted bail after his twin brother deposited a $50,000 cash surety, and he agreed to conditions akin to house arrest, until his matter returns to court on January 18 next year.
Manly is not alleged to be involved in the triple-shooting, but was rather charged over his alleged long-time involvement in the Haouchar network.
As both Saric and Manly were led shirtless from their townhouses on Wednesday their matching tattoos of the words “Enemy of the State” could be seen across their stomachs.
Saric also featured his surname across his chest, as well as Sydney’s skyline - including the Sydney Opera House and Centrepoint Tower - and the Last Supper on his back.
At the same time Saric and Manly were being arrested, police were also searching the home of Omar Haouchar - the younger brother of Bilal, who happens to also live in the apartment block.
Omar Haouchar, who is currently on parole on strict conditions, was not arrested or charged and there is no allegation he is involved in the crime network with his surname or the Greenacre shooting.
While that was happening in Drummoyne, at the same time other homes were being raided in Wattle Grove, Miller, Homebush West, Moorebank and Gorokan.
Detectives attached to Strike Force Alpina, the investigation into the triple-shooting, also charged Ammar Chahal, Seru Mar-Tavuonono and Charlton Schaafhausen over their alleged involvement in shooting.
Chahal and Mar-Tavuonono were charged with murder, while Schaafhausen was charged with accessory before the fact to murder.
Police do not allege any of those three men were the shooters.
Back in July, Homicide Squad detectives had initially been at a loss to describe why the innocent trio of Al-Azzam, Richards and Jantharat were shot, considering they had no criminal records and were not known to each other.
Police allege that Al-Azzam was sitting in one car, roughly 50 metres from the car containing Richards and Jantharat - who he did not know - when the gunman opened fire.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal police will allege the shooting occurred because the trio were caught in the crossfire of a dispute between the Comanchero bikie gang and the Haouchar OCN.
Ammar Chahal, a known associate of Bilal Haouchar, had allegedly learnt of a plan by the Comanchero to kidnap him.
When his associate Pele spotted Al-Azzam sitting in his car nearby he allegedly wrongly assumed he was a kidnapper and opened fire, with the gunshots startling Richards and Jantharat nearby, police will claim.
When the alleged gunman then noticed the couple, he opened fire on them too - shooting Richards through a vertebrae, leaving him unable to walk.
Director of State Crime Command, Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein, said the Greenacre shooting was the worst calibre of crime.
“This criminal group were of the mistaken belief they could do what they wanted when they wanted and showed a blatant disregard for human life in carrying out such a brazen attack on innocent people,” Det Supt Weinstein said.
“But today shows they can’t get away with it – and to the person who pulled the trigger in this murder: we are closing in on you as we speak.
“The mission of Task Force Magnus was never just to solve stand-alone acts of violence, but to dismantle the responsible criminal networks in their entirety.”
Immediately after Ahmad Al-Azzam was buried, his brother told how the innocent young man had big hopes for the future.
“Death has no time and it will come to you at any time, it doesn’t mean if you’re young you say ‘I’ll repent later, I’ll repent tomorrow’,” he said.
“Look what’s happening, my brother was 25 he had his future in front of him, I was overseas when I (last) spoke to him.
“He was talking to me about starting a business and doing his own future and getting married, he didn’t make it and two weeks later I heard the news and he passed away.
“Death has no time, it will just come to you when your time comes.”
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