Operation Hawk: Underworld on notice as cops raid bikie, Alameddine-Hamzy homes

Police hope a major crackdown on over 300 alleged gangland associates will seal off a power vacuum created by high profile Alameddine and Hamzy arrests.

Police have launched a major crackdown on gangland activity in Sydney’s southwest with dawn raids at the homes of feared bikies and Hamzy-Alameddine associates.

The two-day operation will see police from the State Crime Command and Central, North West and South West Metropolitan with the assistance of the Public Order and Riot Squad, Raptor Squad and Highway Patrol patrolling suburbs like Granville, Merrylands and Bankstown.

The high-visibility operation commenced on Thursday around 6am with police executing search warrants and Firearm Prohibition Order (FPO) checks at the homes of underworld associates, with a focus on outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCG) and Hamzy-Alameddine crime networks.

Abdul Zahed, a 37-year-old associate of a high-ranking Comanchero member, was arrested attempting to jump the back fence of a Bankstown home. Picture: NSW Police

It came after they last week made other significant arrests, including that of Abdul Zahed - the brother of high-ranking Comanchero bikie Tarek Zahed.

Police last year revealed they had used intelligence to create a database featuring profiles of more than 300 people believed to be underworld associates to inform the operation.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said these individuals were the targets of the operation.

“The success of the NSW Police Force in tackling organised crime has always been akin to our ability to evolve according to the criminal environment, and our evolution for 2022 is like nothing these networks have seen before,” Dep Comm Hudson said.

Police allege 54g of heroin was located in the Zahed’s underwear, which was seized along with $18,950 cash located at a nearby property. Picture: NSW Police

“Taskings for Operation Hawk 2022 have been developed according to intelligence, identifying more than 300 priority targets, who are members or associates of criminal networks and OMCG, or who aspire to be.

“The essence of Strike Force Hawk has always been to make life very uncomfortable for all criminal identities and those who support and protect them. Operation Hawk is going to build on that.”

A Raptor Squad officer searches a vehicle amid an investigation into a public place shooting. Picture: NSW Police

Detectives have made what they believe to be significant breakthroughs in their crackdown on the gangland war over recent months, including the arrests of three alleged Alameddine associates in late-2021.

A further alleged high-ranking Alameddine member, Masood Zakaria, remains on the run.

Those arrests were followed this week by the charging of three alleged senior Hamzy gang members - Ibrahem Hamze, and Tareek and Haissam Hamzy.

State Crime Commander, Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith, said the new operation is just the latest phase of their promise to dismantle these networks.

“In recent weeks, the coordinated efforts of State Crime Command and the Metropolitan Regions has seen the arrest of numerous key identities alleged to have directed, coordinated and facilitated serious crimes,” Asst Comm Smith said.

A 20-year-old man remains before the courts after being arrested in North Kellyville over his alleged role in a shooting at a Prospect gym. Picture: NSW Police

“We know that this can create a vacuum, so part of this operation will focus on targeting those groups no one has heard of before they have an opportunity to make their names known.

“This is a priority strategy as we know it’s these types of networks who groom and recruit impressionable young people with promises of a life of riches, when the reality is, they are merely fodder.”

Operation Hawk 2022 is a collaboration between State Crime Command and the Central, North West and South West Metropolitan Regions.

Operations will focus on disrupting and combating organised crime networks and will include doorknocks, business inspections, raids, vehicle stops, bail checks and AVO compliance checks.

Zahed was arrested about 4.30pm last Thursday, 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.

He was charged with a number of offences including possessing ammunition without holding a licence or permit, two counts of knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime and two counts of supplying prohibited drugs.

Zahed faced Bankstown Local Court last Friday where he was refused bail.