Sydney lawyer Mahmoud Abbas allegedly kidnapped months before being shot

The Sydney lawyer who was shot this week was allegedly kidnapped and had his eyebrows shaved in the months before a gunman opened fire on him outside his home.

Prominent criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas, who was shot this week, had his head and eyebrows shaved in an alleged kidnapping last year.

Sources told The Saturday Telegraph the kidnapping was a warning.

It is understood a picture of a shaved Mr Abbas, who is not accused of any links to criminal activity or any wrongdoing, had been circulating after he was allegedly ­kidnapped.

Mr Abbas remains in hospital after undergoing three surgeries, with police sources confirming he had one kidney removed after a bullet went through it. A shot to the leg narrowly missed his kneecap.

He is expected to make a full recovery.

Sydney lawyer Mahmoud Abbas was shot outside his home in Greenacre on Thursday. Picture: TNV

Another of this week’s gangland shooting victims, Ferenc David Stemler, was a member of the Ahmad organised crime network and spent time inside jail with the family’s feared enforcer, it can be revealed.

The revelation sheds new light on the drug importer who on Thursday became the 22nd victim in Sydney’s bloody gangland war.

Mr Abbas was allegedly kidnapped last year.

Ferenc David Stemler, 28, was gunned down in Canterbury.

Underworld sources said Stemler, 28, served time in jail alongside Ahmad family enforcer Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad, who died in a hail of bullets at Greenacre last year.

One pointed to a helicopter tattoo believed to be the calling card of those linked to the Ahmad crime family.

Ahmad’s step-nephew Rami Iskander, who was also gunned down in Belmore last year, had the same tattoo.

Sources said the meaning behind the helicopter was that it was a play on being considered like “special ops SAS” of the underworld and being “dropped into the war zone”.

Stemler’s death on Thursday marked one of the most violent weeks in the gangland war.

Stemler’s links to organised crime will now form a crucial part of the investigation into his slaying, as detectives ­investigate what enemies he may have made.

He was currently on bail for drug offences, but had previously served time in prison for similar crimes.

This week’s shooting deaths of Stemler and Ahmad Al-Azzam have sparked calls for a royal commission into drug imports.

It comes as police prepare to hit the streets of Sydney in the biggest show of force since the killings began, sending dozens of seasoned officers to blitz organised crime figures.

Strike Force Magnus is set to hit the ground running on Saturday in an attempt to suppress the violence that has seen five people shot this week alone.

Stemler and Ahmad Al-Azzam are the 22nd and 23rd victims of the feud since the first shooting in 2020.

A total of 100 of the state’s most seasoned crime-fighters have been assigned to Magnus, which will probe several of the murders across western Sydney this year.

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