The War Kill or Be Killed: NSW cop hopes Bilal Haouchar will be extradited to face Sydney courts

A senior NSW cop has revealed how police worked with Lebanese authorities to track down and detain drug kingpin Bilal Haouchar in an exclusive interview for The War: Kill or Be Killed. Now they want him home. WATCH episode three now.

One of the state’s top cops says he would “love” to see exiled international drug boss Bilal Haouchar back in Australia to face court over his alleged criminal empire.

Haouchar has been one of the top priorities for NSW Police ever since he moved overseas to Lebanon in 2018, just as authorities were planning to put an ankle bracelet on him to keep track of his every move.

For a number of years he allegedly managed to continue to run a major crime cell on Sydney’s streets, until the Organised Crime Squad’s Strike Force Tromperie arrested dozens of his associates last year.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson revealed in the new episode of mini docu-series The War II: Kill or be Killed he remains hopeful Haouchar will one day return to Australia, and join an ever increasing list of alleged underworld figures to be brought back home after fleeing overseas.

“I’d love to see Bilal Haouchar back here … to face our courts,” he said.

One of the state’s top cops says he would “love” to see exiled international drug boss Bilal Haouchar back in Australia to face court.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson labelled Pele a coward. Picture: NCA NewsWire

“Because I think this is where it all started for him before, you know, it became too uncomfortable for him and he took off those years ago.

“I think one of the messages that’s come out over the last few years is there are no safe havens overseas.

“Obviously the Lebanese authorities, based on our information, have arrested Houchar and he’s still in custody over there and we’re feeding information constantly to them.”

Haouchar’s crime cell was at one stage a billion dollar business, however that all came to an end last year when NSW Police’s Strike Force Tromperie arrested dozens of people allegedly involved.

That included Haouchar, with NSW Police working with Lebanese authorities to have him detained over there.

To the surprise of many who thought Haouchar would soon buy his way out of detention, he and a number of his associates still remain in jail in Lebanon.

Dep Comm Hudson also took aim at the state’s most wanted man, Anthony Pele, who he branded a “coward” for allegedly shooting three innocent people at Greenacre in the early hours of July 24, 2023 - and then fleeing overseas.

Pele is the man NSW Police allege opened fire on Achiraya Jantharat, Kaashif Richards - who was left a quadriplegic - and Ahmad Al-Azzam - who was killed.

Anthony Pele is wanted over the Greenacre shooting that killed Ahmad Al-Azzam. Picture: NSW Police

In the weeks that followed Pele fled overseas, with an international manhunt underway including in his last known location, Indonesia.

Talking to The Daily Telegraph for Episode 3 of mini docu-series The War II: Kill or be Killed, NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson slammed Pele as a “coward” – and said he also hopes international crime kingpin Bilal Haouchar would one day return to Australian shores to face the music.

“With a bit of pressure, the cowards run away,” Dep Comm Hudson said.

“They can be a hero with a gun in their hand and, you know, a faceless person, but once the pressure comes on, they run.

“It’s not the first time we’ve experienced this (and) we’ve been pretty successful in getting people back if they go to a place that we have the appropriate extradition laws in place with.

“Our inquiries into his location are ongoing through the Australian Federal Police and with overseas law enforcement agencies, and they will be ongoing until he’s located.”

The bloody scene where Ahmad Al-Azzam was shot dead in Greenacre. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Investigators allege the innocent trio of Mr Al-Azzam, Mr Richards and Ms Jantharat simply found themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

In the middle of 2023, a dispute was allegedly unfolding between Bilal Haouchar’s crime network – of which Pele is a member – and some in the Comanchero bikie gang.

Bilal Haouchar remains in custody in Lebanon.

Ahmad Al-Azzam became a victim of The War.

Pele and other alleged members of the Haouchar network had found out about an apparent plot by Comanchero members to kidnap one of their crew, and so put in place a trap. Pele allegedly drove around his associate’s house waiting for the kidnappers to arrive, at which point he would shoot them first.

But when he first saw Mr Al-Azzam sitting alone in a car on Mayvic St in Greenacre, and then Mr Richards and Ms Jantharat separately in another, it is believed he assumed they were kidnappers and so opened fire.

Mr Al-Azzam died a few days later, while Mr Richards was shot through a vertebrae and will never walk again.

That shooting, on top of the deaths of Marvin Oraiha, Alen Moradian and Ferenc Stemler, and the wounding of criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas, led to the formation of Taskforce Magnus.

As of last week, the police super squad had charged people for their involvement in all of the fatal shootings.

Dep Comm Hudson admitted the period since 2020 has been the worst he has seen for gang-related murders, in all his years in the force.

“We’ve seen a fair amount of escalating conflict since 2020 in the organised crime environment,” he said.

“Last year it did escalate to new levels with some very high profile victims, which always causes further retribution when you have high profile victims.”

But he, like many in the NSW Police Force, do not like the conflict being referred to as a “war” for a very simple reason. “We just call it a dispute, we don’t call it a war. Wars have rules,” he said.