Farhad Qaumi: the rise and bloody fall of a brutal gangster

ON the streets he is "The Afghan". At 31, Farhad Qaumi has carved out a reputation as a gangland player. But now he is under arrest after a dramatic swoop by police.

ON the streets he is known as "The Afghan". At the age of 31 Farhad Qaumi has carved out a reputation as a player in Sydney's gangland.

But yesterday he was under arrest after a dramatic swoop by police involving heavily armed officers outside a hotel on the NSW Central Coast.

Officers are hailing the arrest­ as one of the most significant coups in the fight against Brothers 4 Life.

His induction to the B4L gang early last year prompted a wave of internal fighting, public shootings and the murder­ of at least one man, Mahmoud Hamzy, in October.

Only last week Qaumi, a high-value target for the NSW Police Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad, was at the centre of headlines after he was the victim of a shooting while on a luxury yacht on New Year's Day.

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Farhad Qaumi on New Year's Eve / Picture: Daniel Shaw

One account of the night, confirmed by multiple sources, is that he was sitting with his back to a window on the boat when the gunshots rang out. But at that moment he knelt down to pick something up from the floor, causing a bullet to miss the bulk of his body and hit his shoulder.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal the celebrations were in honour of a young and high-profile criminal identity who is expected to be sent to jail in the coming weeks over a drug bust.

Another man on the boat, Fawad Bari, 23, was arrested two days later during a vehicle­ stop on the M4. Police allegedly discovered a .38 revolver­. Bari is accused of being aligned to Qaumi's B4L faction. He denies this.

After months of investigations into Qaumi, police said they have now taken out the head of the Afghan-dominated Blacktown chapter and seven other of its members.

This includes Qaumi's two brothers, Jamil and Mumtaz, who are both behind bars. Jamil was charged on November 7 over a shooting involving rival gang members outside Bankstown's Chokolatta cafe while Mumtaz was arrested yesterday at a home in Wyong.

Mumtaz was also among those on board the luxury yacht on the night of the shooting.

The Oscar II was sprayed with bullets on New Year's Eve / Picture: Bill Hearne

Qaumi's induction to the gang occurred earlier this year and, according to police, came directly from its founder - Supermax prison inmate Bassam Hamzy.

The move would prove fatal for the gang. His appointment­ prompted immediate factional infighting between the group's Bankstown and Blacktown chapters. The result has been almost a dozen shootings across Sydney, including the Hamzy murder.

Hamzy was gunned down outside the home of his cousin and Sydney gang leader Mohammed Hamzy, 28, at Revesby Heights.

Mohammed Hamzy has since been charged with the murder of B4L gang member Yehye Amood who was killed by gunfire while in a car at Greenacre in 2012.

The source of conflict between the Bankstown and Blacktown factions allegedly stems from a falling out over drug territory in the Blacktown area.