Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad caused chaos on streets before assassination

Whether arrogant or ignorant, Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad, wreaked havoc on Sydney’s streets in the lead-up to his death — despite knowing a $1 million bounty was on his head.

Convicted killer Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad essentially had a death wish and was wreaking havoc on the streets of Sydney in the weeks preceding his assassination, police sources say, orchestrating drive-by shootings and extortions in an effort to get cash.

Ahmad, 39, was gunned down in a hail of bullets as he got into his Toyota HiLux ute after walking from the home of associate and friend Ahmed Banat on Narelle Cres at Greenacre, in Sydney’s southwest, about 9.30pm on Wednesday. Mr Banat is not accused of any involvement in Ahmad’s murder.

A manhunt is now underway for multiple gunmen. Police believe two cars found burnt out in South Granville and Belmore last night were used as getaway vehicles.

Ahmad’s death was hardly a surprise to underworld figures or NSW Police.

As a longtime “Mr Big” of the criminal world Ahmad had a long list of enemies and The Daily Telegraph has regularly reported about a $1 million bounty placed on his head by rivals.

Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad was gunned down in the street on Wednesday night.

But his refusal to move overseas or drive a different car shocked seasoned crooks and disappointed police.

Homicide Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty confirmed police warned Ahmad on numerous occasions about the dangers to his life.

Ahmad’s death was hardly a surprise to underworld figures or NSW Police. Picture: Supplied

“There is a long list of people that would like to see or do harm to rally and someone last night managed to do so,” Det Supt Doherty said on Thursday.

“Even up until last week police were executing firearm prohibition orders on associates, warning them that by being associated with him they’re in danger.

“He’d (also) been warned in the past that he was a marked man but … he didn’t heed those warnings.

“(This is) the consequences of him continuing on in the Bankstown area of going about his normal business as if he hadn’t care in the world, but he was in imminent danger and it was warning that had been given to him.”

One line of inquiry for detectives investigating Ahmad’s death will be a relationship a major rival — linked to the Alameddine clan — had with a woman known to him. That woman is not accused of any wrongdoing.

It is this individual that is understood to have planned a hit on Ahmad at Rushcutter’s Bay Park in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last year that was ultimately thwarted by police at the 11th hour.

Ahmad’s white Toyota HiLux ute, littered with bullet holes, is taken from the scene for forensic examination by police. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

But despite that near-miss, whether arrogant or ignorant, Ahmad refused to lay low.

In recent weeks he is believed to have been behind a campaign to target the wealthy Omar Elomar, in a bid to extort millions of dollars from him.

Elomar’s home in Condell Park was shot at on April 8, before his restaurant suffered the same fate less than 72 hours later on April 11. Several sources said the shootings were intended as warning shots from Ahmad.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal in recent days a gun was found inside a parked black Ford Mustang on a nearby street, with underworld sources suggesting it may have been placed ready for another shooting.

While Elomar will undoubtedly be relieved not to have Ahmad on his back, there is no suggestion he is in any way responsible for his death.

Ahmad’s death is the ninth gang-related fatal shooting on Sydney’s streets in the past 18 months.

Seven of those attacks have been linked to the ongoing war between the Alameddine and Hamzy clans.

A burnt out car was found on fire on Davidson Street in nearby South Granville not long after the shooting.

But while investigators are still continuing to comb over the multiple crime scenes and assess the locations of Ahmad’s enemies last night, police sources said early indications are that it is likely not linked to the war.

Ahmad’s death comes six years after the slaying of his brother Walid “Wally” Ahmad at Bankstown Centro Shopping centre on April 29, 2016.

That killing followed the gunning down of Safwan Charbaji at a Condell Park metal works, a crime that saw Brownie Ahmad jailed for five years.

It also led to three other tit-for-tat killings, including Hamad “The Executioner” Assad.

With Walid and Brownie dead, and their brother Ahmad “Rock” Ahmad currently in prison, their younger sibling Yousef “Gags” Ahmad is understood to be the next relative to be targeted.

He too was warned as recently as last week that a bounty was on his head, although it is not believed to be $1 million like his brother.

Detectives assess the scene on Narelle Cres the morning after the shooting. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

Despite the shootings that continue to unfold in Sydney’s southwest, police insist their tactics are working.

The first officers on the scene on Wednesday night were from the Raptor Squad, who have been tasked with disrupting underworld figures and have carried out more than 3,600 jobs on crime figures and associates in recent months.

“Raptor officers were actually out in the area and were the first responders to this shooting murder, and actually found Ahmad lying dead in the street and performed CPR on him,” Det Supt Doherty said.

“So it just shows or demonstrates how proactive the police have been in the southwest metro region.”

Police Minister Paul Toole said in excess of 100 checks had been completed in the last week alone and said the gang war was a”top priority” for both he and Police Commissioner Karen Webb.

“Gangland violence is a top priority for both the Commissioner and myself as it has been for our predecessors,” Mr Toole said.

“I want to ensure that police have every necessary resource available to them and I will continue to work with Commissioner Webb to make this happen.”

Narelle Cres neighbour Anthony Tesoriero — who heard between six and eight shots fired, before a car sped off — said he believed NSW Police would find those responsible.

“I heard six, seven or eight very hard shots. At first I though they might have been fireworks, but you soon realise they’re not fireworks,” Mr Tesoriero said.

“It happened very quick, they were in and out.

“I mean it’s got nothing to do with us, we’re innocent, but yeah, it was a little bit traumatic.

“It’s not like bullets were flying, I think they hit the target they were going towards – and we’ve got a good police force behind us so we’ll be all right.”

Originally published as Mahmoud ‘Brownie’ Ahmad caused chaos on streets before assassination