Meet NSW’s most powerful prisoner, who has a very infamous surname

This is the inside story of how Talal Alameddine went toe-to-toe with an underworld heavyweight behind bars and became the state’s most powerful prisoner.

Inside the walls of NSW’s prisons, one inmate wields more power than any other – Talal Alameddine.

Alameddine, 31, has established himself as a major player behind bars in recent years, overtaking other big names to have the support of the wider Muslim prison population.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that just as his older brother Rafat became one of the kingpins of Sydney’s underworld on the outside, Alameddine was overthrowing the likes of Brothers 4 Life gang boss Bassam Hamzy and Qantas terror plotter Bilal Khazal on the inside.

Corrective Services NSW intelligence documents detail how the rise of Alameddine, who had been in Goulburn Supermax since 2016 for supplying the gun used to kill NSW Police accountant Curtis Cheng, can be traced back to him going toe-to-toe in a prison brawl with Hamzy in October 2018.

Talal Alameddine. Picture: Facebook

That incident occurred because of Alameddine standing up to Hamzy’s close associate Khazal, who for many years led the jail hierarchy.

“Bilal Khazal was challenged by Talal (Alameddine) in relation to how he was managing other inmates … and dominating them unfairly,” a source said.

“Because he disobeyed Khazal’s direction, Talal was given an ultimatum either to stand down and withdraw his objection against Khazal or he was going to order a religious order, where everyone was going to be forced to boycott him.

“This caused a major divide among inmates in Goulburn Supermax.”

Corrective Services NSW documents state that “despite [Alameddine having] associations with most inmates at HRMCC (Goulburn Supermax), following his altercation with [Hamzy] … there was documented verbal abuse by some inmates towards Mr Alameddine, including calling him a ‘dog’ and an ‘infidel’”.

“Talal was declared an infidel and inmates who continued to support or associate with Talal were subject to assaults and verbal abuse,” the documents state

Bassam Hamzy founded the Brothers 4 Life gang and remains in Goulburn Supermax. Picture: Supplied

Convicted terror plotter Bilal Khazal led the Muslim hierarchy for many years. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

The segregation of Alameddine by other inmates was even outlined in the NSW Supreme Court in 2020 by Muslim prison chaplain Ahmed Killani.

“He (Alameddine) was treated by some other inmates as a Muslim apostate,” Mr Killani told the court.

But the infamous brawl between Alameddine and Hamzy in an exercise yard at Goulburn Supermax showed to the wider prison population that it was possible to stand up to the controlling Khazal-led crew.

The dominance of the Alameddines in their bloody war with the Hamzys in the years that followed also helped to cement his standing on the inside, as did being moved out of Supermax and back into the main Goulburn prison.

“It is quite incredible really, because you have a kid who went into Supermax at just 22 and went straight up against Khazal and Hamzy, these big names, and just said to their face: ‘I was never raised to follow anyone’,” the source said.

CCTV vision shows Talal Alameddine going toe-to-toe with Bassam Hamzy inside Goulburn Supermax in October 2018.

It was this incident that led to the ascent of Alameddine within the NSW prison system.

“Soon enough several inmates turned against Khazal and aligned themselves with Alameddine, and because prisoners move in and out of Goulburn Supermax so often, that led to conflict in other jails.

“There were fights breaking out in Wellington, Nowra and Kempsey jails, and everyone is flocking to be on his side.”

Khazal, a former Qantas baggage handler who was also identified as an associate of Osama bin Laden, was convicted in 2008 of putting together a booklet outlining how it was possible to carry out a terror attack in Australia.

He was released from prison in 2020.

Alameddine will remain behind bars until at least August 14, 2026, when he is first due for parole.

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Originally published as Meet NSW’s most powerful prisoner, who has a very infamous surname