Ghassan Amoun could be ‘next target’ in underworld war after cousin Bilal Hamze, court hears

A senior Hamzy family member was allowed to attend his cousin Bilal Hamze’s funeral despite a court hearing there is a target on his back.

A senior member of the Hamzy family was granted permission to attend his slain cousin Bilal Hamze’s funeral despite a court hearing he could be the “next target” in an underworld war.

Ghassan Amoun, the younger brother of gang leader Bassam Hamzy, successfully applied in the Supreme Court to vary strict controls on his movements so he could mourn Hamze in person.

The decision made by Justice David Davies on Tuesday could not be revealed until Wednesday afternoon due to a suppression order designed to protect Mr Amoun.

Ghassan Amoun won a court bid to attend his cousin Bilal Hamze’s funeral.

It came after the court was told NSW Police had received intelligence on Tuesday morning there was a “level of threat” against Mr Amoun and his movements at the funeral would be monitored by “persons that might be a threat to him”.

But Mr Amoun’s barrister, Ertunc Ozen SC, argued Hamze’s funeral held on Wednesday morning was the “safest place” he could be due to its high police presence.

Hamze, 34, was shot dead in a hail of bullets as he left restaurant Kid Kyoto in Sydney CBD last week.

Police revealed Hamze, known as a key figure in the city’s underworld, was aware of a contract on his head but he defied warnings to keep a low profile.

Detectives from NSW Police’s homicide and gang squads are still hunting those responsible for the shooting.

In October, Mr Amoun’s brother Mejid Hamzy was also shot dead outside his Condell Park home.

Bilal Hamze, 34, was murdered in the heart of Sydney last week.

On Tuesday, Mr Amoun made a bid to briefly relax orders banning him from associating with certain members of his family so he could attend Hamze’s funeral at Lakemba mosque.

Police fought the move saying his presence could allow for family members to “discuss and conspire the next retaliatory attack” against their enemies.

Christine Melis, acting for NSW Police, revealed that officers had on Tuesday morning received a tip from a “reliable source” that threats had been made against Mr Amoun.

She handed up a report from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission as evidence of the threat.

“I can also indicate that police have previously raised concerns about Mr Amoun attending the funeral … in that there might be a risk to him,” Ms Melis said.

In response Mr Ozen argued the “very highly publicised and scrutinised family gathering” was “the safest place a member of the Hamzy family could be tomorrow”.

“It would seem to me that the safest place for Mr Amoun to be, if this intel is correct, is at the funeral where there will be a very large police presence and lots of people watching (including the Hamzy family),” Mr Ozen said.

“The intel does not suggest it was a member of the Hamzy family (that made the threat).”

Bassam Hamzy, the brother of Ghassan Amoun, and founder of the Brothers 4 Life gang.

Mr Amoun is subject to a serious crime prevention order made by Justice Peter Garling in December, which was designed to prevent alleged gang members from associating with each other.

Mr Ozen said when making the order, Justice Garling was unable to find any evidence of Mr Amoun’s involvement in hostilities with the rival Alameddine family and he has not been charged with any such offences.

A wave of shootings in the past 12 months, mostly taking place in Sydney’s southwest, have been linked to the ongoing feud between the Hamzy and Alameddine families.

Police said they were investigating the feud as a possible cause of Bilal Hamze’s death.

Ms Melis said Hamze’s public execution on Thursday was a “critical juncture” in the feud and the general community was at risk.

“We can clearly see that that presence does not deter people from committing brazen crimes like the one we saw last week,” she said.

She also foreshadowed an application would come from Ibrahem Hamze, another family member bound by the order, to attend the funeral if Mr Amoun was successful.

The location on Bridge Street in Sydney's CBD where gangster Bilal Hamze was executed. Picture: Richard Dobson

Under the serious crime prevention orders Mr Amoun and Ibrahem Hamze are banned from speaking or associating with each other.

Justice Davies, however, granted Mr Amoun’s application and agreed the funeral might be the safest place for him on Wednesday.

Justice Davies said Mr Amoun’s attendance was unlikely to heighten the risk to himself and the public, despite that he appeared to be the “next person to be targeted” by the family’s enemies.

He ordered Mr Amoun’s control order be suspended between 9am and 3pm on June 23, 2021, and only while he was at the funeral and Hamze’s burial at Rookwood Cemetery.

Justice Davies said he was satisfied to grant the application as the family’s “organising force” Bassam Hamzy, who is locked up at Goulburn Supermax, would not be in attendance.

He said there was no evidence Hamzy family members would use the funeral as an opportunity to plot further crimes.