By Sally Rawsthorne
A year after father and son Toufik and Salim Hamze were murdered outside their Guildford home, police are appealing for information about a black Toyota detectives believe was involved in the two murders.
Toufik, 64, and Salim, 18, were sitting in their car getting ready to go to work on Osgood Street when they were shot; Salim died at the scene, while Toufik died at Westmead Hospital.
Toufik, 64, and Salim Hamze, 18, were shot dead last year.
Police believe Salim, who was known to police after being picked up with an unregistered pistol the month before he was shot dead, was the intended target of the shooting.
“Toufik Hamzy died due to his son’s involvement in the criminal milieu, but [neither] the community [nor] police will tolerate the slaughter of an innocent man and those responsible should know they are on borrowed time,” homicide squad commander detective superintendent Danny Doherty said on Thursday.
“While his son might have been linked to organised crime, Toufik was trying to get him out.”
Police on Thursday released CCTV footage of a black Toyota with the numberplate DC 84 DT that they believe was used before and after the shooting.
The car, which was fraudulently registered, has never been recovered.
“These syndicates utilise garages and car spaces across the Sydney metropolitan area to store cars before and after they are used to facilitate serious crimes,” homicide squad Commander detective superintendent Danny Doherty said
“What we’d ask is for members of the community who may’ve seen this car – perhaps in a unit, garage, secure parking, or quiet street – or who have information about its use, to come forward.”
The long-running feud between the Hamze and Alameddine networks has escalated into a cycle of violent retribution over the past two years because of a dispute over drugs, police believe. The tensions have resulted in the deaths of at least four people related to the Hamzy clan (some branches of the family spell their surname Hamze), including Salim Hamze, 18, and his father Toufik, killed in Guildford.
Investigators have previously seized a grey Ford Mustang and a burnt-out Lexus SUV believed to have been used as getaway cars; in August Ali Mahfoud, 25, an alleged associate of the rival Alameddine network was charged with accessory after the fact to murder and a 17-year-old boy with firearms offences.
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