Haouchar lost his eye in a drive-by shooting at his family's Merrylands home in 2008. Middle Eastern gangs, on the other hand, have made extortion against nightclubs, ram raids, and car theft more common in the CDB. Born in Lebanon, the 51-year-old is the brother of John Ibrahim, a popular figure and former Kings Cross, Sydney nightclub owner who has been accused of being a "major organized-crime figure" and labeled as "the lifeblood of the drugs industry of Kings Cross"; allegations that John Ibrahim denies. Today, Lebanese crime gangs in Sydney and all over Australia are notorious for weapons & drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes. Mohammad, better known as 'Butch',arrived at John's clifftop home and attempted to provoke a confrontation over money. Criminals are coming together from a really diverse range of backgrounds to do bad things together. Nevertheless he acknowledges Middle Eastern organized crime in the city is not going to go away and more research is needed. Members from both gangs consumed copious amounts of alcohol and cocaine before fighting what would later be known as the Battle of Kellett Street. The street side brawl came a day before a series of shootings at homes linked to both a Hamzy and Alameddine relative. He (Mejid) was one of the biggest names in Sydney,' they said. Slowly, but surely the new crime wave focus was against the Lebanese community and this has been the case since the 1990's. Daily Mail Australia is in no way suggesting that John Ibrahim is involved in an underworld war or is part of any crime group. When father and son Salim Hamze and Toufik Hamze were gunned down in broad daylight in western Sydney on Wednesday, they became the third and fourth members of the infamous crime family to be shot in a little over 12 months. One of the brawlers was spotted with a large knife in his hand. The recent brawl followed a similar fight last year behind bars between the two most infamous people with Hamzy and Alameddine as a surname. And an otherwise law-abiding majority erect a wall of silence when dealing with police they regularly accuse and sue for thuggery and racial profiling. "His son Walid came here several years ago to choose a wife," says Ahmad. Brothers for Life, also Brothers 4 Life was a Middle Eastern crime gang, active in south-western suburbs of Sydney, Australia.They came to public prominence largely from internal disputes between the Bankstown chapter and the Blacktown chapter that resulted in a number of shootings in October 2012 to February 2014 that killed two members. BEL MOONEY:Why does caring for my dad take over my life? ', Pools of blood and ripped clothing lie on the ground outside the house of a friend where Mejid Hamzy stumbled to after being shot in the front yard of his own home on Monday, October 19, Blood stained shirts and other ripped clothing was taken away in evidence bags by NSW Police, A burnt out car, believed to have been the one used by the two gunmen, was found on a nearby suburban street. 'But what you've got to do is get these communities to trust you. NZ Herald. The main center of Lebanese organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by . Osman was interrogated after returning from the Turkey and Syria border in 2015, as it was a designated no-go zone. Various prohibitions have caused many citizens to engage in criminal behaviour over the subsequent years, most commonly illegal gambling and drinking. They include some members of the Hamzy crew being banned from entering Mount Druitt, Rooty HIll, Blacktown and Merrylands where the Alameddine gang frequents. As a 30-year-old man walked to his car in the shopping centre near Parramatta he . 'Bassam was big but Mejid is a different breed. NSW Police had reportedly believed he was involved in the shooting death of Hamad Assaad, who was gunned down in his driveway in 2016. CCTV footage of the brutal showed the two going head-to-head before Alameddine got the upper hand, leaving Hamzy battered and bruised. Sydney's Lebanese gangs 2 of 5 TheGanglandman3 5.13K subscribers 499K views 12 years ago Takes a look inside Australia's world of Lebanese crime gangs. The Lebanese mafia "Al Cossa Kella" is unlike any other well-known traditional/hierarchical mafia and has an exceptional structure. A gang boss in Sydneys underworld rarely starts at the top they slowly build their way up from the bottom; starting out networking with other young criminals in juvenile detention centres, then committing small crimes as young adults. He long blamed Michael Ibrahim, the younger brother of famed Kings Cross identity John. Sydney Crime Museum is an online history of crime in Sydney, which has often affected the lives of ordinary people and popular culture as well as corrupting the processes of policing, justice and government. Write by: . The one-eyed pallbearer was detained in 2015 after returning from Syria, where he claimed he was doing 'humanitarian work'. The first community of Lebanese in Australia were Maronite Christians, quickly followed by a large Muslim community. The Ones That Didnt Make It: Australia-Bound Refugees Languish in Indonesia, Circle Sentencing: Alternative Justice in Australia, Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs, Nelson Mandelas Extraordinary Life: An Interactive Timeline, How Did Gaddafi Die? During the 1990s, Lebanese-Australian gangs took hold of Sydney. The Hamzys believed Assaad had been paid by another notorious group to carry out a drive-by shooting on the family's matriarch Maha, that left her wheelchair bound. [1] Due to the vast international Arab diaspora and along with a certain amount of organized criminals active in their respective communities, the Beqaa Valley has become one of the most infamous marijuana and hashish exporting regions in the world. 'This guy was well connected and loved by heaps of heavies. The family name first came onto the radar of police in the mid-1990s, when Khaled was jailed for his role in a drug ring. From the Russian Mafia in Sydney to executives at big-time banks involved in money laundering, here are some of the most infamous Australian crime bosses: If theres one boss to rule them all, its Fred Paddles Anderson. So the weapon of choice switched from guns to sharp razors, creating so-called razor gangs. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active . After finishing school, Basha became involved in more serious crimes. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article. 'Organised crime is not going anywhere, you can't regulate it, and so you need them to self-regulate. Originally from Lebanon, Hakim established his empire in Australia after emigrating to Sydney in 1952. And given the revolving trend of crime in the city, sometimes bosses lie low or act via a proxy, making the head figures hard to pin down. There were 72 drive-by shootings in Sydney in the first half of this year one every 2 days most of which took place in Bankstown, the City of Liverpool further west and in Sydneys inner-west. In 2013 he was caught on recordings from behind bars vowing to kill Michael and his older brother Sam once he got out of prison. Most arrested gangsters over the years all looked like ordinary citizens. [4] Some of the more notorious Arab mafia families include . Sydney crime bosses, on the other hand, tend to look more like seasoned thugs. Police swoop on Sydney crime families in mass raids, 115 people charged By 9News Staff 9:49pm Jan 30, 2022 Sydney's decade-long gang war is believed to have been smashed by police in just 48 hours, with 115 people charged during a two-day operation targeting alleged members, associates and supporters of organised criminal networks. Jihad Alameddine (right) has pleaded guilty to a charges including drug possession, drug driving and possessing equipment for administering drugs. . Often different rival criminal families are interlocked in feuds, resulting in a fair amount of violence. country of residence flight check in; nathaniel rateliff gallagher way; filming locations for she out of my league. Bilal's disdain for the glitzy rivals was so severe that John has been warned on a number of occasions about threats on his life. Khaled and Lola Hamzy moved their family to Australia in the 1970s as civil war erupted in Lebanon. BRILLIANT!' Who Are The Gangs In Sydney And What Areas Do They Operate In? That much was confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Rony Ghanem of Lebanons Internal Security Force. Ted Cruz accuses AG Merrick Garland of ignoring threats to Supreme Court justices and crisis pregnancy centers in VERY heated Senate exchange, AG Garland says every prisoner 'deserves dignity' when asked if 'biological males' should be in female jails - as Republicans grill him on the Hunter Biden investigation, fentanyl deaths and rising crime. Bilal had been serving time on a murder charge which was later downgraded to him being an accessory. He set up the gang Brothers 4 Life, and with a bevvy of mobile phones hidden in his cell, ran a sophisticated drug and crime ring. There are certainly criminal groups you could describe as Middle Eastern in origin but the lines are now blurring, he tells TIME. Historical rivalries between gangs continue to build up, making Middle Eastern crime in Sydney more dangerous than ever before. We are afraid there is some connection between these guys here and the guys in Lebanon, he said during a three-month visit to Sydney earlier this year to exchange information on criminal syndicates with the New South Wales Police Forces Middle Eastern Crime Squad. Beware the TikTok Will Vladimir Putin's empress pay the ultimate price for his war on the West? They believed that person was a member of the Haouchar crime gang. And given the history of government efforts to obtain information on race, Im not even sure its something we should be doing. In Sydney, Disaffected Lebanese Kids Caught in Spiraling Gang Violence Facing racism at school and pressure at home, children from Middle Eastern families in Australia are dragged into world. In only four Sydney. As NSW Police hunt Hamze's killer, Daily Mail Australia has taken a look at these two Middle Eastern crime crews, and others, who are wreaking havoc across the city. He befriended members of the NSW police (selling rissoles in the old NSW Police Academy canteen) as well as underworld figures like Graham Croc Palmer and Lennie McPherson. The very next day, bullets were fired into the home of another Alameddine. The geographic heartland of Australias 100,000-strong Lebanese community, its red brick apartments and cement-sheet homes are peppered with mosques, musallas and churches. His cousin Mahmoud, a fellow Brothers 4 Life member, was also shot dead in 2013 as he was caught in the middle of an attempt on another cousin,Mohammed 'Little Crazy' Hamzy. He told Daily Mail Australia that despite the hard tactics of police, antagonising these groups is in his opinion not the best way to go about it. Sydney crime families are a far cry from the gangsters and long trench coats we see on TV dramas. While Talal will be off the streets for at least the next decade, his five relatives have continued to develop into a prominent crime entourage in western Sydney. Then click on any blue marker to find out more. jewish british actresses; how old is meryl lipstein Bilal had been serving time on a murder charge which was later downgraded to him being an accessory. NSW Police assistant commissioner Peter Thurtell claimed the ongoing gang wars on the streets of western Sydney are drug related. 'But what you've got to do is get these communities to trust you. February 27, 2023 equitable estoppel california No Comments . Do not sell or share my personal information. 61K views, 233 likes, 5 loves, 107 comments, 41 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from 7NEWS Sydney: Police trying to head off a gang war in Sydney have seized weapons and drugs from a member of the. At the time of Mejid's killing, police said he may have been responsible for several assassinations including the 2016 death of Hamad 'The Executioner' Assaad, and that his murder was definitely part of a gang-related attack. Most of the crime families the squad deals with are "from the same three places in north Lebanon: Tripoli, el-Minieh and Akkar." Sydney's Lebanese community, estimated at 300,000, is the largest in Australia with the majority having arrived at Malcolm Fraser's discretion during the Lebanese civil war. Mohammad, better known as 'Butch', arrived at John Ibrahim's clifftop home and attempted to provoke a confrontation over money. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Professor Kennedy, who spent years investigating organised crime, is critical of the recent heavy-handed response taken by NSW Police to large criminal enterprises. Perish ran a major drug manufacturing and distribution business for over a decade on the east coast, managing to build a fearsome reputation in the underworld while escaping police attention almost completely. While Sydney crime figures have been dropping steadily for the past couple of years, there's data (like the Campbelltown crime rate) that tell of a much larger problem facing New South Wales. The street side brawl came a day before a series of shootings at homes linked to both a Hamzy and Alameddine relative. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Several other gang members were seriously injured. The sharp increase in Sydney gang wars has shown police that the structure behind these families has changed. Men of Middle Eastern appearance banteramicably in Arabic within tea rooms and coffee shops, while women wearing headscarves, hijabs and, on the odd occasion, burqas wheel prams through Centro, Bankstowns sparkling white shopping center. Drugs are manufactured and brought in from the more rural parts on the outskirts of Sydney, often overseen by Western Sydney gangs. Learn about Sydneys vicious criminal underworld. What we found was that in a matter of weeks they were excelling the other kids in school. This makes sense because of the presence in Australia and Asia of the triad criminal organisations, which are extremely efficient and Keep Reading, The so-called Mr Asia syndicate existed from 1976 to 1979 and was the first major heroin importer and distributor in Australia. In the mid-1980s, Cabramatta and Bankstown gangs swarmed the streets, including a particularly notorious Vietnamese gang called 5T. calling them lebanese simply They are in continuous rivalry over the country's resources and budgets. Closed now : See all hours. There are fears a feud between two warring Sydney gangs could escalate after the public assassination of Bilal Hamze. 'This guy was well connected and loved by heaps of heavies. Bilal's disdain for the glitzy rivals was so severe that John has been warned on a number of occasions about threats on his life. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. In the immediate aftermath of Hamzy's death they banned members of his crew, the Alameddine crew and others from certain parts of Sydney their rivals were known to haunt in an attempt to avoid an all-out gang war. They and their crew have established a stronghold around Merrylands - an area criminals have fought for control for years. , they suspect that the conflict was between two rival gangs in Western Sydney. All rights reserved. A member of the Alameddine crime family found with guns and cocaine in Mays Hill | Police trying to head off a gang war in Sydney have seized . ', Pools of blood and ripped clothing lie on the ground outside the house of a friend where Mejid Hamzy stumbled to after being shot in the front yard of his own home on Monday, October 19, Blood stained shirts and other ripped clothing was taken away in evidence bags by NSW Police, A burnt out car, believed to have been the one used by the two gunmen, was found on a nearby suburban street. Lebanese Family Terrorises Neighbourhood Redfern Police Station in Sydney. Australia's Pacific gangland. But with drive-by shootings, the nature of criminality in Sydney has changed. 'Whoever pulled this stunt is a madman for sure. Lebanese mafia is a Colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and Levant. Retired NSW detective turned Western Sydney University lecturer Michael Kennedy has seen generations of organised crime groups in Sydney. The year did not start well in Sydney's Harris Park. The execution death of Bilal Hamze has sparked fears of a gangland war in Sydney's western suburbs, where Middle Eastern crime gangs have long run rampant. The gang was active until 1999, when their leader was murdered outside a Western Sydney pub after his release from prison. Most of the gangs in Sydney are often offshoots of bigger, foreign organisations. RELATED: Manhunt under way after shooting in Sydney suburb. lebanese crime families melbourne. They know we will come knocking on their door.'. The 12 questions you NEED to ask before moving in with your partner, according to a relationship expert. Osman was interrogated after returning from the Turkey and Syria border in 2015, as it was a designated no-go zone. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that Rafat Alameddine was responsible for, or in any way involved, in the shooting. Today, Lebanese crime gangs in Sydney and all over Australia are notorious for weapons & drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes. Italian crime figures Carl Williams, Jason Moran, Mark Moran, Mick Gatto, and Alphonse Gangitano split up into factions with each of them fighting for power and influence. Before we can solve it we need to understand it, he says, and Im not sure we do.. The improvement was remarkable Imagine what they would be capable of if they had a better start in life., PHOTOS:Wildfires Scorch Australia As Temperatures Reach Record Highs. The crime families mostly targeted each other, after Adnan Darwiche and Bilal Razzak (both sons of their families respective patriarchs) got into a brawl at Nemras Cafe in Bankstown on February 25, 2001. In Germany these clans mostly settled in Berlin, Bremen and Essen where they became involved in narcotics trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, prostitution, illegal gambling, car theft, money laundering and armed robbery. With police continuing their search for Mejid Hamzy's killers, Daily Mail Australia has taken a look at these two Middle Eastern crime crews, and others, who are wreaking havoc across the city. the so-called "lebanese mafia" is called that because it was based in brunswick, an area classically populated by lebanese immigrants (although nowadays only yuppies live there) but the criminal organisation is part of the 'Ndrangheta (Honoured Society) and they really draw their traditions from Calabria, Italy. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.. 2015 Sydney Crime Museum. . Low 37F. A well known Lebanese family who lived not far from the old Redfern Police Academy were terrorising the locals with random assaults, drug dealing, robberies and violent anti-social behaviour. While Sydney crime figures have been dropping steadily for the past couple of years, there's data (like the Campbelltown crime rate) that tell of a much larger problem facing New South Wales. In the aftermath of Hamad Assaad's death, a one-eyed man carried his coffin down the steps of Lakemba Mosque. George Freeman was a bookmaker who was involved in organised crime in Sydney during the 70s and 80s. In place of those bans, police have reportedly introduced Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs), giving them even greater limits on what they can do and how they can associate. The Asian gangs in Sydney were infamous for street-level heroin trade. ingredient in ice cream that causes diarrhea 3, 2022 how old was zacharias janssen when he died on sydney crime families. In analogy with Australia, Arab organized crime also came to Germany following the Lebanese Civil War. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active globally . It ended in 2009, with the death of Abdul Darwiche. They are known for having control over the Merrylands area in west Sydney, Police believe Mejid Hamzy was responsible for the shooting death of Hamad Assaad, a close associate of Osman Haouchar (left) who is pictured with his wannabe standover man cousin Mohamad 'Butch' Haouchar (right). Look what happened in Germany in the 1940s., Selda Dagistanli, a lecturer in criminology at the University of Western Sydney, agrees that, When you attach criminal behavior to ethnicity, thats racist, and it makes you question the motivation of the people saying it., New South WalesPolice Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas says the problem in Bankstown and other parts of southwestern Sydney is not as bad as it seems. The attacks were reported as a war between two rival Lebanese crime families, the Darwiches and the Razzaks. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph. By the end of the era, they had effectively taken over whole suburbs in southwest Sydney with criminal enterprises trading in drugs . Two men are being hunted by police for their alleged roles in a notorious organised crime network in Sydney's south-west. Our contributors include the great investigators Bob Bottom and Al McCoy, and the wonderfully insightful Sydney artist Michael Fitzjames. While Talal's involvement in the murder of Mr Cheng has seen him become the most infamous member of the clan, he is not the only one to have landed himself in strife. Haouchar lost his eye in a drive-by shooting at his family's Merrylands home in 2008. Killing and shooting and illegal activity have become part of daily life. But when I was older and more Lebanese kids moved to my area, we formed a gang so we could protect each other and I started bullying back. After being acquitted from a murder charge in 1940, Anderson moved to Sydney and established his rep as a standover man. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active . Osman's brother Bilalfled Australia for Lebanon in 2018, but remains a key person of interest over a spate of murders - however Australia and Lebanon have no extradition treaty. 1999 Harris Kayot Deck Boat, WebLater that year, a second fight ensued. A source close to Bassam told Daily Mail Australia he was 'shattered' at news of his brother's death, which came just months after the passing of his father. According to the NSW Police, Lebanese crime families have started to corner the market on drug-dealing, causing them to clash with other gangs in the city. Bassam's cousin Mohammed 'Little Crazy' Hamzy (right) is currently serving time in jail for shooting two men in 2012. Prior to his assassination, Mejid Hamzy was more than happy to fly under the radar as he went about his business in the underworld. He has since fled to Lebanon but he remains a suspect in a number of murders in Australia, however the countries have no extradition treaty, Osman Haouchar (left) carries the coffin at the funeral for murdered gangster Hamad Assaad. Thats whats so disturbing., Lebanese-born educator Keysar Trad believes criminality in the community is a by-product of overly strict parents who expect their children to excel at school, and racism in the classroom and playground that prevents them from doing so. Today, Lebanese crime gangs in Sydney and all over Australia are notorious for weapons & drug trafficking, money laundering, and other crimes. Lebanese organized crime is active in the country of Lebanon itself, as well as in countries and areas with a large Arab community, most notably United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Canada also in the Triple Frontier in South America. 14 Dorchester St, Sydney, Nova Scotia B1P 5Y8 Canada +1 902-562-3412 Website. His name wasOsman Haouchar. ', Mahmoud Hamzy (pictured), a fellow Brothers 4 Life member, was also shot dead in 2013 in an attempt on another cousin, Mohammed 'Little Crazy' Hamzy. He long blamed Michael Ibrahim, the younger brother of famed Kings Cross identity John. On the day before the first of the Skaf rapes, the gang's leader was only a few weeks away from his 19th birthday. NSW has been the centre of an ongoing task force called Strike Force Taipan, which has made a lot of progress into stopping organised crime funded by international criminals. Police believe he may have been responsible for several assassinations including the 2016 death of Hamad 'The Executioner' Assaad, and that his murder is definitely part of a gang-related attack. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active globally, largely due to the mass Arab population. Criminal organizations however often transcend religious and cultural barriers, with members of the Sunni communities all involved in the same criminal organizations.[3]. Mom who lost both sons to fentanyl blasts laughing Biden, Two Russian tanks annihilated with bombs by Ukrainian armed forces, Isabel Oakeshott receives 'menacing' message from Matt Hancock, Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' But while life behind bars is intended to be a deterrent for reoffending, it was where Hamzy thrived. Asian gangs in Sydney are the most prominent members of the criminal underworld; they control most of the money laundering that goes on in the city, often in the heart of the urban areas. In the immediate aftermath of Mejid's death, police banned members of his crew, the Alameddine crew and others from certain parts of Sydney their rivals were known to haunt in an attempt to avoid an all-out gang war. RELATED: MAFS Daniel breaks silence on criminal charge. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Rising crime in northern Bekaa Valley hurting Hezbollah", "THE WORLD'S LARGEST DRUG FIELD -- (BY DENNIS EISENBERG) (Extension of Remarks - July 27, 1990)", "Schattenseiten der Einwanderergesellschaft - Brutale Familienbande", "Miri-Clan: Eine Familie, tief verstrickt ins Verbrechen - DIE WELT", "Terrorist and Organized Crime Groups in the Tri-Border Area of South America", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lebanese_mafia&oldid=1141378811, Organized crime by ethnic or national origin, Articles that may contain original research from January 2015, All articles that may contain original research, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Pages using infobox criminal organization with rivals parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 19:36. He was stabbed in prison last week. He (Mejid) was one of the biggest names in Sydney,' they said.
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