Kebab shop shooting continues state's 'violent chapter'
A triple shooting at a suburban restaurant has prompted an attorney-general to review a bail decision for the target of the attack amid fears of escalating gangland violence.
A 26-year-old man, identified in media reports as senior Alameddine criminal network member Samimjam Azari, is in a stable condition after the latest attempt on his life.
He is expected to recover fully after being shot in the arm and shoulder at a western Sydney eatery.
A 25-year-old man accompanying him was shot in the head and is in a critical but stable condition, while a 47-year-old woman who worked at the restaurant is stable after being shot in the torso and arm.
The trio were injured when gunmen struck an Auburn kebab shop in the eighth Sydney shooting in six weeks, marking an escalation in the city's gangland wars.
The shop was closed on Tuesday afternoon while neighbouring businesses contended with a busy afternoon trade.
More than 150 police have been knocking on doors to check bail compliance, search for guns and warn other potential targets as part of a task force established after a shooting in May.
"We're doing absolutely everything we can to ensure that this does not happen again," Detective Superintendent Jason Box told reporters.
The "saturation" of police in the area may have put criminals on edge and led to the delay between the shooting and a series of fires involving cars believed to be linked to the attack, Det Supt Box said.
It was also evident when riot police were among those responding to reports of a brawl involving schoolchildren near the scene of the shooting on Tuesday afternoon.
Azari was "reasonably dismissive" when police earlier warned him of threats to his life.
"I'm hoping that this individual reassesses his movements," Det Supt Box said.
He had reported to police on bail an hour before the shooting on Monday.
Two cars were found alight about 3.15am on Tuesday in Merrylands and Greystanes, not far from the kebab shop, with residents helping police extinguish one vehicle.
A black Audi - believed to be a getaway vehicle after the shooting - was earlier found alight about 6pm on Monday at Harris Park.
A white ute found alight on Tuesday morning was allegedly carrying masked and armed men targeting Azari on Friday.
He also survived other recent shootings at Granville and Brighton-Le-Sands.
Police expressed concerns of further violence when asking for Azari to be refused bail and will continue to do so for other alleged criminals believed to be linked to organised crime.
"We'll be putting forward our concerns for these people not to be on the streets and it's quite obvious that they shouldn't be," Det Supt Box said.
Premier Chris Minns told reporters Attorney-General Michael Daley was looking at the transcript of the court's decision to grant Azari bail.
The government has tightened bail laws for certain offences in the past and would consider doing so again, but police had all the resources required to catch "these animals".
"Their disregard for human life, their disregard for the laws that we have in Australia, is horrifying," Mr Minns said.
"This is a horrifying, violent chapter in the state's history and it needs to be met with the full force of the law."
A triple shooting at a suburban restaurant has prompted an attorney-general to review a bail decision for the target of the attack amid fears of escalating gangland violence.
A 26-year-old man, identified in media reports as senior Alameddine criminal network member Samimjam Azari, is in a stable condition after the latest attempt on his life.
He is expected to recover fully after being shot in the arm and shoulder at a western Sydney eatery.
A 25-year-old man accompanying him was shot in the head and is in a critical but stable condition, while a 47-year-old woman who worked at the restaurant is stable after being shot in the torso and arm.
The trio were injured when gunmen struck an Auburn kebab shop in the eighth Sydney shooting in six weeks, marking an escalation in the city's gangland wars.
The shop was closed on Tuesday afternoon while neighbouring businesses contended with a busy afternoon trade.
More than 150 police have been knocking on doors to check bail compliance, search for guns and warn other potential targets as part of a task force established after a shooting in May.
"We're doing absolutely everything we can to ensure that this does not happen again," Detective Superintendent Jason Box told reporters.
The "saturation" of police in the area may have put criminals on edge and led to the delay between the shooting and a series of fires involving cars believed to be linked to the attack, Det Supt Box said.
It was also evident when riot police were among those responding to reports of a brawl involving schoolchildren near the scene of the shooting on Tuesday afternoon.
Azari was "reasonably dismissive" when police earlier warned him of threats to his life.
"I'm hoping that this individual reassesses his movements," Det Supt Box said.
He had reported to police on bail an hour before the shooting on Monday.
Two cars were found alight about 3.15am on Tuesday in Merrylands and Greystanes, not far from the kebab shop, with residents helping police extinguish one vehicle.
A black Audi - believed to be a getaway vehicle after the shooting - was earlier found alight about 6pm on Monday at Harris Park.
A white ute found alight on Tuesday morning was allegedly carrying masked and armed men targeting Azari on Friday.
He also survived other recent shootings at Granville and Brighton-Le-Sands.
Police expressed concerns of further violence when asking for Azari to be refused bail and will continue to do so for other alleged criminals believed to be linked to organised crime.
"We'll be putting forward our concerns for these people not to be on the streets and it's quite obvious that they shouldn't be," Det Supt Box said.
Premier Chris Minns told reporters Attorney-General Michael Daley was looking at the transcript of the court's decision to grant Azari bail.
The government has tightened bail laws for certain offences in the past and would consider doing so again, but police had all the resources required to catch "these animals".
"Their disregard for human life, their disregard for the laws that we have in Australia, is horrifying," Mr Minns said.
"This is a horrifying, violent chapter in the state's history and it needs to be met with the full force of the law."
A triple shooting at a suburban restaurant has prompted an attorney-general to review a bail decision for the target of the attack amid fears of escalating gangland violence.
A 26-year-old man, identified in media reports as senior Alameddine criminal network member Samimjam Azari, is in a stable condition after the latest attempt on his life.
He is expected to recover fully after being shot in the arm and shoulder at a western Sydney eatery.
A 25-year-old man accompanying him was shot in the head and is in a critical but stable condition, while a 47-year-old woman who worked at the restaurant is stable after being shot in the torso and arm.
The trio were injured when gunmen struck an Auburn kebab shop in the eighth Sydney shooting in six weeks, marking an escalation in the city's gangland wars.
The shop was closed on Tuesday afternoon while neighbouring businesses contended with a busy afternoon trade.
More than 150 police have been knocking on doors to check bail compliance, search for guns and warn other potential targets as part of a task force established after a shooting in May.
"We're doing absolutely everything we can to ensure that this does not happen again," Detective Superintendent Jason Box told reporters.
The "saturation" of police in the area may have put criminals on edge and led to the delay between the shooting and a series of fires involving cars believed to be linked to the attack, Det Supt Box said.
It was also evident when riot police were among those responding to reports of a brawl involving schoolchildren near the scene of the shooting on Tuesday afternoon.
Azari was "reasonably dismissive" when police earlier warned him of threats to his life.
"I'm hoping that this individual reassesses his movements," Det Supt Box said.
He had reported to police on bail an hour before the shooting on Monday.
Two cars were found alight about 3.15am on Tuesday in Merrylands and Greystanes, not far from the kebab shop, with residents helping police extinguish one vehicle.
A black Audi - believed to be a getaway vehicle after the shooting - was earlier found alight about 6pm on Monday at Harris Park.
A white ute found alight on Tuesday morning was allegedly carrying masked and armed men targeting Azari on Friday.
He also survived other recent shootings at Granville and Brighton-Le-Sands.
Police expressed concerns of further violence when asking for Azari to be refused bail and will continue to do so for other alleged criminals believed to be linked to organised crime.
"We'll be putting forward our concerns for these people not to be on the streets and it's quite obvious that they shouldn't be," Det Supt Box said.
Premier Chris Minns told reporters Attorney-General Michael Daley was looking at the transcript of the court's decision to grant Azari bail.
The government has tightened bail laws for certain offences in the past and would consider doing so again, but police had all the resources required to catch "these animals".
"Their disregard for human life, their disregard for the laws that we have in Australia, is horrifying," Mr Minns said.
"This is a horrifying, violent chapter in the state's history and it needs to be met with the full force of the law."
A triple shooting at a suburban restaurant has prompted an attorney-general to review a bail decision for the target of the attack amid fears of escalating gangland violence.
A 26-year-old man, identified in media reports as senior Alameddine criminal network member Samimjam Azari, is in a stable condition after the latest attempt on his life.
He is expected to recover fully after being shot in the arm and shoulder at a western Sydney eatery.
A 25-year-old man accompanying him was shot in the head and is in a critical but stable condition, while a 47-year-old woman who worked at the restaurant is stable after being shot in the torso and arm.
The trio were injured when gunmen struck an Auburn kebab shop in the eighth Sydney shooting in six weeks, marking an escalation in the city's gangland wars.
The shop was closed on Tuesday afternoon while neighbouring businesses contended with a busy afternoon trade.
More than 150 police have been knocking on doors to check bail compliance, search for guns and warn other potential targets as part of a task force established after a shooting in May.
"We're doing absolutely everything we can to ensure that this does not happen again," Detective Superintendent Jason Box told reporters.
The "saturation" of police in the area may have put criminals on edge and led to the delay between the shooting and a series of fires involving cars believed to be linked to the attack, Det Supt Box said.
It was also evident when riot police were among those responding to reports of a brawl involving schoolchildren near the scene of the shooting on Tuesday afternoon.
Azari was "reasonably dismissive" when police earlier warned him of threats to his life.
"I'm hoping that this individual reassesses his movements," Det Supt Box said.
He had reported to police on bail an hour before the shooting on Monday.
Two cars were found alight about 3.15am on Tuesday in Merrylands and Greystanes, not far from the kebab shop, with residents helping police extinguish one vehicle.
A black Audi - believed to be a getaway vehicle after the shooting - was earlier found alight about 6pm on Monday at Harris Park.
A white ute found alight on Tuesday morning was allegedly carrying masked and armed men targeting Azari on Friday.
He also survived other recent shootings at Granville and Brighton-Le-Sands.
Police expressed concerns of further violence when asking for Azari to be refused bail and will continue to do so for other alleged criminals believed to be linked to organised crime.
"We'll be putting forward our concerns for these people not to be on the streets and it's quite obvious that they shouldn't be," Det Supt Box said.
Premier Chris Minns told reporters Attorney-General Michael Daley was looking at the transcript of the court's decision to grant Azari bail.
The government has tightened bail laws for certain offences in the past and would consider doing so again, but police had all the resources required to catch "these animals".
"Their disregard for human life, their disregard for the laws that we have in Australia, is horrifying," Mr Minns said.
"This is a horrifying, violent chapter in the state's history and it needs to be met with the full force of the law."
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The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Gangster has survived four murder plots: How Samimjan Azari became Sydney's most marked man
For almost a decade, Samimjan Azari has quietly climbed the ranks of the Alameddine crime clan. Once a gun and drug runner for the network, Azari spent years as a loyal cog in the machine of the sprawling criminal organisation, entrenching himself in Alameddine operations while flying largely under the radar of police as he gradually cemented his standing as a senior member. Around him, senior figures and associates have been jailed or fled overseas, paving the way for his ascent from a relative unknown in Sydney's underworld to the city's most marked man, who this week survived the fourth attempt on his life this year. Three-and-a-half years in prison for selling firearms and cocaine to undercover counter-terror police did little to stunt his rise, which continued after he was paroled in 2020. Azari was arrested alongside Bilal Alameddine after a two-month sting, during which they sold Desert Eagle and Smith & Wesson handguns and more than $100,000 worth of cocaine to officers. Deliberately targeted by police because of his family history and known connection to the Alameddine family, Azari was handed a seven-year sentence with a non-parole period of 3½ years. Three years earlier, Azari's older brother, Omarjan, was jailed for his role in an Islamic State plot to behead Australians and broadcast their killings online. In 2015, Bilal Alameddine tried to leave Australia to join Islamic State terrorists in the Middle East as a 16-year-old. Months later, a relative sharing his notorious surname, Talal Alameddine, supplied the gun used by a radicalised teenager in the murder of police accountant Curtis Cheng outside NSW Police headquarters. Even with his jailing and connections to high-profile associates, Azari has remained a relative unknown in the gangland wars that have plagued Sydney in recent years as conflicts between rival organised crime networks claimed high-profile victims. But over the past six months, that anonymity has dissolved as he found himself at the centre of an imploding war within the broader Alameddine network that has spilt onto Sydney's streets and triggered plots to assassinate him. On Monday, Azari survived the third attempt on his life in three weeks when two masked gunmen stormed a Turkish restaurant in Auburn, shooting him in the arm and shoulder, and hitting an innocent restaurant employee – a 47-year-old mother – twice in the torso. A 25-year-old associate of Azari's, acting as his bodyguard, was shot in the face – the third companion travelling with him to have been killed or seriously injured in attempts on his life in the past month. Another man with the pair fled into a back room of the restaurant as Azari fought off one of his attackers with a chair. Weeks before, on May 25, another of Azari's associates, Dawood Zakaria, was fatally shot in the head by assailants who opened fire on a Toyota HiLux in which they were travelling. Who has carried out the failed assassinations on Azari remains a major focus for detectives, with no gunmen so far arrested, but investigators believe the orders have come from within Azari's own network after an internal conflict 'imploded'. 'Obviously, they're a violent organisation, and they're happy to target people that are outside their organisation or those, if necessary, from within their own organisation,' acting Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell said in the hours after Monday's shooting. Little over a year ago, NSW Police triumphantly declared it had 'eradicated' the Alameddine network, arresting what senior figures were left in Australia after several of the group's bosses, including kingpin Rafat Alameddine, fled the country for the safety of Lebanon in November 2022. Since then, Rafat, has been living abroad as a free man, wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze during the peak of a war between the Alameddine and Hamzy clans for control of Sydney's lucrative drug trade in August 2021. That war, between the Alameddine and Hamzy clans, has been linked to 20 organised crime killings since 2020, police allege. In December 2023, Alameddine's second-in-command at the time and Zakaria's brother, Masood Zakaria, was charged over the conspiracy to kill Hamze after he was deported from Turkey, where he was living after leaving Australia aboard a fishing boat two years earlier. Despite what police hailed as a major victory, the Alameddine network has retained its presence as one of Sydney's most influential organised crime groups. And what success authorities did have in dismantling the network's Australian operations, has been, in part, undone by the fallout since. Police sources, who sought anonymity to speak freely about investigations linked to the Alameddine conflict, said the network has suffered from a lack of leadership in recent years, resulting in an escalating feud between rival factions that has led to the recent spike in violence, including the attempts on Azari's life. That lack of authority within the network, sources said, has left trigger-happy lower-ranking members free to call the shots with little regard for the consequences in a conflict that can't be linked to one particular incident but rather a series of minor issues within the broader network. The lack of senior leadership has also brought with it a departure from the meticulously planned and executed operations that have become synonymous with gangland killings of recent years. In its place, botched assassinations carried out by what police believe are inexperienced and incompetent hired killers chasing a lucrative contract. A suspected team of hitmen, the so-called 'Afghani crew', is believed to have been recruited into the internal conflict as contract killers. Among the warring factions, the KVT, a street gang made up of predominantly Fijian members and long enlisted as muscle for the Alameddines, has fallen out with the network. But the KVT is itself divided. A number of alleged members remain linked to Azari and other senior members of the Alameddine network who have led the organisation's attempted infiltration of Sydney's booming illicit tobacco trade. In January, several men linked to the Alameddine network and the KVT gang allegedly broke into a Condell Park storage unit and detained three men in an attempted robbery of millions of dollars worth of illicit tobacco. The men were allegedly tied up, and one had a toe severed. Far from a struggle between senior figures for control of what remains of the Alameddine empire, parts of the conflict, believed to centre on a series of minor grievances, stoop as low as the network's street-level operations. Once feared and protected by loyal followers, those at the top of the Alameddine organisation have been placed in the firing line by the conflict. The man police allege has climbed the ranks to head the network in Australia, Ali Elmoubayed, has himself received death threats and has been forced to flee the crime clan's long-time home suburb because of concerns for his safety. A week ago, Elmoubayed, a former bodyguard to Rafat Alameddine, inadvertently escaped a drive-by shooting at his Merrylands home by minutes. Elmoubayed was en route to Parramatta Local Court to ask a magistrate to let him relocate his young family when the bullets were fired. Four days earlier, a car outside the Earl Street home was firebombed. It is not clear whether the alleged shooters, who were arrested less than an hour after the incident, knew the house was empty and fired the shots as a warning, or if the attack was a genuine attempt on the gangland figure's life. Hours later, Elmoubayed's bail conditions were varied, allowing him to move to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features his lawyers argued would protect him and his family from future attacks. Loading His relocation was the latest indication of an emerging pattern in the conflict within the Alameddine network, with several of the crime clan's members and associates taking measures to alter their movements and make themselves less predictable for would-be assassins. A week earlier, Alameddine associate Ali Younes, widely known by his rap moniker, Ay Huncho, successfully argued for a change to his bail conditions so he could report to police over the phone rather than in person, fearing he would be targeted. Like Younes, the routines of several gangland figures have put them in the firing line of would-be assassins flying in the face of law enforcement as their stalking becomes more brazen. Police believe in two of the four attempts on Azar's life, gunmen followed him from a public place. On Monday, Azari was followed from a police station, which he left an hour before he was cornered inside the Auburn restaurant. Despite the best efforts of police to keep Azari safe, death threats still loom over him. After the Granville shooting, police warned there could be further attempts on Azari's life and raised concerns of retaliation as the conflict escalated. There would be further bloodshed on Sydney's streets because of Azari's standing in the Alameddine network, they said. Within weeks, police were proven right. In the days before Monday's shooting, and after another foiled attempt on his life in Rozelle on Friday, detectives repeatedly warned Azari of the risks posed to him should he remain on Sydney's streets. 'He was made aware of threats against his life,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said on Tuesday. 'He acknowledged those threats against his life, to an extent, he was reasonably dismissive of what we had to say, and he's obviously continued his movements in the public area with not a great deal of concern.' This week, detectives have issued further warnings. 'I'm hoping that this individual reassesses his movements,' Box said. 'I'm hoping that he's not accessible. I'm hoping that he does take the advice that we've given and that it does not present an opportunity like we've seen yesterday.' But with little indication the warnings will be heeded, and gunmen inching closer to their goal, the warnings, like Azari's luck, may be wearing thin. 'We've given him all the information that we can … to assist him and protect himself,' Box said. 'What he chooses to do with that information is a matter for him.'
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Gangster has survived four murder plots: How Samimjan Azari became Sydney's most marked man
For almost a decade, Samimjan Azari has quietly climbed the ranks of the Alameddine crime clan. Once a gun and drug runner for the network, Azari spent years as a loyal cog in the machine of the sprawling criminal organisation, entrenching himself in Alameddine operations while flying largely under the radar of police as he gradually cemented his standing as a senior member. Around him, senior figures and associates have been jailed or fled overseas, paving the way for his ascent from a relative unknown in Sydney's underworld to the city's most marked man, who this week survived the fourth attempt on his life this year. Three-and-a-half years in prison for selling firearms and cocaine to undercover counter-terror police did little to stunt his rise, which continued after he was paroled in 2020. Azari was arrested alongside Bilal Alameddine after a two-month sting, during which they sold Desert Eagle and Smith & Wesson handguns and more than $100,000 worth of cocaine to officers. Deliberately targeted by police because of his family history and known connection to the Alameddine family, Azari was handed a seven-year sentence with a non-parole period of 3½ years. Three years earlier, Azari's older brother, Omarjan, was jailed for his role in an Islamic State plot to behead Australians and broadcast their killings online. In 2015, Bilal Alameddine tried to leave Australia to join Islamic State terrorists in the Middle East as a 16-year-old. Months later, a relative sharing his notorious surname, Talal Alameddine, supplied the gun used by a radicalised teenager in the murder of police accountant Curtis Cheng outside NSW Police headquarters. Even with his jailing and connections to high-profile associates, Azari has remained a relative unknown in the gangland wars that have plagued Sydney in recent years as conflicts between rival organised crime networks claimed high-profile victims. But over the past six months, that anonymity has dissolved as he found himself at the centre of an imploding war within the broader Alameddine network that has spilt onto Sydney's streets and triggered plots to assassinate him. On Monday, Azari survived the third attempt on his life in three weeks when two masked gunmen stormed a Turkish restaurant in Auburn, shooting him in the arm and shoulder, and hitting an innocent restaurant employee – a 47-year-old mother – twice in the torso. A 25-year-old associate of Azari's, acting as his bodyguard, was shot in the face – the third companion travelling with him to have been killed or seriously injured in attempts on his life in the past month. Another man with the pair fled into a back room of the restaurant as Azari fought off one of his attackers with a chair. Weeks before, on May 25, another of Azari's associates, Dawood Zakaria, was fatally shot in the head by assailants who opened fire on a Toyota HiLux in which they were travelling. Who has carried out the failed assassinations on Azari remains a major focus for detectives, with no gunmen so far arrested, but investigators believe the orders have come from within Azari's own network after an internal conflict 'imploded'. 'Obviously, they're a violent organisation, and they're happy to target people that are outside their organisation or those, if necessary, from within their own organisation,' acting Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell said in the hours after Monday's shooting. Little over a year ago, NSW Police triumphantly declared it had 'eradicated' the Alameddine network, arresting what senior figures were left in Australia after several of the group's bosses, including kingpin Rafat Alameddine, fled the country for the safety of Lebanon in November 2022. Since then, Rafat, has been living abroad as a free man, wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze during the peak of a war between the Alameddine and Hamzy clans for control of Sydney's lucrative drug trade in August 2021. That war, between the Alameddine and Hamzy clans, has been linked to 20 organised crime killings since 2020, police allege. In December 2023, Alameddine's second-in-command at the time and Zakaria's brother, Masood Zakaria, was charged over the conspiracy to kill Hamze after he was deported from Turkey, where he was living after leaving Australia aboard a fishing boat two years earlier. Despite what police hailed as a major victory, the Alameddine network has retained its presence as one of Sydney's most influential organised crime groups. And what success authorities did have in dismantling the network's Australian operations, has been, in part, undone by the fallout since. Police sources, who sought anonymity to speak freely about investigations linked to the Alameddine conflict, said the network has suffered from a lack of leadership in recent years, resulting in an escalating feud between rival factions that has led to the recent spike in violence, including the attempts on Azari's life. That lack of authority within the network, sources said, has left trigger-happy lower-ranking members free to call the shots with little regard for the consequences in a conflict that can't be linked to one particular incident but rather a series of minor issues within the broader network. The lack of senior leadership has also brought with it a departure from the meticulously planned and executed operations that have become synonymous with gangland killings of recent years. In its place, botched assassinations carried out by what police believe are inexperienced and incompetent hired killers chasing a lucrative contract. A suspected team of hitmen, the so-called 'Afghani crew', is believed to have been recruited into the internal conflict as contract killers. Among the warring factions, the KVT, a street gang made up of predominantly Fijian members and long enlisted as muscle for the Alameddines, has fallen out with the network. But the KVT is itself divided. A number of alleged members remain linked to Azari and other senior members of the Alameddine network who have led the organisation's attempted infiltration of Sydney's booming illicit tobacco trade. In January, several men linked to the Alameddine network and the KVT gang allegedly broke into a Condell Park storage unit and detained three men in an attempted robbery of millions of dollars worth of illicit tobacco. The men were allegedly tied up, and one had a toe severed. Far from a struggle between senior figures for control of what remains of the Alameddine empire, parts of the conflict, believed to centre on a series of minor grievances, stoop as low as the network's street-level operations. Once feared and protected by loyal followers, those at the top of the Alameddine organisation have been placed in the firing line by the conflict. The man police allege has climbed the ranks to head the network in Australia, Ali Elmoubayed, has himself received death threats and has been forced to flee the crime clan's long-time home suburb because of concerns for his safety. A week ago, Elmoubayed, a former bodyguard to Rafat Alameddine, inadvertently escaped a drive-by shooting at his Merrylands home by minutes. Elmoubayed was en route to Parramatta Local Court to ask a magistrate to let him relocate his young family when the bullets were fired. Four days earlier, a car outside the Earl Street home was firebombed. It is not clear whether the alleged shooters, who were arrested less than an hour after the incident, knew the house was empty and fired the shots as a warning, or if the attack was a genuine attempt on the gangland figure's life. Hours later, Elmoubayed's bail conditions were varied, allowing him to move to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features his lawyers argued would protect him and his family from future attacks. Loading His relocation was the latest indication of an emerging pattern in the conflict within the Alameddine network, with several of the crime clan's members and associates taking measures to alter their movements and make themselves less predictable for would-be assassins. A week earlier, Alameddine associate Ali Younes, widely known by his rap moniker, Ay Huncho, successfully argued for a change to his bail conditions so he could report to police over the phone rather than in person, fearing he would be targeted. Like Younes, the routines of several gangland figures have put them in the firing line of would-be assassins flying in the face of law enforcement as their stalking becomes more brazen. Police believe in two of the four attempts on Azar's life, gunmen followed him from a public place. On Monday, Azari was followed from a police station, which he left an hour before he was cornered inside the Auburn restaurant. Despite the best efforts of police to keep Azari safe, death threats still loom over him. After the Granville shooting, police warned there could be further attempts on Azari's life and raised concerns of retaliation as the conflict escalated. There would be further bloodshed on Sydney's streets because of Azari's standing in the Alameddine network, they said. Within weeks, police were proven right. In the days before Monday's shooting, and after another foiled attempt on his life in Rozelle on Friday, detectives repeatedly warned Azari of the risks posed to him should he remain on Sydney's streets. 'He was made aware of threats against his life,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said on Tuesday. 'He acknowledged those threats against his life, to an extent, he was reasonably dismissive of what we had to say, and he's obviously continued his movements in the public area with not a great deal of concern.' This week, detectives have issued further warnings. 'I'm hoping that this individual reassesses his movements,' Box said. 'I'm hoping that he's not accessible. I'm hoping that he does take the advice that we've given and that it does not present an opportunity like we've seen yesterday.' But with little indication the warnings will be heeded, and gunmen inching closer to their goal, the warnings, like Azari's luck, may be wearing thin. 'We've given him all the information that we can … to assist him and protect himself,' Box said. 'What he chooses to do with that information is a matter for him.'
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Dramatic CCTV shows gunmen open fire in Sydney restaurant
Pointing to a bullet hole on the counter top, Rahimi said he hadn't realised shots had been fired so close to where he and his staff were working. 'I didn't even see this bullet coming,' he told Nine News. During the shooting, Rahimi ran to the aid of his staff member, who was shot twice in the torso, applying pressure to her wounds while they waited for ambulances to arrive. Rahimi said the 47-year-old mother has worked at the store for a couple of years, adding she was 'very hard-working, very honest, very nice lady'. 'My staff is my first priority now, so I just hope she's doing all right, and we will support her [with] anything we can,' he said. 'She doesn't deserve it, to get shot.' A major manhunt continued on Tuesday for the shooters, with investigators probing three suspicious car blazes on Monday night as part of their inquiries. A black Audi Q7, believed to be the gunmen's getaway vehicle, was found alight on Wigram Street in Harris Park just before 6pm. Police believe the second vehicle found ablaze about 3.20am, a white ute in Greystanes, was used in another planned attack on Azari on June 13 in Rozelle. 'We believe [the incident] was another attempted attack on the 26-year-old male from the shooting yesterday,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box, the commander of Taskforce Falcon, said at a press conference. 'On this occasion, witnesses sighted a white ute with several occupants and their faces covered, and one occupant was believed to be holding a firearm. The 26-year-old male and his associates fled the scene.' The 25-year-old associate who was shot on Monday, and remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition, was also present during the June 13 planned attack. When police attended the Rozelle scene a short time later, Azari provided 'limited information' about the attempt on his life. Loading 'He was made aware of threats against his life. He acknowledged those threats against his life, to an extent, he was reasonably dismissive of what we had to say, and he's obviously continued his movements in the public area with not a great deal of concern,' Box said. Police are still investigating whether a third vehicle that was set ablaze overnight, a red Commodore found outside a home in Merrylands, is connected to the attempts on Azari's life. Police allege Azari has climbed the ranks of the Alameddine network to become one of its most senior members not to have fled overseas or be serving a lengthy prison sentence. Investigators from Taskforce Falcon, established to crack down on escalating gangland violence, are probing whether Monday's shooters are the same men who opened fire on Azari last month on Woodville Road in Granville, killing Alameddine associate Dawood Zakaria, 32, and injuring Parramatta lawyer Sylvan Singh, 25. Zakaria died in hospital several days later. A day after the assassination attempt, police warned Azari was at the 'epicentre' of an ongoing feud between the Alameddine clan and rival organised crime networks, and that he could be targeted as part of a 'tit-for-tat' gangland war if granted bail on firearms offences laid after the Granville shooting. 'There will be further bloodshed on the streets – the streets will not be safe,' police prosecutor Kai Jiang told Parramatta Local Court, in the failed attempt to keep Azari in custody. Acting Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell on Monday said police held concerns a 'war' within the Alameddine network had imploded and spilled onto Sydney's streets. Loading Multiple police sources not authorised to speak publicly say internal conflict between subgroups of the Alameddine crime network is to blame for the spate of shootings. With no clear leader in the wake of kingpin Rafat Alameddine leaving Australia, tensions have risen between the Fijian-dominated KVT – a group who were previously used by the Alameddines as enforcers – and the so-called Afghani crew, as well as gang members aligned with other senior members of the crime group. The ongoing conflict and recent shootings have sparked fears of attacks in the underworld, with several Alameddine members and associates taking measures to make themselves less predictable. NSW Premier Chris Minns labelled the shooting labelled 'shockingly brazen'.
