Taskforce to probe Sydney’s ‘brazen’ underworld gang war
UPDATED 4.40PM 28/7/2023
NSW Police have set up a special taskforce as they probe the recent spate of brazen shootings across Sydney, with the deadly toll rising by two more on Thursday.
Amid fears the city’s gang wars are escalating, NSW Police said they would investigate links between the shootings and organised crime, after another man was shot dead in Sydney’s south-west overnight.
The man in his 20s was gunned down on Broughton Street, Canterbury, about 2am, in a scenario with all the hallmarks of an underworld hit. Police say they know who he is, but will not yet reveal his identity.
“We’re dealing with a small number of criminals who need to be arrested and brought before the courts. They are brazen. And this sickens me like it sickens everyone else in this state,” NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said.
The man was found by officers about 2am on Thursday with multiple gunshot wounds. He was treated by paramedics, but died at the scene.
It is the fifth targeted shooting in the area this week.
Elsewhere, the toll from the deadly spate of gun attacks grew further on Thursday, with one of three people targeted in twin shootings at Greenacre, in Sydney’s south-west, early on Sunday dying in hospital.
The 25-year-old man was sitting in a parked car when he was hit at the weekend. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition but died on Thursday.
A 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman who were shot while sitting in a separate parked vehicle were also injured in Sunday’s gun attacks. Police said the man remained in hospital, while the woman had since been discharged.
The latest death will become part of Strike Force Alpina. It forms part of the new Taskforce Magnus being led by State Crime Command that was announced on Thursday.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Dave Hudson said the string of tit-for-tat shootings were linked to organised crime networks that were feuding over Sydney’s lucrative illicit drug trade.
Taskforce Magnus will examine the links between the shootings, dating back to Alen Moradian’s murder in Bondi Junction last month.
Police said they believed most shootings were linked to conflict over the drug supply, particularly in south-west Sydney. Many of the hits are outsourced to lower-level criminal groups.
Thursday’s street execution unfolded after two men had a verbal stoush with the victim.
“We believe two people engaged in conversation with the victim shortly prior to the shooting,” Mr Hudson told Sydney radio station 2GB.
Police have since found two burnt-out vehicles they believe were used as getaway cars by the gunmen.
“Police are doing all we can to prevent these shootings … but the ongoing nature of these incidents is of obvious concern,” Mr Hudson said.
“It’s escalated over the last several years. Sydney’s unfortunately one of the highest consumers of cocaine and methamphetamine in the world.”
Ms Webb said the significant operational response was needed to protect the community.
“Public-place shootings are reckless, and criminals carrying out such attacks show a blatant disregard for not only their own safety, but [also] that of the community,” she said on Thursday.
“Taskforce Magnus will provide investigating officers a full suite of capabilities and an arsenal of resources to not only find those responsible, but to end this brazen violence on our streets.”
Ms Webb said the new taskforce would allow police to pool resources to investigate the shootings.
“We’ve had three shootings this week. It’s important that we look for and assume as I said these are linked at this stage. Until proven otherwise,” she said.
“Therefore, if they’re linked, there’s a common denominator and we need to find that.”
Mr Hudson said some of the best minds in policing had been hand-picked to lead the task force.
The latest shooting happened just hours after high-profile criminal lawyer Mahmoud Abbas was gunned down in Greenacre on Wednesday morning.
Mr Abbas, 31, has undergone emergency surgery after a gunman confronted him outside his Greenacre home.
Sydney’s south-western suburbs are grappling with a gang-linked war involving several families. It has claimed at least 11 lives in recent years, and has flared up again in the past few months.
Mr Abbas has represented several high-profile clients, including members of an alleged ISIS-inspired terror cell charged with plotting to destroy Sydney landmarks, and controversial former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer.
In 2021, he appeared for former NRL player Jamil Hopoate on drug charges.
– with AAP
