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Thursday, December 19, 2024

Fifth man charged over Sydney gangland shooting

A man is due to face a court over his alleged involvement in the execution-style murder of a Sydney underworld figure.

Mahmoud Ahmad was killed in a spray of bullets fired from several cars as he stood outside a friend’s house in April 2022.

Police allege a man arrested during raids on Monday helped dispose of the cars involved in the Greenacre attack in Sydney’s southwest.

Four other men are already facing charges over Mr Ahmad’s death, which occurred during a spate of Sydney gangland homicides.

“Today is just a further commitment to the people of NSW, that the state’s police force will not rest until all of these murders are solved,” Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein said.

“Today’s charges show that linkages between organised crime, large-scale drug supply and the homicides that can result from such activities.”

The Clemton Park man, 33, was arrested on Monday during raids on four homes across the city’s southwest.

Among 16 alleged offences, he is accused of being accessory after the fact to Mr Ahmad’s murder and knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group.

“These homicides, especially in the organised crime environment, are very complex matters. It takes more than just one individual,” Det Chief Supt Weinstein said.

The man is also facing charges relating to commercial drug supply and a separate offence of soliciting another murder police say is unrelated to the gangland murders investigation.

Another man, also 33 from Campsie Park, was also arrested on Monday and charged with commercial drug supply, soliciting murder and other offences.

The pair were allegedly involved in the supply of methylamphetamine and cocaine with a street value of $3 million.

They are due to face Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday.

Charges have been laid over eight other organised crime killings that took place around the same time Ahmad was gunned down last year.

“We are closing in. More and more every day, on those individuals who actually fired the shots into Mr Ahmad,” Det Chief Supt Weinstein said.

“We’re still investigating and we will not stop until such time as we have those who committed the actual homicide in custody.”

The investigation into the killing of Ahmad had also uncovered a plot to kill someone else, in an unrelated matter, the detective said.

“We have basically stopped that murder from occurring.”

The city’s gang wars had almost petered out over the past few years, he said.

“We don’t believe we now are in a position where we are currently having any escalation. In the two years before Mahmoud Ahmad’s death, there were 17 organised crime murders.

“This year alone, there’s been one organised crime homicide.”

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