Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Ten Brothers 4 Life members arrested over Sydney shootings - Sydney Morning Herald




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Brothers 4 Life members arrested


RAW VISION: NSW Police arrest gang members of Brothers 4 Life in connection with shooting deaths in Sydney.


PT0M47S http://www.smh.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-2x2un 620 349 November 7, 2013 - 12:15PM



Ten members of the Sydney crime gang Brothers 4 Life, including its de facto leader, have been arrested over the shooting death and woundings of their own members after an internal feud sparked a spate of violent incidents in Sydney over the last year.


Six men, including leader Mohammed Hamzy and other key figures, were arrested on Thursday morning over the daylight killing of fellow gang member Yehye Amood, 27, in Greenacre, in Sydney's south-west, last year and the shooting of another member only days earlier.


The other four members have been arrested over the shooting of two men also linked to the group as they sat in a car at Bankstown on Wednesday night. The two men drove themselves to Bankstown Hospital and their injuries are not believed to be life threatening.


Yehya Amoud: shot dead as he sat in a car in 2012.

Yehya Amoud: shot dead as he sat in a car in 2012. Photo: Supplied



Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas said the arrests of these senior members, in raids on five homes and two businesses in Sydney’s south-west and Illawarra, are a significant step to dismantling Brothers 4 Life as an organisation.


"There is definitely a split within the group that has caused this to flare up and we have taken significant steps today to dismantle the group by arresting the numbers that we have.


"We need to send a message today that if you're involved with this group, if you continue committing the criminal acts that you've been committing, you can expect no respite and no let-up from police. We're focused and we're coming."


Head of the homicide squad, Detective Superintendent Michael Willing, said investigations will continue and has not ruled out the possibility other shooting incidents could be linked.


Amood, a member of Brothers 4 Life, died at the scene and his friend and fellow gang member Bassam Hijazi, now 33, was wounded when a gunman opened fire as they sat in a Mercedes with the number plate BFL on Greenacre Road on October 14.


One of those arrested is Mohammed Hamzy, known as Hamoudi and ‘‘Little Crazy’’ and who drives around in a car with licence plates that read MEOC - Middle Eastern Organised Crime.


He has been the de facto leader of Brothers 4 Life while his cousin, the group’s founder, Bassam Hamzy serves another 22 years in Goulburn Supermax on a raft of charges including murder and drug supply.


Detectives have linked this alleged murder to the shooting of a man in the leg less than a week before that at Yagoona.


They now believe the shooting death of Mahmoud Hamzy, a cousin of both Mohammed and Bassam Hamzy, at Revesby Heights last week is linked.


Mahmoud Hamzy lived at the address with Mohammed, who arrived home after the shooting joking that the gunshots were "like fireworks".


Mr Kaldas said those who are associated with the gang should think long and hard if they still want to be involved.


‘‘If you are still a member of Brothers 4 Life after last 24 hours you need to seriously think about the length of life that you have and what’s going to happen if you keep going down that path,’’ Mr Kaldas said.


‘‘There will be no rest, no respite and no let up from police.’’


Premier Barry O’Farrell said indications that police have broken the back of Brothers 4 Life will be met with ‘‘a wave of relief across the city’’.


‘‘I’m delighted if this means that the targeted shootings that we have seen in recent times have come to an end,’’ Mr O’Farrell said.


Thursday’s arrests came after a recent spate of shootings linked to the gang.


They include:


- the killing of Mahmoud Hamzy, the cousin of Bassam and Mohammed Hamzy, who was shot dead in Revesby Heights on November 3.


- the shooting of two other gang members, including Omar Ajaj, who was in the garage.


- the wounding of a 13-year-old girl, who was shot when gunmen opened fire in an attack meant for her gang member brother.


- the shooting of gang member Michael Odisho who was hit in the arm and thighs at Winston Hills on Sunday night.



1 comment:

  1. Thank you for your condensed version of the Sydney Arabic underbelly. Loved it. I am hoping to pen a Sydney Arabic Underbelly about all this violence it’s a story begging to be told seriously!

    ReplyDelete