Australia: Sydney brothers charged over alleged gangland murder

Two brothers have been arrested and charged over the shooting of alleged senior member of the Hamzy drug trafficking and organised crime network, Mejid Hamzy, last year.

38-year old Ezzedine Omar is facing 17 charges, including murder, eight counts of deal with proceeds of crime, as well as drug and driving offences.

Police allege Mr Omar was paid to organise the hit on Mejid Hamzy – who is the brother of convicted murderer and Brothers4Life founder,  Bassam Hamzy – in Condell Park in October 2020.

Police have not accused Mr Omar of pulling the trigger, and say they are still looking for the shooter.

Ezzedine Omar's older brother, 44-year old Mohammed Omar, has also been arrested and charged over the same shooting for allegedly hiding one of the getaway cars used – a white BMW.

Mohammed Omar was charged with six offences, including dealing with the proceeds of crime, and drug offences.

However, he has since been released on strict bail conditions after a person deposited $2 million of security to the Court on his bail.

His bail conditions include that he reside at a Revesby address and not leave the house between 9pm and 6am, except for a medical emergency.

He is also forbidden from approaching an address in Stanley St, Bankstown, and also one on Northern Rd in Dural.

Police have made clear they will conduct curfew compliance checks on Mr Omar,

His younger brother, Ezzedine Omar, remains behind bars and both men are due to face court again later this year.

Bail is a promise to attend court on the next court date.

It may be unconditional or come with conditions, which can include such things as attending a police station to report to on specific days, surrendering a passport and having a person (called  a surety, 'acceptable person' or 'bail guarantor') deposit a sum of money to the court (known as security), agreeing to forfeit that sum if bail is breached and can even involve a curfew.

An 'acceptable person' needs to have known you for a period of time, have no criminal convictions, no outstanding criminal charges or and not be an undischarged bankrupt. That person is required to complete an acceptable person information form to be eligible as your 'bail guarantor'.

A breach of bail may lead to bail being revoked and you being remanded in custody.

It has been reported that the Omar brothers have links to the Alameddine family, who remain in an ongoing feud with the Hamzys.

Mejid Hamzy was the brother of notorious gang leader Bassam Hamzy, the  founder of Brothers 4 Life, who is currently behind bars, serving a 40-year prison sentence for murder and gang-related offences at Goulburn Supermax Jail.

Bassam Hamzy's cousin Bilal Hamze was also shot dead last month in Bridge Street, near Circular Quay in the Sydney CBD. Police described the shooting as "an execution-style murder". While police believe it may be part of the ongoing feud between the Alameddine and Hamzy families, they also believe it could have been related to recent arrests as a result of Operation Ironside.

Operation Ironside, led by the Australian Federal Police, police forces across Australia and also international authorities, used an  encrypted app called ANOM, through which they could see ongoing communication and messages between alleged criminals including plots to kill, mass drug trafficking and gun distribution.

Operation Ironside has led to the arrest of 224 offenders on 526 charges in Australia alone. Other countries were also able to break up major crime syndicates too.

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