Billion-dollar crime syndicate allegedly helmed by Sydney brothers
An alleged billion dollar organised crime syndicate, with tentacles spanning from Beirut to Australia, has suffered a major blow after police arrested two brothers, the alleged chiefs, in Sydney’s airport and Lebanon.
Police believe the year-long investigation into the gun, drug, tobacco, and money-running gang could also mark the end of one of Sydney’s most notorious criminal careers.
Lebanese authorities swooped on a 37-year-old man in Lebanon earlier this week. Police believe the man now in custody is one of their most wanted: Bilal Haouchar.
Separately, NSW Police pounced on his brother Nedal at Sydney’s International Airport on Sunday.
Nedal was charged with two counts of supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, being 10 kilograms and 2 kilograms of cocaine, one count of supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, five counts of dealing with the suspected proceeds of crime, collectively worth millions of dollars, and one count of knowingly direct activities of a criminal group.
Over the next few days, a 450-strong team from Strike Force Tromperie arrested 24 people through 37 search warrants across Sydney.
Across the year-long investigation, police seized 25 firearms, more than 60 dedicated encrypted criminal communication devices, nearly $1.5 million in cash, $2 million in cryptocurrency, a Lamborghini, over $3 million worth of luxury watches, drug manufacturing equipment and two tonnes of drugs with a street value upwards of $130 million, all of which they allege is connected to the group.
“Potentially, they were the biggest criminal network and enterprise in Australia at the current time,” Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.
Police will allege the Haouchar brothers held commanding positions within the syndicate. Bilal was last seen in Australia boarding a business class flight to Beirut in September 2018.
The NSW Supreme Court, that month, heard Bilal had been involved in a gunfight on the streets of Guildford in mid-2012. The charges in that case were dropped.
In November 2012, police told the court, Bilal disposed of the clothing of two masked gunmen who killed drug dealer Ali Hachem Eid at Punchbowl. He would later plead guilty to accessory to murder after the fact.
The following month Bilal was arrested alongside Comanchero chief Mark Buddle in Queensland on gun charges and returned to prison to serve out his time.
While in prison in 2013 Bilal allegedly advised a friend how to avoid being caught after he shot at a woman. He was found not guilty at trial for accessory to attempted murder.
The judge, in 2018, was troubled by Bilal’s conversations with his visitor to Lithgow prison.
“F---, we gotta sell the guns for 150, 200 grand,” Bilal told his visitor.
The judge looked at Bilal’s good behaviour bond, firearm prohibition order and anti-bikie consorting order but felt the growing list of black marks against his name didn’t “provide adequate protection for the community against the high risk of serious violent offending”.
The judge put Bilal on a strict extended supervision order, but by that time he was in Lebanon.
NSW Police currently have an arrest warrant out for the 37-year-old over alleged drug-related offences.
Nedal was not implicated in any of his brother’s prior offending.
While investigations continue and police expect to lay further charges under Strike Force Tromperie in the coming months, Organised Crime Squad boss Detective Superintendent Peter Faux said the group had been “significantly disrupted, if not dismantled”.
He said the ringleaders leant on “trusted insiders … in legitimate businesses. They recruit people with technical skills, and that’s shown through this investigation”.
The State Crime Command’s Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said that while the syndicate is not related to the recent spate of gangland shootings in Sydney, which are often linked to “different motivations”, he alleged “these individuals were heavily involved in the trade in illicit drugs – and violence flows from that”.
Other alleged players of the syndicate arrested this week were Rabeeh Mawas and Ammar Chahal, neither of whom were implicated in any of Bilal’s prior offending.
Mawas was charged with taking part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, possessing a dedicated encrypted criminal communication device (DECCD) to commit an indictable offence, knowingly deal with the proceeds of crime and failing to comply with a digital evidence access order direction.
Chahal was charged with possessing a DECCD with intent to commit a serious criminal activity, eight drug supply offences, supplying a pistol to an unauthorised person, knowingly direct activities of a criminal group, failing to comply with a digital evidence access order, handling an explosive or precursor without a licence, possessing or using a prohibited weapon without permit, knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime with intent to conceal, and possessing a prohibited drug.
Nedal, Mawas and Chahal were refused bail on Tuesday and Wednesday. They and 21 others are set to next face court within the coming months.
Another man arrested under the operation, Philip Leckloksavang, is a service operations lead at Transport for NSW.
Leckloksavang was charged with five counts of drug supply and one count of participating in a criminal group to contribute to criminal activity.
He did not apply for and was refused bail at Fairfield Local Court on Wednesday and will next appear at Parramatta Local Court on January 18.
A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said Leckloksavang had been suspended pending the criminal investigation and they could not comment further while the matter was before the courts.
A third Haouchar brother, Osman, is not alleged to be part of the Lebanese criminal syndicate and has not been charged with any offence.
He made headlines himself after being questioned by the Australian Federal Police for a visit to the Turkish-Syrian border, where he claimed he was doing humanitarian work.
Police, at the time, wanted to speak to Osman over the shooting of Michael Ibrahim in 2015, believing there were tensions between their families, though he was never charged.
After returning to Australia, the one-eyed Osman laughed off a police raid of his home. Officers, at the time, were investigating alleged threats to shoot up Merrylands station.
Osman is not accused of any wrongdoing.