Sydney's Occupied Territories: Mulsim Brothers For Life Organized Crime Gang Members arrested and charged with Murder of fellow Muslim criminal Joe Antoun

Alleged B4L gang members Navid Khalili, Kasim Ali Khan charged over murder of standover man Joe Antoun

Ben McClellan 
The Daily Telegraph
January 21,2014

TWO alleged Brothers For Life gang members have been charged over the murder of stand over man Joe Antoun who was shot in the doorway of his Strathfield home last month.

It is understood police will allege Navid Khalili, 25, shot the 50-year-old just before 10pm on December 16 at the Jersey Rd home, while Kasim Ali Khan, 24, was the driver for the alleged hit.

Sydney's Occupied Territories :Labor Green Loon's VOTE People, Brothers 4 Life

Homicide detectives charged Navid Khalili at Silverwater Jail today after Ali Khan was arrested and charged in Parramatta last Thursday.

Khalili will face Burwood Local Court tomorrow, while Ali Khan appeared at Parramatta Local Court last week where he was refused bail to reappear on March 17 at Burwood Local Court.

Detectives will allege that both men are members of the Blacktown chapter of Brothers For Life.

Meanwhile, the younger brother of alleged Brothers For Life Blacktown chapter boss Farhad Qaumi has been charged for possessing weapons and supplying nearly two kilograms of illicit drugs.

Jamil Qaumi, 22, whose address was listed in court papers as Long Bay Jail and appeared via video link at Burwood Local Court today, faced five charges after Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad officers raided a Blacktown address last month.

Qaumi, who has been in custody since November 7, is charged with possessing a shortened 12 gauge Mossberg pump action shotgun and a Special Calibre .38 Smith and Wesson Pistol from November 5 to December 12.

He is also accused of supplying 1134.2 grams of the dance party drug 4-Bromo-2, 5-dimethoxyphenethylamine also known as "Nexus", 760.22 grams of 4-Bromo, 5-dimethoxyamphetamine also known as "Bromo DMA" and 150.85 grams of cocaine between November 5 and December 12.

Qaumi didn't apply for bail and it was formally refused to February 24 where he is due to appear for "other matters", the court papers stated.

The Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOCS) formed Strike Force Sitella to investigate a number of shootings during the second half of 2013.

Since the Strike Force was formed police said it has resulted in the arrest of eleven people facing 78 charges, as well as seizing three handguns, two shotguns and quantities of illicit drugs.

The Strike Force is investigating the following shootings:

The shooting of a man in Dunmore Street, Wentworthville on July 25

The shooting of a premises in Lignite Pl, Eagle Vale on August 2

The serious assault of a man on October 28 (specific location of assault not known)

The shooting of a man in Reillys Rd, Winston Hills on November 3

The shooting of a 13-year-old girl at Sunnyholt Rd, Blacktown, on November 4

The shooting of two men outside The Chokolatta cafe in Bankstown on November 7

The shooting of a man in Salisbury Rd, Guildford onNovember 27

The shooting of a man in Greenacre Rd, Greenacre, on November 29

Sydney's Occupied Territories :Labor Green Loon's VOTE People, Brothers 4 Life

Life inside the BLF Gang 

Yoni Bashan, State Political Reporter
The Sunday Telegraph 
12 Jan 2014
Pg's. 14, 15

His gang, Brothers 4 Life, which he founded and directed from the state's most secure prison, had lost its way.
Its members were flying off the handle on drugs and alcohol and straying from Hamzy’s fundamentalist Muslim ideology.

Catch Up : Sydney's Occupied Territories Muslim Crime Gang rounded up and bail refused

So in July 2012, he turned to underworld identity Farhad Qaumi, giving him instructions to clean up the gang and take it back to its roots.
Known as “The Afghan”, Qaumi and his cohorts had transformed themselves from the poor sons of immigrants living in Auburn to men who could hold their own with some of Sydney’s most wealthy, powerful and colourful identities.
On New Year’s Day, Qaumi was shot on board a luxury yacht as he rubbed shoulders with Kings Cross identity Adam Freeman, the son of organised crime figure George Freeman, and a number of other prominent figures, including some from the Italian underworld.
The party on board the Oscar II was believed to be a “send off” for Freeman, who is soon to be sentenced for his role in a $3 million commercial drug operation for which his co-accused was given a nine-year prison term.
The decision to recruit Qaumi to B4L would be the catalyst for a bloody and very public war for dominance within the group.
Instead of saving the gang, the decision would destroy it.

HIGH ROLLERS
THE Brothers 4 Life were an impenetrable force.
At the height of their presence in south western Sydney from late 2011, gang members were openly snubbing their noses at authorities, flashing their wealth and committing brutal, public acts of violence.
Unlike more sophisticated gangs, they were not interested in discretion.
Their Sydney leader, Mohammed Hamzy — nicknamed “Little Crazy” — got around in a $160,000 Mustang and kept a Range Rover in his driveway despite living in public housing and being on a disability support pension.
Another gang member sported an $80,000 Breitling watch, while others were regulars in the high-rollers room at The Star casino.
A 19-year-old newcomer was the registered owner of a luxury Audi Q7 even 

VICTIM A
AS homicide investigators worked the Amood murder, the Middle Eastern Organised Crime squad was running a separate operation to profile the Brothers 4 Life.
Only vague details were known about them.
Questions remained: How vast is their membership? How do they communicate? Who is in charge? What cars do they drive?
What police needed was a source — a luxury they didn’t have. This would change on February 9, 2013.
A 24-year-old drug runner working for the gang arrived at Bankstown Hospital after being shot twice in the legs.
He was a “good kid playing crook”, police later said; he was not cut out for the lifestyle. Police convinced him to change his life and turn informant.
Today he is a Crown witness known as Victim A. He told police everything.

ENEMIES WITHIN
AS the Amood investigation continued, Bassam Hamzy was making plans from prison.
He had formed an alliance with Farhad Qaumi, who was on remand for a murder charge that was later dropped.

The officer who investigated Qaumi, Justin Harris, alleges he was recruited by Hamzy for a specific purpose.

“We became aware that he (Qaumi) and his family were developing links with Brothers 4 Life,” Mr Harris, now out of the NSW Police Force, said.
“He was recruited because of their internal conflicts.
“He (Bassam Hamzy) wanted to clean the gang up because he’d thought they’d lost their true calling in relation to their religion.”
When Qaumi, was acquitted, he re-entered western Sydney and set up the Blacktown B4L chapter, stacking it with fellow Afghans.

Police believe that among them were his two brothers, Mumtaz, 29, and Jamil, 21.
A power struggle emerged between the Blacktown and the Bankstown chapter, controlled by Hamzy’s cousin, over a lucrative Blacktown drug territory.
One version of events is that a man controlling the drug turf, receiving protection from the Bankstown crew, was being stood over by Blacktown B4L members.

It prompted a series of shootings and retaliation, causing the gang to cannibalise itself. Instead of fighting other gangs, they were killing and maiming themselves.
On October 31, the game changed with the death of Mahmoud Hamzy outside his
cousin Mohammed’s home at Revesby Heights.

Near nightly reprisals followed. At one stage, a 13-yearold girl became collateral damage when a shotgun was fired into her home, targeting her brother.
Police, behind the scenes, began using the rift as leverage and were planning their own attack.

On November 7, homicide detectives and officers from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOCS) mounted co-ordinated arrests which knocked out the Bankstown chapter and a portion of the Blacktown membership, including Qaumi’s younger brother Jamil.
After 12 months, Mohammed Hamzy was charged over the murder of Yehye Amood while members of his senior leadership were charged over the kneecapping of Ali.
The move meant the end of B4L’s mother chapter at Bankstown — a major win for police.
The matter of Qaumi, however, still had to be resolved.

THE ROSE BAY WHARF SHOOTING
IT was a who’s who of gangland characters.
There was Farhad Qaumi, his brother Mumtaz and another man, Fawad Bari, an alleged
member of their Blacktown B4L chapter.

They were there on the Oscar II yacht with a bevy of girls and, to the surprise of many, a small group of Italians, all to “send off” Kings Cross identity Adam Freeman. Freeman, who last September pleaded guilty to drugs charges in court, is awaiting sentence and reliable sources have confirmed he was on the boat and the party was in his honour.
The night was going well until the vessel attempted to dock at Rose Bay.
A hidden gunman opened fire, hitting Qaumi in the shoulder as he sat with his back to a window.




It can now be revealed those behind the hit are suspected of being on board the yacht at the time and had been using social media to coordinate with the gunman on dry land.

It’s understood the owners of the prestigious yacht are now considering changing its name due to the incident.

THE ARRESTS
ON Wednesday, police swooped on Blacktown chapter boss Qaumi and effectively brought an end to the Brothers 4 Life gang.

His arrest, along with his brother Mumtaz, was described by officers as “cutting off the head of the snake” of the gang.
Both were charged with directing the activities of a criminal group, along with drugs and firearm possession offences.

It was MEOCS officers from Strike Force Sitella who made the arrests — they had been investigating the Blacktown chapter and six shootings, plus an assault, since mid-last year.
Five guns have been seized and ballistics has already linked some to other crimes, MEOCS commander Deb Wallace said.

Questions remain as to whether recent unsolved hits will match the weapons, including the murder of Joe Antoun at Strathfield in December, the near-identical slaying of his business partner Vasko Boskovski in July, or the B4L-linked murder of Mahmoud Hamzy at Revesby Heights.
With the bosses of both Bankstown and Blacktown chapters behind bars, the future of the group appears over. 

Catch Up : Sydney's Occupied Territories Muslim Crime Gang rounded up and bail refused

Cultural Enrichment,Diversity,Harmony Day Ambassadors weaving more golden threads into Labor Green Loons Multicultural tapestry.

Undercover officer caught Brothers 4 Life gang members in a police sting, court heard

Janet Fife Yeomans 
The Daily Telegraph
January 17,2014

Three key members of the violent western Sydney gang Brothers for Life were caught through a police sting, it was revealed in court yesterday.

Members did not know that they were dealing with an undercover cop as the gang continued to plan and commit offences, undeterred by the arrests of a dozen members in recent months, Central Local Court was told.

But knowing the police were watching them in general, the gang used "low level members" to commit the crimes, Crown prosecutor Victoria Garity said.

The story behind the high-profile arrests of three gang members after a police sweep of properties in Sydney and on the NSW central coast earlier this month - Farhad Qaumi, his brother Mumtaz, and Masieh Amiri - was revealed as Amiri, 27, a trainee hairdresser, applied for bail.

Surveillance and telephone intercepts caught him discussing obtaining a bag containing drugs, a sawn-off pump action shotgun and a Smith and Wesson revolver from the undercover operative, Ms Garity alleged.

There were loud sobs from one female family member in court as Amiri appeared from Parklea prison via videolink.

Amiri appeared to be quietly praying during most of the bail hearing, his lips moving as he stroked his closely-shaved black beard.

His mother, who had brought Amiri and his sister Wajeha Amiri, from Afghanistan as children, was too upset to join the family members in court, Ms Amiri said.

"It's a very big deal for our family. If (our mother) comes here, she would faint," Ms Amiri told the court.

"She isn't strong enough to come here."

She said their mother and father did not work and were able to supervise Amiri at their Kellyville home if he was released on bail. The days he was not at college studying hairdressing, he would work in a family business that spray painted kitchen cabinets.

Amiri and the Qaumi brothers are members of the Afghan-controlled Blacktown chapter of Brothers for Life.

Amiri's barrister, Mark Higgins, said the undercover officer had acted as "agent provocateur".

He said Amiri's family was a typically migrant family, close-knit who lived and worked together and they had offered a surety of $180,000.

Opposing bail, Ms Garrity said that Amiri faced incredibly serious charges and "the protection of the community in these types of matters is paramount."

Magistrate Les Mabbutt refused bail and remanded Amiri to March 6 when he will be joined by his co-accused, the Quami brothers, who have not applied for bail.

Brothers 4 Life gang leader Farhad Qaumi and brother Mumtaz denied bail

Yoni Bashan,Richard Noone and Amy Dale
The Daily Telegraph
January 9,2014

NSW police arrest suspected gang chiefPolice investigate Sydney boat shooting
BROTHERS for Life gang leaders Farhad Qaumi, 31, and his brother Mumtaz Qaumi, 29, have been refused bail in Wyong Local Court this morning.

The pair were arrested in a series of raids across the Central Coast and Sydney yesterday by heavily armed officers from the Tactical Operations Unit and investigators from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOCS).

A third man, Masieh Amiri, was arrested at Auburn was also refused bail during a brief appearance at Parramatta Local Court.

Farhad Qaumi, known as "the Afghan", was recruited by the gang's founder and Supermax inmate Bassam Hamzy and quickly ascended to the position of "captain" of the Afghan-dominated Blacktown chapter.

NSW Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas has warned remaining Brothers For Life members that there will be no let up in the police force's bid to shut the menacing gang down following Qaumi's arrest.

Police believe with the arrest of Qaumi they have now knocked out its two most dominant chapters and had "cut the head off the snake".

"There are only a small number of Brothers For Life members left," Kaldas said in a press conference this morning. "He (Qaumi) is a leader of the group, a leader of a faction.

"Speculation this is the end of the group is premature but I'm optimistic those who have caused the damage are now either in custody or neutralised.

"There are still individuals out there, we know who they are and we will be coming to get them. Come forward now before we come for you.

"We do have a large number of people who are talking to us and we've mapped out exactly what's happened.

"If you have been involved in any of these events, any of these incidents, any of this time, you need to think about coming forward now before we come to you and that's exactly what is going to happen.

"Operation Talon will not rest or stop because of the arrests that have been made. It will continue tonight."

Qaumi's recruitment to B4L allegedly came by direct appointment from the gang's founder, Supermax inmate Bassam Hamzy. Not long after joining he was appointed "captain" of its Afghan-dominated Blacktown chapter.

But today, the Brothers 4 Life leader looked anxious during his brief appearance at Wyong Local Court.

Dressed in a black polo shirt the 31-year-old said nothing as the police prosecutor told the court she was seeking a brief of evidence by February 21.

He was remanded in custody to appear via video link at Central Local Court on March 7.

His younger brother Mumtaz Qaumi was charged with possessing an unauthorised pistol and a prohibited firearm, two counts of supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, supplying an indictable quantity of a prohibited drug and knowingly direct criminal activities of a group.

The 29-year-old, dressed in a red Polo Sport t-shirt, leaned back in the dock after he was brought in to court straight after his older brother.

He likewise said nothing during his brief appearance and was also taken back into custody to reappear at Central Local Court on March 7 via video link.
Police charge sheets tendered in court reveal the pair were allegedly in possession of a "0.38 special calibre Smith and Wesson model 10 revolver" in Sydney between November 5 and December 12.

The charge sheets allege they were also in possession of a 12 gauge shortened Mossberg pump action shotgun at the same time.

Farhad Qaumi, of Chittaway Bay, was also accused of being in possession of a 0.38 calibre snub nose revolver between 11pm on January 3 to 12.30am on January 4 at St Marys in Sydney's west.

The charge sheets allege both brothers supplied 1134.2g of "4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine" also known as the drug "Nexus" along with 760.22g of "bromo DMA" between November and December last year.

They were also charged with allegedly supplying 150.85g of cocaine.

Police will allege the Qaumi's "did participate in a criminal group, to wit the Brothers for Life" gang from September 13 until their arrest yesterday.

"The Brothers for Life, whose activities are organised and ongoing by directing activities of the group, and knowing that participating contributed to the occurrence of any criminal activity," the charge sheets read.

Neither brothers applied for bail, which was formally refused.

Amiri, dressed in a white shirt was led up from the courthouse cells as his solicitor requested a bail application be made next week.

Amiri is charged with attempting to possess unauthorised pistol, attempting to possess unauthorised prohibited firearm, two counts of supply a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, supplying an indictable quantity of prohibited drug and participate in a criminal group.

His bid to be released on bail will be heard at Central Local Court on January 16, with a mention of the case set down for March 6.

QAUMI; THE RISE AND FALL OF A BRUTAL GANGSTER


MAN SHOT AS LUXURY CRUISER SPRAYED WITH BULLETS


HARBOUR CRUISE ENDED IN A BLAZE OF BULLETS


B4L MEMBER CHARGED WITH GUN POSSESSION

BROTHERS 4 LIFE GANG 'SMASHED' POLICE SAY


Last night a total seven properties were searched, including three at Wyong, Villawood, Guildford, Auburn and Kellyville.

The investigation into Qaumi and his cohorts was formed late last year and codenamed strike force Sitella, which has arrested eight Blacktown chapter members and seized five guns.

The strike force's task was to specifically target Qaumi and bring down the Blacktown chapter of Brothers 4 Life. The Blacktown B4L faction has been at war with its sister-chapter in Bankstown for months, resulting in about a dozen public shootings, including a murder.

Police in November swooped on the gang, arresting 12 members including the gang's

Sydney leader and Bankstown captain Mohammed Hamzy, 28.

With both chapter heads and a swag of senior members and underlings behind bars, yesterday's arrest marks the gang's end.

Last week another alleged B4L member, Fawad Bari, 23, was arrested at St Marys after police allegedly found a .38 revolver in his van.

Qaumi recently became a target after he was fired upon by a gunman while on the luxury yacht Oscar II which was docking at Rose Bay Wharf on New Year's Day.

Also on the boat were a number of B4L members and other colourful Sydney identities. He was treated for a gunshot wound to his shoulder after up to 20 bullets were fired at the vessel. 

Man shot as luxury $2500/hr cruiser sprayed with bullets at Rose Bay

Leigh Van Den Broeke ,Ben McCle;;an and Mark Mirrie
The Daily Telegraph
January 2,2014

THE shooting of a 31-year-old man on a luxury boat at Rose Bay wharf last night is linked to the Brothers For Life crime gang.

After he was shot, the man went to Lamrock Ave, Bondi, about 3km away claiming he had been shot at that location but police believe he wanted to throw them off the alleged crime scene.

The man received a bullet graze to the back. The shooting is believed to be part of a power struggle inside the Middle Eastern crime gang.

Brothers For Life are a Middle Eastern Crime gang based in southwest Sydney and founded by one of Australia's most dangerous criminals, convicted murderer, drug dealer and extortionist Bassam Hamzy. Hamzy is currently serving life in Goulbourn's maximum security prison.

More than 20 shots sprayed the luxury cruiser The Oscar II Sydney in Sydney's east.

The Oscar II Sydney can be hired for about $95,000 a week or $2500 an hour. It had two windows shattered when it was fired upon about 11.35pm.

The man was treated at Lamrock Ave, Bondi, for suspected wounds to his shoulder afterreporting he had been shot at 12.35am.

He was taken to St Vincent's Hospital with non-life threatening injuries and was released shortly afterwards.

Investigators spoke to a woman on Lamrock Ave, who assisted them with their inquiries while the man was in the hands of paramedics.

Rose Bay Detective Inspector Damian Henry said police set up a crime scene and discovered "more than 10" bullet casings on the wharf.

"The luxury cruiser has been seized by the marine area command and is being held in Balmain," he said.

Forensic officers started examining the 21 bullet holes riddling the middle of the luxury cruiser in a vertical line, piercing a porthole window, this morning at Marine Police headquarters in Birchgrove.

Witness Vanessa Lahoud was fishing at the wharf when she heard what she thought were fireworks.

She said: "It was pretty terrifying.

"You're just going fishing one night and then this happens. We thought it was fireworks but it turned out it wasn't. I didn't get scared until I saw the police."

The Oscar II is a 31.52 metre luxury cruiser owned by Oscars Hotel Group, which runs nine pubs across Sydney from the CBD to Campbelltown and Wollongong.

The cruiser is rented out on behalf of the group by several charter companies but is also used privately, especially over the festive season, one charter business said.

"It's one of the most exclusive boats," they said.

The Oscar II, which can cater for 70 guests, has two 760 horsepower engines, can travel at up to 18 knots and holds 15,000 litres of fuel and 8000 litres of water.