Massive police raids across Sydney bust $1billion drugs, guns and money-laundering Lebanese syndicate with 28 people arrested
Raids have led to the arrest of 28 people and more than a dozen firearms seized after police busted one of Australia’s largest ever underground crime groups.
The blitz involved more than 450 NSW police officers executing 37 arrest warrants in Sydney’s west and south on Tuesday, leading to the arrests of people linked to a Lebanese crime syndicate.
The underworld gang is said to be responsible for numerous money laundering schemes and the movement of more than $1 billion worth of drugs, weapons and tobacco.
The raids also resulted in the seizure of two tonnes of drugs, 25 firearms, 60 encrypted devices, designer jewellery, luxury vehicles and large amounts of cash.
With the help of Lebanese officials, police were also able to secure the arrest of one of Australia’s most wanted men, Bilal Haouchar, 37, and four of his associates overnight in Beirut.
NSW Police have carried out a series of massive raids across Sydney, targeting a crime syndicate from Lebanon linked to more than $1 billion in drugs, weapons and cash (stock image)
The Australian Federal Police has not yet received confirmation from Lebanese officials about Haouchar’s arrest.
It is uncertain whether Haouchar will be returned to Australia as the two countries do not have an extradition treaty.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson has praised police efforts to make arrests in countries where criminals once fled.
“There was a time in our state’s history when individuals wanted by us for crime left our shores thinking they were going to a safe haven,” Deputy Commissioner Hudson told reporters.
“There are no safe havens anymore.”
Haouchar was on the run in Lebanon after fleeing Australia in 2018, when he was given a two-year corrections order after pleading guilty to involvement in a fatal shooting.
The first man arrested in the sweeping attack was Haouchar’s brother Nedal, 40, who was detained at Sydney International Airport on Sunday as he was about to leave the country.
He appeared at Downing Center Local Court on Monday and faced nine charges including supplying a commercial quantity of drugs, directing the activities of a criminal group and five charges of property proceeds of crime in excess of $4.4 million .
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson (pictured) indicated the raids had resulted in the syndicate being ‘significantly disrupted, if not eliminated’
The raids resulted in the arrest of 24 people and the capture of one of Australia’s most wanted men, Bilal Haouchar (pictured), and four of his associates in Beirut.
The 24 arrests of people aged between 23 and 46 now face a total of 69 ‘significant’ charges, ranging from driving offenses to the distribution of large quantities of prohibited drugs.
All those arrested have appeared in courts across Sydney and were refused bail.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said the syndicate had “ravaged Sydney for the past decade” while it had “tentacles across New South Wales”.
Celebrating the police’s hard work, Deputy Commissioner Fitzgerald claimed the syndicate had been ‘dismantled’.
“They will no longer be a problem for New South Wales,” he said.
The head of the investigation, Chief Inspector Peter Faux, said “all the resources of the NSW Police Force” had been used during reconnaissance.
These include “covert operations” on the gang and police blockchain specialists to track more than $1.5 billion in the gang’s cryptocurrency transactions.