Police say underworld figure shot dead in car in east Sydney was a senior organized crime figure
A key figure in the Sydney underworld was shot dead in a raid in what police believe was a “well-planned execution”.
Key Point:
- ABC understands the man shot dead was a prominent underworld figure in his 40s.
- New South Wales police investigating two abandoned vehicles linked to shooting
- Roads around Bondi Junction remain closed during police investigation
Superintendent Danny Doherty said the 48-year-old Bondi Junction resident was a “senior” criminal with close ties to the outlaw motorcycle gang Comanchero.
The man’s identity has not been formally identified, but ABC understands him to be convicted drug lord Allen Moradian.
Doherty said the shooting was characteristic of an organized murder, adding that the victim “had a large target on his shoulders.”
The victim was shot at around 8:15 a.m. by at least two gunmen while sitting in his car in an underground parking lot on Spring Street, Bondi Junction.
Superintendent Dougherty said, “I’m saying this is a carefully planned execution murder of a senior criminal.”
“He has strong high-level ties to Comanchero.
A burnt-out car was found in Cook Lane in Zetland, south of Sydney, and another was found on James Street, Bondi Junction, with doors wide open and airbags deployed.
Police are investigating whether the car is linked to the shooting.
The head of the homicide squad, Superintendent Doherty, called for any witnesses to come forward.
“We are now all focused on securing surveillance cameras and witnesses and getting as much information as possible at this time,” he said.
“Obviously, as we speak, crime scenes are being investigated…three crime scenes. [We are] I’m looking for more surveillance cameras.
“[Police are] I appeal to everyone who may have seen or heard anything not just at the time of the shooting, but in the days leading up to it, or in the immediate aftermath of it. “
Waverly City Council announced that the area between Spring Street and Denison Street will be closed to all traffic, including pedestrians, for the next few hours.
Moradian pleaded guilty to importing and supplying commercial quantities of cocaine in 2006 and was sentenced to 16 years and nine months in prison.
A New South Wales District Court ruled in 2011 that he was a “significant senior middle manager” in a drug cartel called the “Golden Gun Cartel”.
It takes its name from a gold-plated pistol found during a raid on one of the Moradian conspirators.
There was a dispute in court over the purity of the drugs imported, with Mr. Moradian’s lawyers claiming Mr. Moradian was guilty of importing 40 kilograms, but Judge Andrew Hessler said the actual purity was between 65 and 100 kilograms. and certified.
After his arrest in 2007, Mr. Moradian turned over his weapons, including machine guns, rifles and grenade launchers, to authorities.
He first qualified for parole in December 2017.
Many neighbors were forced to stay indoors after the shooting.
Ivan Gordon lives in the apartment where the shooting allegedly took place and is said to be unable to go to work.
“I came downstairs to go to work. ‘I said,'” Gordon said.
He said he heard no gunshots.
“We didn’t really hear anything. Apparently there were gunshots. But then for 30 minutes we heard all the sirens.”
Staff at the Bondi Espresso Bar on Spring Street told ABC they saw police in bulletproof vests swarming the street just before 9 a.m.
He ran into an apartment building.
“It all happened so quickly…it was a blast,” he said.
Police cordoned off both sides of the street, forcing customers to remain inside the coffee shop for about an hour, he said.
“They weren’t allowing anyone in or out.”
Ms Moradian’s death was the 20th fatality in a police shooting linked to organized crime in Sydney since August 2020.
New South Wales Prime Minister Chris Mings said recent acts of violence by gangs were “shameful”.
“This is a very overt violent crime and we have been assured by the New South Wales Police that we will deal with it to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.
Mings said it was “heartbreaking” to hear that people had witnessed the crime and said the government “has a clear focus on devoting resources to organized crime in New South Wales and keeping its citizens safe.” I will,” he promised.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-27/underworld-figure-shot-dead-at-bondi-junction/102527486 Police say underworld figure shot dead in car in east Sydney was a senior organized crime figure
