| Naseam "Erdt" El-Zeyat | |
|---|---|
| Charge(s) | Murder x 3 |
| Penalty | Life imprisonment x 3 (no non-parole period set) |
| Ramzi "Fidel" Aouad | |
|---|---|
| Charge(s) | Murder x 3 |
| Penalty | Life imprisonment x 3 (no non-parole period set) |
| Adnan "Eddie" Darwiche | |
|---|---|
| Charge(s) |
Murder x 2 Attempted murder x 1 Discharging a loaded firearm with intent x 1 |
| Penalty |
Life imprisonment x 2 (no non-parole period set) 20 years imprisonment (16 years non-parole) (concurrent) |
| Abass Osman | |
|---|---|
| Charge(s) | Murder x 2 |
| Penalty | 27 years imprisonment (22 years non-parole) |
| Mohamed Razzak | |
|---|---|
| Charge(s) | Shooting with intent x 1 |
| Penalty | 13 years imprisonment (9 years non-parole) |
| Bilal Razzak | |
|---|---|
| Charge(s) | Contempt of Court x 1 |
| Penalty | 15 months imprisonment |
The Darwiche-Razzak-Fahda family conflict refers to a series of murders and assaults carried out between three Australian families of Lebanese descent in south-west Sydney, Australia between February 2001 and March 2009.
In late 2000 / early 2001, certain second-generation members of the Darwiche and Razzak families were part of rival drug dealing operations (namely the supply of cannabis).[1]
Darwiche Family: Farouk "Frank" Darwiche - children: Albert, Michael, Abdul, Adnan, Ali and Khadjie
Associates: Khaled "Crazy" Taleb, Naseam "Erdt" El-Zeyat, Ramzi "Fidel" Aouad, Abass Osman, Mohamed Douar, Rami Homsi, Bassim Said, Michael Darwick, Ahmed "Gary" Awad, Mohammed Touma, "Mr.W", "Mr.X"
Razzak Family: Jamal Razzak (brother of Ali Abdul) - children: Bilal & Mohamed
Ali Abdul Razzak (brother of Jamal, cousin of Farouk)
Farouk "Frank" Razzak (cousin of Ali Abdul) - children: Samear, Mohamad, Jomana
Ahmed Razzak - children: Rabia Abdul-Razzak ("Balaboof")
Brothers Ziad "Ziggy" Razzak & Gehad Razzak (cousins of Bilal & Mohamed)
Fahda Family: Brothers Hussein, Ahmed and Mohammed Fahda - sister Donna
Khadjie Darwiche was married to Ali Abdul Razzak.
Ramzi Aouad was married to Donna Fahda.
Both marriages broke down and those breakdowns are said to have been contributing factors in some of the events that followed.
A physical confrontation between Adnan Darwiche and Bilal Razzak at Nemra's Cafe in Bankstown in February 2001 is said to have sparked the conflict.[2]
On 25 February 2001 shots were fired into Adnan Darwiche's car at the Darwiche family residence in Punchbowl. That night Adnan and Abdul Darwiche and Taleb drove to the Razzak's residence in Bankstown and fired shots at the building.
On 28 February 2001 members of the families met in a bid to achieve peace. Adnan Darwiche threatened Bilal Razzak, saying "OK I can do this anytime...I want you to give me Bilal or he must leave the country."
Bilal Razzak obliged on 7 March 2001, fleeing to Lebanon. He returned to Australia on 2 May 2001.[3]
Adnan Darwiche and another man (suspected to be Abdul Darwiche, although he was never convicted) entered Bilal Razzak's unit in Bankstown. Both men were wearing full-face balaclavas, were dressed in dark clothing and had Glock-style pistols. Bilal Razzak was in his bedroom listening to music with Samear Razzak. Adnan Darwiche fired 5 shots at Bilal Razzak and 3 of them hit him. For a time following the assault he was paralysed, but later recovered the use of his legs.
Gehad Razzak was released from prison and met with Adnan Darwiche, who agreed to pay a cash sum to Bilal Razzak as compensation for having shot him. An amount of $10,000 - $15,000 was paid to Gehad Razzak on behalf of Bilal Razzak.[4]
The Darwiche patriarch, Farouk Darwiche, died in 2001 and his death greatly affected Adnan Darwiche. He abandoned his drug business and became deeply religious, attending the Hajj in 2002 and 2003. There was peace between the families.
The feud was reignited more than 2 years after the kneecapping of Bilal Razzak.
Taleb, who had been Adnan Darwiche's right-hand man in his former drug business, was shot by 2 masked men as he spoke to a friend in the Halal's Butcher shop in Bankstown. He was shot in both legs. Taleb believed that the gunmen were Gehad and Ziad Razzak, although nobody was ever charged in relation to the shooting.
According to Taleb, Adnan Darwiche said that if the Razzaks were responsible then "they're gunna cop it, they're dead...this is it I'm either gunna die or spend the rest of my life in gaol, it's on" and "this was it the Razzak's and they were all dead".
Adnan Darwiche concluded that the Razzaks were responsible. According to Taleb, on 25 August 2003 Adnan and Abdul Darwiche, Touma and Aouad visited him and told him they had discovered that Gehad and Ziad Razzak were living at Yanderra Street, Condell Park. Adnan Darwiche said "this is what's gunna happen. Fidel can drive down the road and shoot at their house, then they come out to see what the fuck happened, me and Abdul will be standing on the corner with SKS's and blast em".
On the evening of 27 August 2003 Adnan Darwiche and another man (suspected to be Abdul Darwiche, although he was later acquitted) took up positions near the Yanderra Street house. They were both armed with SKS semi-automatic rifles. A third man (suspected to be Aouad, although he was never charged) drove to the house and fired 11 shots at a car parked outside the house.
Farouk Razzak came out of the house to investigate. He saw "like some shadow go towards the right, under the dark, the trees...suddenly I see two different persons. Since I saw them I yell to them, I swear to them 'Hey boy, what you fucking' - and then the fire come out of the gun, they not let me finish my words...and I turn back and I walk just normal. I didn't run. I walk normal until I get the screen door, the screen door lock by itself. I put the handle and the bullets, I think it must miss my eyes maybe one millimetre and, my head, my everywhere. They stop me. I think second on the door, I can't move. The handle come off in my hand, and I feel burn".
The gunmen fired 55 rounds, but miraculously Farouk Razzak was not hit. Nor were the other occupants of the house, his wife Nahla, son Mohamad and daughter Jomana. In fact, the gunmen were so inaccurate that shots hit houses as far east as no. 96 (five houses down the street). Farouk yelled to Nahla "Listen, that pigs, Abdul and Eddie, they shot me".[5]
According to Taleb, Adnan Darwiche said after the shooting "Ziggy came out on the porch and then Frank came out. Ziggy had a gun and was looking around. Me and Abdul blasted em, fuckin missed." and "Fuck them. Fuck all of them."
According to Jamal Razzak he was assaulted by Adnan & Abdul Darwiche and another man in Greenacre at 11:30am. He alleged that Abdul Darwiche pointed an assault style rifle at him through the passenger window of a vehicle. No charges were ever laid in relation to this alleged incident.
At 1:23pm Ali Abdul Razzak was shot and killed while seated in his car which was parked near the Lakemba Mosque. Witnesses observed a small black hatchback vehicle which stopped in front of Ali Abdul Razzak's vehicle. The driver and passenger of the black hatchback were wearing balaclavas. The passenger got out of the car, holding a black pistol. He fired shots at Ali Abdul Razzak and got back into the passenger seat of the vehicle, which drove off. 14 fired cartridge cases were found at the scene.
According to Taleb, he was visited at his sister's house at about 2:00pm by Adnan Darwiche, Gary Awad and Touma. Adnan Darwiche said "I waited, when he got in the car I unloaded a magazine on him, I saw one bullet hit him just above the eyebrow. I saw him take his last breath." and gave Taleb a .40 calibre Glock pistol to get rid of.
Adnan Darwiche was later acquitted of Ali Abdul Razzak's murder and nobody else has ever been charged.
On 30 August 2003 55 shots were fired at Aouad's family home in Liverpool and 65 shots fired at Taleb's house in Liverpool. According to Taleb, Aouad said to him a few days later "I know it was that cunt Hussein [Fahda], Gehad, Ziggy and Mohammed for sure there's no doubt about it. They're going to cop it, they're gunna cop it, they're fuckin' dead, my parents nearly got hit."
Meanwhile, 31 Glock pistols were stolen from Obliging Security in Chester Hill.[6] (One of those weapons would later be found at the scene of a shootout involving El-Zeyat and Aouad.)
Ziad and Gehad Razzak went into hiding and stayed with a friend, Ali Hamka, who lived at 5 Lawford Street, Greenacre. Hamka's partner, Mervat Nemra, and their 2 young children went to stay with relatives.
On 30 September 2003 Adnan Darwiche allegedly purchased a rocket launcher from Taha Abdul Rahman for $15,000 and on 9 October 2003 allegedly purchased a further 6 rocket launchers from Rahman, on-selling 5 of them to Mohammad Ali Elomar, who was allegedly involved in a plot to blow up parliament house and/or the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights, saying "Look what is happening overseas. It is a war against Muslims. We should do something about it over here.". It was thought that the rocket launchers may have been stolen from the Australian Defence Force.[7]
Around 6 October 2003 Taleb observed a shootout between Darwiche and Razzak family members outside Aouad's home in Liverpool.
Around 9 October 2003 Adnan Darwiche told Taleb that he had learned where Gehad and Ziad Razzak were staying. According to Taleb, he accompanied Adnan Darwiche on a drive past the house. A man later given the pseudonym "Mr W" testified that Osman drove him past the house, saying "Just drive past, I don't want the Razzaks to recognise the car or me. That's not the way they are going to do it. I am going to be in the hotty waiting for them on Roberts Road. Eddie, Fidel and Erdt are going to run down, they are soldiers."[8]
Nemra made a fateful decision to stay at Hamka's house on the evening of 13 October 2003.
Plans were made for an assault on Hamka's house in the early hours of 14 October 2003.
According to Mr W he was present at Osman's house when he overheard a conversation between Osman & Adnan Darwiche, who told Osman that he would be the driver. He said "I will see you at Erdt's at two o'clock in the morning. At three o'clock there are going to be fireworks."
According to Taleb, a Nissan Pulsar was stolen and driven to El-Zeyat's house. Present were Adnan Darwiche, Taleb, El-Zeyat, Aouad, Osman and Awad. There was a discussion about whether or not to use the rocket launcher in the assault. Osman told Adnan Darwiche "you can't just use that because like you are meant to put them things on your ears to block your ears. You cannot use it if you were to use it like that. It will blow your eardrums out." It was decided not to use the rocket launcher. Adnan Darwiche outlined each man's role: Taleb was to have been the driver, but it was considered that due to his injuries, he would become a liability if there was trouble. Osman was assigned the role of driver. Adnan Darwiche and Touma were to use the SKS rifles, Aouad was to use a Mach 10. El-Zeyat insisted that he wanted to be one of the shooters too, and he was drafted into the plans and assigned a Glock. Adnan Darwiche instructed that the shooters should fire on the house in an "S" shape in case the occupants of the house dropped to the floor.
At 3:00am Osman dropped the other men off near Lawford Street. They fired 100 rounds, with 55 hitting the house. Ziad Razzak had been lying on a couch in the lounge room and was hit several times. He died later in hospital. Nemra was asleep on a bed in the front bedroom and was hit in the neck. She died in Hamka's arms.
According to Taleb, who had stayed at El-Zeyat's house with Awad, the group returned and Adnan Darwiche said "fucken oath we done it." Upon seeing news footage of the shooting and learning that Nemra had been killed, Touma allegedly said "fuck the bitch, she shouldn't have been here in the first place." A man later given the pseudonym "Mr X" testified that Adnan Darwiche told him "I was telling Fidel and Erdt where to stand so they don't shoot each other...don't say that about the girl, God's going to judge us for that, she was an accident but fuck the other dog."
A few days after the shooting Adnan Darwiche became suspicious of Taleb and said "if you think about turning dog against me I'll kill your whole fucken family". Taleb fled to Lebanon on 18 October 2003 in fear of his life.
The marriage between Aouad and Donna Fahda had broken down in August 2003. According to Taleb, Aouad had said to him that he feared the Fahda brothers would "pop" him now that the marriage was over.
On 30 October 2003 El-Zeyat and Aouad learned, through Mr X and another man later given the pseudonym "Mr Y" of Ahmed Fahda's location. He was at a service station in Punchbowl with Mr Y. At around 2:00pm El-Zeyat and Aouad approached Fahda at the service station and fired 29 rounds at him, most of which were on target and caused fatal injuries.
At 3:15pm, 50-70 shots were fired in the carpark of the Kings Head Tavern in Hurstville, narrowly missing bystanders. Two unidentified gunmen opened fire on El-Zeyat, Aouad and a friend as they left the tavern. The friend was grazed on the leg by a bullet. El-Zeyat and Aouad returned fire. Their assailants escaped and El-Zeyat and Aouad were arrested at the scene. A 9mm Glock found in a skip near the tavern was one of the weapons that had been stolen from Obliging Security some 3 months prior.[9]
Over the summer, police formed Task Force Gain, to take control of the violence.
At about 5:19pm Michael Darwiche, Mohamed Douar, Rami Homsi and Bassim Said were standing at the front of Darwiche's house in Mons Street, Condell Park when they were shot at by 3 men in a passing vehicle - Mohamed Razzak and (allegedly) Samear Razzak and Rabia Abdul-Razzak. Michael Darwiche was hit by a bullet but was not seriously injured.[10]
On 5 November 2003 three men were arrested at Sydney's Star City Casino and questioned in relation to the murder of Fahda.[11]
On 28 November 2003 Adnan Darwiche was arrested.
On 11 February 2004 Adnan and Abdul Darwiche were denied bail. Meanwhile, Hussein Fahda was arrested on firearms charges and denied bail.[12]
On 26 May 2004 El-Zeyat and Aouad were charged with the murder of Fahda and denied bail.[13]
On 2 June 2004 Bassam Said was charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Fahda[14] (he was never convicted of this offence).
On 21 November 2004 Mr W turned informer and gave a statement to police.
On 2 December 2004 Douar gave police a statement in relation to the Mons Street Shooting
On 28 April 2005 El-Zeyat and Aouad were charged with the Lawford Street murders.
On 5 August 2005 Adnan and Abdul Darwiche, El-Zeyat, Aouad and Osman were arraigned on various charges relating to the Yanderra Street shooting, the Lawford Street murders and the murder of Fahda. Adnan Darwiche's charges included soliciting to murder Fahda and being an accessory after the fact - these charges were ultimately not pursued. Abdul Darwiche's only charge was in relation to the Yanderra Street shooting.
On 6 December 2005 Adnan and Abdul Darwiche were charged with the shooting of Bilal Razzak.
On 9 December 2005 Supreme Court Justice Virginia Bell ordered that Abdul Darwiche be tried separately.
On 6 February 2006 Taleb turned informer and gave a lengthy statement to police in Beirut. His evidence would be crucial in securing convictions.
On 13 February 2006 Abdul Darwiche's trial commenced.
On 16 February 2006 the Director of Public Prosecutions decided to pursue Adnan Darwiche on an ex-officio indictment including, inter alia, a charge of murdering Ali Abdul Razzak.
On 8 March 2006 Abdul Darwiche was acquitted of the Yanderra Street shooting by Justice Bell.[15]
Between 13 and 16 March 2006 Mr X received several text messages threatening his family in the lead-up to him giving evidence at a hearing.[16]
In March 2006 Taleb returned to Australia.
On 3 April 2006 two trials commenced in the Supreme Court of New South Wales before Justice Bell: (a) the shooting of Bilal Razzak, the Yanderra Street shooting, the murder of Ali Abdul Razzak and the Lawford Street murders and (b) the murder of Fahda.
In May 2006 the trial in relation to the Mons Street shooting commenced in the District Court of New South Wales, with Mohamed, Samear and Rabia Abdul Razzak charged.
On 16 May 2006 a Supreme Court jury acquitted Adnan Darwiche of charges relating to the murder of Fahda. The jury convicted El-Zeyat and Aouad of the murder.
On 20 June 2006 District Court Judge Knox SC dismissed the jury in the Mons Street trial on the basis of a Sydney Morning Herald article on that day.[17]
On 22 June 2006 Justice Bell dismissed an application by Osman to be tried separately from the other defendants.
On 14 July 2006 Bilal Razzak refused to give evidence at trial. He was charged with contempt of court.
On 9 August 2006 a Supreme Court jury convicted Adnan Darwiche in relation to the shooting of Bilal Razzak, the Yanderra Street shooting and the Lawford Street murders. He was, however, acquitted of the murder of Ali Abdul Razzak. El-Zeyat, Aouad and Osman were convicted of the Lawford Street murders.
On 10 November 2006 Justice Bell sentenced Adnan Darwiche, El-Zeyat, Aouad and Osman.
Adnan Darwiche was sentenced to 2 counts of life imprisonment with no non-parole period set, Justice Bell noting that "In my opinion the cold-blooded ruthlessness involved in the planning and execution of the Lawford Street murders is extreme and Adnan Darwiche poses an extreme danger to the community. I have concluded that Adnan Darwiche's level of culpability in the commission of the murders of Ziad Razzak and Melissa Nemra is so extreme that the community's interest in retribution, punishment, community protection and deterrance can only be met through the imposition of a life sentence." For the other offences he was effectively sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 16 years.
El-Zeyat and Aouad were each sentenced to 3 counts of life imprisonment with no non-parole period set, Justice Bell noting that "notwithstanding their relative youth, I have determined that the level of culpability of Naseam El-Zeyat and Ramzi Aouad for the commission of each of these three murders is so extreme that the community's interest in retribution, punishment, community protection and deterrance can only be met through the imposition of the maximum sentence."
Osman was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 22 years.
The four men laughed, joked and talked loudly as they were sentenced. As they were led from the dock the men yelled "God is great". El-Zeyat launched a verbal attack on Justice Bell. At a police press conference outside court, Abdul Darwiche cut in, saying "My brother didn't kill anyone. The person that killed the people, he's out there fishing...This is a political witch hunt."[18]
On 29 November 2006 Bilal Razzak pleaded guilty to the contempt of court charge and on 7 December 2006 Supreme Court Justice Johnson sentenced Bilal Razzak to 15 months imprisonment commencing on 20 August 2007 and expiring on 19 November 2008 (Razzak was already serving time for a stabbing incident in 2001[19]).
On 5 February 2007 the second Mons Street trial commenced in the District Court. On 23 March 2007 the jury acquitted Samear and Rabia Abdul Razzak on all charges, but convicted Mohamed Razzak. He was effectively sentenced to 13 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 9 years, expiring on 26 July 2014. On 16 December 2008 he appealed against his conviction and sentence in the Court of Criminal Appeal. The Court quashed his convictions in relation to shooting at Douar, Said and Homsi (as it could not be established that he was shooting at anyone other than Michael Darwiche). However, frustratingly for him, his sentence remained unchanged.
It had been almost 5 years since the families had been involved in any violence. Then, on 14 March 2009, Abdul Darwiche was brutally executed in front of his family after leaving a restaurant in Bass Hill. A man approached him. Darwiche is said to have asked: "What are you going to do? Kill me in front of my fucking family?"[20] He was shot several times as he sat at the wheel of his four-wheel drive. Police suspect the gunmen was Mohammed Fahda and that the murder was payback for the murder of his brother Ahmed. As at 19 April 2009 Mohammed Fahda is still on the loose despite police urging him to give himself up.[21]
Police formed Strike Force Solomon to investigate the murder and Strike Force Lieutenant to prevent revenge killings.
On 1 April 2009 two men were charged in connection with the murder.[22]
Michael Darwiche and Michael Darwick were arrested by officers from Strike Force Lieutenant at 9:00pm in Bankstown. A search of their car allegedly found a street directory and printouts from the internet of White Pages directory listing names and addresses for members of the Fahda family.[23]
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