Brothers for Life, also Brothers 4 Life was a
Middle Eastern crime gang, active in
south-western suburbs of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia. They came to public prominence largely from internal disputes between the
Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
chapter and the
Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
chapter that resulted in a number of shootings in October 2012 to February 2014 that killed two members. Several other gang members were seriously injured. At least one uninvolved person was injured during a shooting. In October 2020, and June 2021 two other people related to the BFL leader, Bassam Hamzy, were killed in shootings.
Operation Apollo
[ and Operation Talon][ Brothers 4 Life - their undoing exposed]
''Daily Telegraph
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' 9 November 2013 were the police operations to deal with the gang.
History
Legal authorities first heard of BFL in May 2007 from notes found in the Lithgow Gaol cell of Bassam Hamzy, the leader of the gang and a convicted murderer.Greenacre
Greenacre, a suburb of local government areas City of Canterbury-Bankstown and the Municipality of Strathfield, is located 17 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a pa ...
area as a loose association of several other gangs.[ Brothers 4 Life came to public prominence largely from internal disputes between the ]Lebanese Australian
, langs = Australian English, Lebanese Arabic, Standard Arabic, French, Armenian
, rels = Majority: Christian: Maronite Catholic, Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Protestant (55%),
Minority: Islam: Shia Islam, Sunni Islam, Alawite (37%), Jewish a ...
Bankstown chapter and the Afghan Australian
Afghan Australians ( prs, استرالیایی های افغانتبار ''Ostorâliyâi-hāye Afghān tabar'', ps, د اسټرالیا افغانان ''Da Asṭrālyā Afghanan'') are Australians tied to Afghanistan either by birth or by ...
Blacktown chapter. Hamzy is incarcerated at the Goulburn Correctional Centre
The Goulburn Correctional Centre, (also known as The Circle) is an Australian supermaximum security prison for males. It is located in Goulburn, New South Wales, three kilometres north-east of the central business district. The facility is operat ...
in the Supermax section.[
]
2012 shootings
The gang's activities came to a head on 1 October 2012 when two members Yehye Amood, 27; and Bassim Hijazi, 32; were shot. Amood died after being hit eight times.[ Hijazi fled to ]Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
while refusing to assist police investigations into the shooting.[
On 8 October 2012 a BFL member, Khaled Khalil, was ]knee-capped
Kneecapping is a form of malicious wounding, often as torture, in which the victim is injured in the knee. The injury is typically inflicted by a low-velocity ballistic trauma, gunshot to the popliteal fossa, knee pit with a handgun. The term is ...
at Yagoona
Yagoona, a suburb of the local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 20 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of the South-western Sydney regio ...
by fellow gang members.[
On 17 October 2012 a ]drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...
targeted a home in Winston Hills
Winston Hills is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Winston Hills is located 28 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government areas of the City of Parr ...
that was allegedly linked to BFL members.[
]
2013 shootings
On 9 February 2013 at Bass Hill
Bass Hill, () a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is located 23 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney regi ...
another unnamed BFL member was knee-capped. In an important breakthrough this person became a police informant known as 'Witness A'.[
On 19 February two BFL members were arrested. ]Michael Odisho
Michael Odisho is an Assyrian-Australian underworld figure and former member of the DLASTHR and Brothers for Life (BFL) organized crime gangs which operated in Sydney, Australia. He was featured on a short ABC Television documentary '' 7 ...
,[ 28, and Faoud Ekermawi, 35,][ were arrested in connection with the shooting in ]Winston Hills
Winston Hills is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Winston Hills is located 28 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government areas of the City of Parr ...
in October 2012, and the Bass Hill kneecapping in February 2013. This was a result of information from Witness A.
On 9 March in Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
, Maha Hamze, the aunt of BFL leader Bassam Hamzy, was shot eight times in the legs through the front door of her home. 28 cartridge cases were recovered by police.[ It is believed the shooting was a payback over a demand for a debt recovery fee of $5,000 that the woman's son, , made to another man's mother. That man asked Bassam Hamzy to collect a $20,000 debt, which was done by , who later approached the man's mother at her MMarrickville home demanding the fee.]District Court of New South Wales
The District Court of New South Wales is the intermediate court in the judicial hierarchy of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a trial court and has an appellate jurisdiction. In addition, the Judges of the Court preside over a rang ...
of the attempted murder of Hamze. He was due to be sentenced on 18 December.Wentworthville
Wentworthville is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Wentworthville is located 27 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Wentworthville is split betw ...
, shots were fired at two people Ashkan Rajabi and Bilal Hamze in a car parked outside a swimming pool.[
On 2 August shots were fired at a dwelling in Lignite Place, ]Eagle Vale
Eagle Vale is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Eagle Vale is located 56 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown and is part of the M ...
.Revesby Heights
Revesby Heights, a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is 23 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of the South-western Sydney regio ...
,[ another BFL member, Mahmoud Hamzy, 27, was shot dead.][ Mahmoud Hamzy was a cousin of Bassam Hamzy. In the same shooting Omar Ajaj, 24, also a BFL member, was wounded.][Afghan faction splits Brothers 4 Life gang, raising fears of more violence]
By Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop, staff. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2014 Mahmoud's cousin Mohammed Hamzy was also present but escaped through the back door.[ On 27−28 October 2014, five BFL members were arrested and charged with Hamzys' murder.]Assyrian Kings
The king of Assyria (Akkadian: ''Išši'ak Aššur'', later ''šar māt Aššur'') was the ruler of the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria, which was founded in the late 21st century BC and fell in the late 7th century BC. For much of its ear ...
gang.[Brothers For life gang: timeline]
Yoni Bashan The Sunday Telegraph, 9 November 2013, 13 November 2013[Bikie Michael Odisho's tattoos celebrated guns, and now he's gunned down, Mark Morri]
The Daily Telegraph. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2014
On 4 November in Sunnyholt Road, Blacktown
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
, a 13-year-old girl was wounded by shotgun pellets. Her brother Masood Zakaria, a BFL member,[
On 7 November three BFL Bankstown chapter members, Abdul Abu-Mahmoud, Hassan Souied and Khalil Khalil, were in a car outside the Chokolatta Cafe in ]Bankstown
Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
when four members of the gangs' Blacktown chapter allegedly shot at them in a drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...
. Four men were arrested in Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
about 40 minutes after the shooting. On 11 November Sarkhel Rokhzayi, 22, Mobin Marzei and Wahed Karimi, both 18, and Jamil Qaumi, 20, were charged in Burwood Court. A total of 72 charges were laid against the four, including attempted murder and firing a sawn-off shotgun.Nissan Tiida
The is a compact car produced by the Japanese manufacturer Nissan since 2004 through three generations. Depending on the market, the Tiida was also marketed as a subcompact car, particularly in the Americas for the first-generation model as the ...
carrying the three gunmen who killed Mohammed Hamzy.[
On 16 December, Joe Antoun, a standover man,]Strathfield
Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A ...
. Antoun answered a knock on his front door and was shot several times.[Man shot dead in Sydney suburb of Strathfield after answering knock at front door]
ABC.net Updated 17 December 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2014 Vasko Boskovski, his business partner was killed at Earlwood
Earlwood is a suburb in Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Earlwood is located 10 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is part of the St George area. It is in the local government areas of ...
months before in a similar shooting.[ were also charged with murder over the Antoun shooting.]
2014 shootings
In the early hours of 1 January (New Year's Day) a BFL member Farhad Qaumi, 31,[Megan Levy, Anne Davie]
Rose Bay shooting victim believed to have beaten three murder charges
2 January 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014 He was on board the charter yacht ''Oscar II'' as it was pulling into a wharf when the vessel was shot at multiple times. Qaumi was treated at St Vincent's Hospital for a shoulder wound but discharged himself. He refused to cooperate with police. Media reports indicated "at least 18 holes" in the vessel.
On 11 March in Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
in a drive-by shooting, five shots were fired into a fence and car outside the home of BFL member Omar Ajaj. At the time Ajaj was in jail.
On 11 December in Auburn at about 8.30pm, Bassam Hamzys mother Lola Hamzy was shot through her home’s front door. She was taken to Westmead Hospital
Westmead Hospital is a major tertiary hospital in Sydney, Australia. Opened on 10 November 1978, the 975-bed hospital forms part of the Western Sydney Local Health District, and is a teaching hospital of Sydney Medical School at the University o ...
, where she underwent emergency surgery.
2020 shooting
Mejid Hamzy, younger brother of Bassam Hamzy, was killed during what police believe was a targeted daylight shooting in Condell Park
Condell Park, a suburb of local government area City of Canterbury-Bankstown, is 21 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the south-western Sydney region ...
on 19 October 2020.
2021 shootings
On 17 June in Sydney's CBD at about 10:25pm, Bilal Hamze was killed in a drive-by shooting on Bridge Street near Mr Wongs restaurant. It was reported that the gunman fled the scene in a dark-coloured Audi.
On 20 October in Guildford, Sydney, at about 8:55am, Salim Hamze and Toufik Hamze were killed in a double shooting on Osgood Street.
Police action
Arrests
On 7 November 2013 police arrested ten members of BFL.[
]Nick Kaldas
Naguib "Nick" Kaldas APM (born 1958) is a former Australian police officer and former deputy commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force. Though considered to be a possible future Commissioner, in March 2016 Kaldas announced his decision ...
, New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner said:
Strike Force formed
At the end of 2013 MEOC formed 'Strike Force Sitella' to investigate numerous shootings and related crimes from July to November 2013.[
]
Legislation
On 30 January 2014 legislation was tabled in the New South Wales Parliament
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...
to have anyone wearing the insignia and symbols used by BFL banned from entering licensed premises
A liquor license (or liquor licence in most forms of Commonwealth English) is a governmentally issued permit to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages.
Canada
In Canada, liquor licences are issued by the legal authority ...
(pubs
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
or clubs) in Kings Cross.[ The bill extends existing legislation that already banned members of 22 ]outlaw motorcycle club
An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle), choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate fre ...
s if they wore "any clothing, jewellery or accessory" or "any image, symbol, abbreviation, acronym or other form of writing that indicates membership of, or an association with, any of the organisations specified", by adding "Brothers 4 Life" and "Outlaws" to the banned list.
Charges
2013
Omar Ajaj has been charged with the murder of Yeyah Amood, and with discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in relation to the knee-capping in Yagoona.[
Mahmoud Sanoussi, 28, was also remanded in custody over the Yagoona knee-capping.
]
2014
On 21 January 2014, two men were charged with the murder of Joe Antoun. A 25 year old, Navid Khalili[Brothers for Life member kept behind bars]
. AAP, 22 January 2014. is alleged to have committed the murder. 24 year old Kasim Ali Khan allegedly planned the killing, and drove the car used. Both are believed by police to be BFL members.[Two alleged Brothers For Life gang members charged with murder of standover man]
Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop. Updated 21 January 2014
On 6 February 2014 a man accused of being the leader of the Bankstown branch of BFL was charged by MEOC detectives with: "Possess prohibited firearm; Aggravated break and enter (special circumstances); Fire at dwelling house, and Direct criminal group."[
On 14 July 2014 Nazir Akbari and Ashkan Rajabi was charged with "discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm" and "firing a firearm in a public place."][Brothers 4 Life members face court charged over shooting of a dog and firing shots into a car]
Lema Samandar, The Daily Telegraph. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014 He was already in jail on other matters.[
On 27 October four people; Amanda Crowe, 32; Fahed Quami, and his brothers Mumtaz, and Jamil, 22, were charged in Burwood Court with murder in connection with the 27 October 2013 shooting of Mahmoud Hamzy.][ In addition Farhad and Mumtaz were also charged with the 21 January 2014 shooting murder of Joe Antoun.][Brothers 4 life: Four alleged gang members charged with Mahmoud Hamzy's shooting murder]
ABC. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013
Convictions
In April 2016 Michael Odisho was found guilty of involvement in the February 2013 knee-capping at Bass Hill of another B4L member.Strathfield
Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A ...
, Sydney.
References
{{Reflist, 30em
External links
Brothers 4 Life - their undoing exposed
Matthew Benns and Mark Morri The Daily Telegraph 9 November 2013
Gangs in Australia
Organised crime in Sydney