Sword Boys is a

street gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia, consisting mostly of

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 ...

s, that has been known to authorities since mid-1990s. Gang members have been reported to wear a miniature gold

scimitar A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...

on a chain around their necks. Sword Boys has been responsible for

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

and

ecstasy Ecstasy may refer to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...

distribution in Western Australia, and has also been linked to car rebirthing by Western Sydney gangs, where stolen cars are stripped and reassembled.

2014 arrests

In 2014 brothers Ziad Jneid and Rabih Jneid were arrested and charged as part of a drug syndicate coordinating the distribution of drugs ( of

crystal methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Metham ...

) across the

Perth metropolitan area The Perth metropolitan region or the Perth metropolitan area is the administrative area and geographical extent of the Western Australian capital city of Perth and its conurbation. It generally includes the coastal strip from Two Rocks in t ...

. They were charged with conspiracy to sell or supply a prohibited drug. Two other men also charged with supplying a prohibited drug. Ziad Jneid has repeatedly denied any role in a

Lebanese mafia Lebanese mafia is a colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and Levant. Lebanese organized crime is active in the country of Lebanon itself, as well as in countries and areas with a large Arab community, most notably ...

operating in Perth called the Sword Boys.

2016 convictions

On 31 August 2016, Ziad Jneid and Rabih Jneid were convicted and sentenced by the Perth District Court after both pleading guilty before trial for their roles in the supply of almost and almost , respectively, of methylamphetamine in 2014. Ziad Jneid received fourteen-and-a-half years' imprisonment and Rabih Jneid received 15 years' imprisonment. Both were described as being upper-echelon drug suppliers motivated by greed. The brothers have links to a notorious Perth Asian street gang jailed for their involvement in the 2013 extortion of a karaoke bar.

2014 arrests

2016 convictions

References

Further reading