Australia police foil gang hit near daycare centre
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New South Wales police swooped in on two cars after learning three men were preparing to carry out an alleged hit in a Sydney suburb.
PHOTO: AFP
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SYDNEY – Australian police have foiled an alleged organised crime hit near a Sydney daycare facility, the force said on Oct 8.
New South Wales police swooped in on two cars after learning that the men were preparing to carry out the alleged hit in Revesby, a suburb in the city’s south-west, on Oct 7.
The police stopped two cars and arrested the men, finding two firearms, balaclavas, body-worn cameras and jerry cans containing fuel during a search.
A third firearm was later located during subsequent searches of vehicles and premises allegedly linked to the men.
Footage from Oct 7 showed the two cars wedged between police vehicles as the authorities moved in on the alleged offenders, brandishing firearms.
The cars’ windscreens were pocked with bullet holes.
One witness, who did not wish to be named, told Australia’s Channel Nine that he heard the gunshots and went to investigate.
“I started walking out of my house and I heard some more gunshots, and then cars were swerving,” he said.
Police Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook said the authorities had been investigating a transnational crime network “believed to be involved in multiple conspiracies to murder” for several weeks.
The police allege that the victim was targeted due to a breakdown in relationships within the syndicate. The trio of men reportedly did not know the victim.
“Prepared to kill”
They came “pretty close” to carrying out the hit, Mr Cook added.
He expressed shock that the group was “prepared to kill” in an area where there was such a high risk of collateral damage.
“These individuals were being watched, and we moved at the right moment,” he said.
Mr Cook also stressed that there was no chance the trio would have been “allowed to make it to a centre”.
The men have been charged with a string of offences, including conspiracy to commit murder and participating in a criminal group.
The trio was refused bail and will appear in court on Oct 8. Investigations are ongoing.
The Sydney Morning Herald daily reported that a Vietnamese criminal syndicate had hired the three men and paid for a hit on the victim who was previously linked to the network.
Sydney police have in recent months stepped up efforts to curb criminal activity linked to Vietnamese groups after a string of violent incidents.
In April, a Sydney mother was abducted and executed over her husband’s alleged connections to a Vietnamese-linked organised crime network. Her children were also wounded.
In another case, a man was shot in the head and buried alive.
He survived, dug himself from the dirt, and stumbled into a service station to ask for aid. AFP
