Bilal Hamze murder trial begins, explores deadly gangland war with rival Alameddine family

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2 days ago

An alleged gangland assassin bragged "that was me, this is what we do with the cars" while showing a friend footage of gangster Bilal Hamze being killed, a court has heard.
A Supreme Court murder trial was told on Monday how the Alameddine crime family were captured on police surveillance tapes discussing how to take out Bilal Hamze and his family in 2021.
It is the first time police have openly detailed how the deadly dispute on Sydney's streets that terrorised the city for 18 months unfolded.
In one recording the court heard, an underworld boss was heard saying of Bilal Hamze's younger brother Ibrahem:
Bilal Hamze, 34, was shot dead leaving Kid Kyoto restaurant on Bridge Street with a woman on June 17, 2021.
Samuel John Rokomaqisa, 35, is on trial charged with murder and speeding off in a black Audi in the heart of the Sydney CBD four years ago.
In one recording allegedly of Mr Rokomaqisa, he is accused of saying his cousin "did the job" and he "was the driver".
"Bro, didn't I prove something to everyone with that job in the city?" Mr Rokomaqisa is accused of saying in one recorded phone call.
In her opening address, crown prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe said Bilal Hamze dined with a sex worker the night he died.
He had moved to the CBD with his wife and child at the time over fears for his life, but was talking with the woman "for several months" before they dined.
When they left, a gunman lying in wait shot Bilal Hamze 10 times and sped away from the scene.
The getaway car was found burnt out a short time later at Northwood.
Mr Rokomaqisa, the court heard, was associated with the Alameddine family and allegedly referred to them as "our boys" on secretly-taped police recordings.
Ms Ratcliffe said in one surveillance tape Mr Rokomaqisa was allegedly heard calling Jamal Alameddine "uncle".
"In order to gain the trust of the Alameddine organised crime network and to be engaged by them he committed criminal acts to demonstrate his loyalty," she said.
"And in turn he received money which the Crown will argue cannot be explained by lawful employment."
The jury heard about a series of phone calls tapped by police while Mr Rokomaqisa was in prison.
Ms Ratcliffe told the court that he called a friend and referred to himself as "the king now" of the Alameddine jail pod, and that he had been asked if he "knocked" Bilal Hamze.
Soon after, Ms Ratcliffe said, a surveillance recording revealed he spoke to another inmate about a news package which referred to Bilal Hamze's murder, where he was allegedly heard saying he was linked to "the shooting and s**t".
He later denied this to officers when charged over the murder.
Mr Rokomaqisa is also facing trial for conspiring to kill Ibrahem Hamze in North Sydney.
The jury was told that plot was foiled as the car staking out Ibrahem Hamze outside his apartment parked in a no parking zone.
The car was approached by a police highway patrol vehicle, the jury heard, and the would-be killers fled.
When the car got a flat tyre, the court heard Mr Rokomaqisa allegedly assaulted a 76-year-old man, stole his car and escaped from police.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and the court heard when spoken to by police he denied having anything to do with Bilal Hamze's death.
Ms Ratcliffe said the case was built on the similarities and circumstance of the murder of Bilal Hamze, and the attempt to kill his brother Ibrahem.
"Such they cannot be explained by coincidence, rather the same persons were involved on each occasion," Ms Ratcliffe told the jury.
The trial is expected to draw in a who's who of Sydney's underworld, both dead and alive.
Bilal Hamze's death was one of seven killings during the height of gangland hostilities between the warring Hamzy and Alameddine crime families.
The clans operate as organised crime networks in Western Sydney and were locked in a bloody feud over control of the city's drug trade at the time.
Bilal Hamze was a major player in the Hamzy network and his death saw a significant escalation in the shootings that had been plaguing Sydney.
He was the cousin of notorious crime boss and Brothers 4 Life founder Bassam Hamzy, who remains in Goulburn's Supermax prison over a raft of offences.
The trial is expected to run for eight weeks and will continue before Justice Robert Hulme on Tuesday.