Latest news with #Azari
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
A feared crime family ruled Sydney's underworld. Now it's at war with itself
The first cracks in the facade of the Alameddine crime network started to show just over six months ago. On a February afternoon, one of the network's long-time members, Samimjan Azari, and two associates were shot at in the car park of a Brighton-Le-Sands restaurant, where gunmen ambushed them in a brazen assassination attempt. From the outside, it appeared the Alameddine network, which has for several years controlled Sydney's illicit drug market, was again at war with rivals staking their own claim on the lucrative trade. But rather than fighting off cross-town enemies making a play for its turf, police say the Alameddine network was entrenched in a conflict within its own ranks. In the months before, the feared network was fractured when one of its senior members defected to form his own criminal organisation, sparking a gangland war that spilt onto Sydney's streets that February day. By the time the first shots were fired, a chasm had long opened up within the powerful organisation, splitting it in two as once-loyal members defected to join the new organised crime network founded by the senior Alameddine figure. Since defecting, the former member, who the Herald cannot name for legal reasons, has bolstered his new network, turning other senior Alameddine figures against their long-time allies as shootings have plagued both sides of the conflict. This masthead does not suggest any of the individuals identified in this article are responsible for any of the shootings. 'There's been a division and that's the problem,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said. 'It was one organised crime network working as a collective – there's now a division and that hasn't been accepted internally, hence the conflict.' At the centre of the conflict, Azari has become Sydney's most marked man after taking up a senior role in the new network alongside Joseph Vokai, the alleged head of KVT. A street gang with a membership of predominantly Fijian men, the KVT long acted as muscle for the Alameddine network in its multimillion-dollar drug-trafficking operations. But when the network fractured, Vokai turned his back on the gang's long-time employer, aligning himself with Azari. 'There's been a significant divide at the highest level of this organised crime network, resulting in, we believe, the Alameddine and KVT split,' Box said. Since he was targeted at Brighton-Le-Sands, Azari has survived three separate attempts on his life, the most recent last month when masked gunmen cornered him inside a Turkish restaurant in Auburn. Azari was shot twice, in the arm and the shoulder, but survived. An associate of Azari, a 25-year-old man, was shot in the face, while an innocent restaurant employee, a 47-year-old woman, was shot twice in the torso during the attack. Three weeks earlier, Azari survived an assassination attempt that killed his associate, Dawood Zakaria, when assailants opened fire on a Toyota HiLux the pair was travelling in with two other men in Granville. Zakaria, 32, who was with Azari when he was targeted in Brighton-Le-Sands and had been acting as a bodyguard for the 26-year-old since he took up his role at the head of the new network, was shot in the head and died in hospital several days later. Days after Zakaria was shot, police established Taskforce Falcon, made up of 100 detectives from various squads and 50 uniformed officers, to quell the violence linked to the conflict. Azari has dismissed repeated warnings from police to alter his movements, choosing instead to frequent public places, where he continues to be targeted. 'He's been told numerous times that he's at risk, and I think surely that he would be aware of that after four attempts on his life, and the movements for him is a matter for him to determine, but I hope that he makes the right decisions for his welfare,' said Box, the commander of Taskforce Falcon. Expanding on the Alameddine network's historic control of the drug trade, the new network has infiltrated Sydney's illicit tobacco market, with several members and associates allegedly involved in a number of thefts, or 'rips' of tobacco worth millions of dollars since last year. Several have been charged and remain before the courts. Police insist illicit tobacco is not the cause of the conflict, but rather the commodity of choice for the new network, which is largely comprised of defected Alameddine and KVT members. On the other side of the conflict, some members remain loyal to the Alameddine network and its patriarch, Rafat Alameddine, as they grapple to retain control of Sydney's underworld. Alameddine fled Australia for the safety of Lebanon, where he is a citizen, in November 2022. He remains wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze in 2021. 'The Alameddine organised crime network is obviously still functioning and there are still representatives here and people are active; whether they're onshore or offshore, they're still active and still part of that network,' Box said. Alameddine's former bodyguard, Ali Elmoubayed, who police believe runs the crime family's operations in Australia, remains aligned with the kingpin, as does rapper Ay Huncho, whose real name is Ali Younes. In May, Younes posted a photo of himself alongside Alameddine to his Instagram. 'What's understood don't need to be explained,' the caption read. As shootings on both sides of the conflict continue, Younes' loyalty to Elmoubayed and Alameddine has sparked concerns he may be targeted. Last month, Younes successfully applied to vary his bail conditions, which now allow him to report to police by phone, in an attempt to make his movements less predictable for would-be assassins. A week after Younes varied his bail conditions, Elmoubayed himself narrowly escaped a shooting at his Merrylands home, which was peppered with bullets minutes after he left to front Parramatta Local Court. Hours later, a magistrate allowed Elmoubayed and his young family to relocate to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features that his lawyers argued would safeguard him from future attacks. Police say it is unclear exactly what led to the divide within the Alameddine network, with petty grievances between former allies likely to have added fuel to the conflict. 'There's a lot of reasons this could have happened, from the leadership down, to decisions that are being made, to who holds a certain amount of power, and if people aren't adhering to leaders' instructions,' Box said. Despite the targeting of leaders on each side of the divide, police have warned members of each network that they are in the firing line as the conflict continues. 'The reality is: anyone connected with this conflict is a potential target for retribution,' Box said.
The Age
5 days ago
- The Age
A feared crime family ruled Sydney's underworld. Now it's at war with itself
The first cracks in the facade of the Alameddine crime network started to show just over six months ago. On a February afternoon, one of the network's long-time members, Samimjan Azari, and two associates were shot at in the car park of a Brighton-Le-Sands restaurant, where gunmen ambushed them in a brazen assassination attempt. From the outside, it appeared the Alameddine network, which has for several years controlled Sydney's illicit drug market, was again at war with rivals staking their own claim on the lucrative trade. But rather than fighting off cross-town enemies making a play for its turf, police say the Alameddine network was entrenched in a conflict within its own ranks. In the months before, the feared network was fractured when one of its senior members defected to form his own criminal organisation, sparking a gangland war that spilt onto Sydney's streets that February day. By the time the first shots were fired, a chasm had long opened up within the powerful organisation, splitting it in two as once-loyal members defected to join the new organised crime network founded by the senior Alameddine figure. Since defecting, the former member, who the Herald cannot name for legal reasons, has bolstered his new network, turning other senior Alameddine figures against their long-time allies as shootings have plagued both sides of the conflict. This masthead does not suggest any of the individuals identified in this article are responsible for any of the shootings. 'There's been a division and that's the problem,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said. 'It was one organised crime network working as a collective – there's now a division and that hasn't been accepted internally, hence the conflict.' At the centre of the conflict, Azari has become Sydney's most marked man after taking up a senior role in the new network alongside Joseph Vokai, the alleged head of KVT. A street gang with a membership of predominantly Fijian men, the KVT long acted as muscle for the Alameddine network in its multimillion-dollar drug-trafficking operations. But when the network fractured, Vokai turned his back on the gang's long-time employer, aligning himself with Azari. 'There's been a significant divide at the highest level of this organised crime network, resulting in, we believe, the Alameddine and KVT split,' Box said. Since he was targeted at Brighton-Le-Sands, Azari has survived three separate attempts on his life, the most recent last month when masked gunmen cornered him inside a Turkish restaurant in Auburn. Azari was shot twice, in the arm and the shoulder, but survived. An associate of Azari, a 25-year-old man, was shot in the face, while an innocent restaurant employee, a 47-year-old woman, was shot twice in the torso during the attack. Three weeks earlier, Azari survived an assassination attempt that killed his associate, Dawood Zakaria, when assailants opened fire on a Toyota HiLux the pair was travelling in with two other men in Granville. Zakaria, 32, who was with Azari when he was targeted in Brighton-Le-Sands and had been acting as a bodyguard for the 26-year-old since he took up his role at the head of the new network, was shot in the head and died in hospital several days later. Days after Zakaria was shot, police established Taskforce Falcon, made up of 100 detectives from various squads and 50 uniformed officers, to quell the violence linked to the conflict. Azari has dismissed repeated warnings from police to alter his movements, choosing instead to frequent public places, where he continues to be targeted. 'He's been told numerous times that he's at risk, and I think surely that he would be aware of that after four attempts on his life, and the movements for him is a matter for him to determine, but I hope that he makes the right decisions for his welfare,' said Box, the commander of Taskforce Falcon. Expanding on the Alameddine network's historic control of the drug trade, the new network has infiltrated Sydney's illicit tobacco market, with several members and associates allegedly involved in a number of thefts, or 'rips' of tobacco worth millions of dollars since last year. Several have been charged and remain before the courts. Police insist illicit tobacco is not the cause of the conflict, but rather the commodity of choice for the new network, which is largely comprised of defected Alameddine and KVT members. On the other side of the conflict, some members remain loyal to the Alameddine network and its patriarch, Rafat Alameddine, as they grapple to retain control of Sydney's underworld. Alameddine fled Australia for the safety of Lebanon, where he is a citizen, in November 2022. He remains wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze in 2021. 'The Alameddine organised crime network is obviously still functioning and there are still representatives here and people are active; whether they're onshore or offshore, they're still active and still part of that network,' Box said. Alameddine's former bodyguard, Ali Elmoubayed, who police believe runs the crime family's operations in Australia, remains aligned with the kingpin, as does rapper Ay Huncho, whose real name is Ali Younes. In May, Younes posted a photo of himself alongside Alameddine to his Instagram. 'What's understood don't need to be explained,' the caption read. As shootings on both sides of the conflict continue, Younes' loyalty to Elmoubayed and Alameddine has sparked concerns he may be targeted. Last month, Younes successfully applied to vary his bail conditions, which now allow him to report to police by phone, in an attempt to make his movements less predictable for would-be assassins. A week after Younes varied his bail conditions, Elmoubayed himself narrowly escaped a shooting at his Merrylands home, which was peppered with bullets minutes after he left to front Parramatta Local Court. Hours later, a magistrate allowed Elmoubayed and his young family to relocate to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features that his lawyers argued would safeguard him from future attacks. Police say it is unclear exactly what led to the divide within the Alameddine network, with petty grievances between former allies likely to have added fuel to the conflict. 'There's a lot of reasons this could have happened, from the leadership down, to decisions that are being made, to who holds a certain amount of power, and if people aren't adhering to leaders' instructions,' Box said. Despite the targeting of leaders on each side of the divide, police have warned members of each network that they are in the firing line as the conflict continues. 'The reality is: anyone connected with this conflict is a potential target for retribution,' Box said.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Alameddine crime family: Network that once ruled Sydney's underworld is now at war with itself
, register or subscribe to save articles for later. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. The first cracks in the facade of the Alameddine crime network started to show just over six months ago. On a February afternoon, one of the network's long-time members, Samimjan Azari, and two associates were shot at in the car park of a Brighton-Le-Sands restaurant, where gunmen ambushed them in a brazen assassination attempt. From the outside, it appeared the Alameddine network, which has for several years controlled Sydney's illicit drug market, was again at war with rivals staking their own claim on the lucrative trade. The Alameddine crime network fractured when a senior member defected to start his own rival organisation. Credit: Nathan Perri But rather than fighting off cross-town enemies making a play for its turf, police say the Alameddine network was entrenched in a conflict within its own ranks. In the months before, the feared network was fractured when one of its senior members defected to form his own criminal organisation, sparking a gangland war that spilt onto Sydney's streets that February day. By the time the first shots were fired, a chasm had long opened up within the powerful organisation, splitting it in two as once-loyal members defected to join the new organised crime network founded by the senior Alameddine figure. Since defecting, the former member, who the Herald cannot name for legal reasons, has bolstered his new network, turning other senior Alameddine figures against their long-time allies as shootings have plagued both sides of the conflict. This masthead does not suggest any of the individuals identified in this article are responsible for any of the shootings. 'There's been a division and that's the problem,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said. 'It was one organised crime network working as a collective – there's now a division and that hasn't been accepted internally, hence the conflict.' Samimjan Azari has become Sydney's most marked man after defecting from the Alameddine crime network. Credit: Nine News At the centre of the conflict, Azari has become Sydney's most marked man after taking up a senior role in the new network alongside Joseph Vokai, the alleged head of KVT. A street gang with a membership of predominantly Fijian men, the KVT long acted as muscle for the Alameddine network in its multimillion-dollar drug-trafficking operations. But when the network fractured, Vokai turned his back on the gang's long-time employer, aligning himself with Azari. Detective Superintendent Jason Box says the Alameddine crime network's leadership has fractured. Credit: Sam Mooy 'There's been a significant divide at the highest level of this organised crime network, resulting in, we believe, the Alameddine and KVT split,' Box said. Since he was targeted at Brighton-Le-Sands, Azari has survived three separate attempts on his life, the most recent last month when masked gunmen cornered him inside a Turkish restaurant in Auburn. Azari was shot twice, in the arm and the shoulder, but survived. An associate of Azari, a 25-year-old man, was shot in the face, while an innocent restaurant employee, a 47-year-old woman, was shot twice in the torso during the attack. Three weeks earlier, Azari survived an assassination attempt that killed his associate, Dawood Zakaria, when assailants opened fire on a Toyota HiLux the pair was travelling in with two other men in Granville. Joseph Vokai, the alleged head of the KVT gang, turned his back on the Alameddines to side with the new rival network. Credit: NSW Police Zakaria, 32, who was with Azari when he was targeted in Brighton-Le-Sands and had been acting as a bodyguard for the 26-year-old since he took up his role at the head of the new network, was shot in the head and died in hospital several days later. Days after Zakaria was shot, police established Taskforce Falcon, made up of 100 detectives from various squads and 50 uniformed officers, to quell the violence linked to the conflict. Azari has dismissed repeated warnings from police to alter his movements, choosing instead to frequent public places, where he continues to be targeted. 'He's been told numerous times that he's at risk, and I think surely that he would be aware of that after four attempts on his life, and the movements for him is a matter for him to determine, but I hope that he makes the right decisions for his welfare,' said Box, the commander of Taskforce Falcon. Expanding on the Alameddine network's historic control of the drug trade, the new network has infiltrated Sydney's illicit tobacco market, with several members and associates allegedly involved in a number of thefts, or 'rips' of tobacco worth millions of dollars since last year. Several have been charged and remain before the courts. Police insist illicit tobacco is not the cause of the conflict, but rather the commodity of choice for the new network, which is largely comprised of defected Alameddine and KVT members. Police believe Rafat Alameddine, pictured outside Parramatta police station in 2019, runs the crime family's operations from Lebanon. Credit: Kate Geraghty On the other side of the conflict, some members remain loyal to the Alameddine network and its patriarch, Rafat Alameddine, as they grapple to retain control of Sydney's underworld. Alameddine fled Australia for the safety of Lebanon, where he is a citizen, in November 2022. He remains wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze in 2021. 'The Alameddine organised crime network is obviously still functioning and there are still representatives here and people are active; whether they're onshore or offshore, they're still active and still part of that network,' Box said. Alameddine's former bodyguard, Ali Elmoubayed, who police believe runs the crime family's operations in Australia, remains aligned with the kingpin, as does rapper Ay Huncho, whose real name is Ali Younes. In May, Younes posted a photo of himself alongside Alameddine to his Instagram. 'What's understood don't need to be explained,' the caption read. Alleged Alameddine crime network boss Ali Elmoubayed arrives at Parramatta Court after his house was targeted in a drive-by shooting. Credit: Janie Barrett As shootings on both sides of the conflict continue, Younes' loyalty to Elmoubayed and Alameddine has sparked concerns he may be targeted. Last month, Younes successfully applied to vary his bail conditions, which now allow him to report to police by phone, in an attempt to make his movements less predictable for would-be assassins. A week after Younes varied his bail conditions, Elmoubayed himself narrowly escaped a shooting at his Merrylands home, which was peppered with bullets minutes after he left to front Parramatta Local Court. Hours later, a magistrate allowed Elmoubayed and his young family to relocate to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features that his lawyers argued would safeguard him from future attacks.
TECHx
6 days ago
- Business
- TECHx
AppsFlyer Reports Decline in UA Spend Despite Mobile Growth
Home » Smart Sectors » Retail » AppsFlyer Reports Decline in UA Spend Despite Mobile Growth AppsFlyer has revealed the UAE findings of its annual State of eCommerce Mobile Marketing report. The data highlights how Chinese eCommerce apps continue to dominate user acquisition (UA) spending in one of the world's top mobile-first economies. In the first half of 2025, Chinese apps accounted for 73% of all UA spend in the UAE. France followed with 13%, and India with 8%, driven by focused campaigns and expat-centric strategies. The report pointed to growing competition from overseas brands. As a result, local eCommerce retailers saw their UA investments shrink. This trend reflects budget reallocations, rising pressure from international players, and market consolidation. AppsFlyer experts noted that local brands still have growth opportunities. However, success will require clear strategies and performance-driven, localised campaigns. Sue Azari, Industry Lead eCommerce at AppsFlyer, explained that Chinese apps have long targeted markets outside China. She said the UAE is a natural fit due to its premium audience and digital maturity. French apps are focusing on iOS users, while Indian advertisers likely see strong potential in the UAE's South Asian expat population. AppsFlyer also reported strong growth for iOS in the UAE. While Android app installs are projected to grow 713% since 2017, iOS installs are expected to rise by 1383% over the same period. Year-on-year, iOS installs are forecast to more than double in 2025. At the same time, iOS fraud rates dropped 63% year-on-year in H1 2025. Android's fraud rate, however, rose 234% in the same period. This indicates iOS is becoming a safer and more attractive platform for marketers, despite Android's scale. The report also revealed a decline in overall UA spending. In H1 2025, Android UA spend fell 21% compared to the same period in 2024. iOS spend declined only 6%, showing more resilience. Yet, the period also saw record-high remarketing investments. Q1 2025 remarketing spend tripled compared to Q1 2024 Ramadan and retail events played a major role in early-year performance Azari encouraged marketers to align campaigns with seasonal peaks like Ramadan and build remarketing strategies to sustain engagement afterward. She also noted that declining Android UA spend may offer cost-effective inventory for savvy brands. AppsFlyer concluded that the UAE remains a competitive market for mobile commerce. Advertisers who balance premium iOS strategies with cost-effective Android engagement and adapt budgets to seasonal trends are best positioned for success.
The Age
19-06-2025
- The Age
Gangster has survived four murder plots: How Samimjan Azari became Sydney's most marked man
For almost a decade, Samimjan Azari has quietly climbed the ranks of the Alameddine crime clan. Once a gun and drug runner for the network, Azari spent years as a loyal cog in the machine of the sprawling criminal organisation, entrenching himself in Alameddine operations while flying largely under the radar of police as he gradually cemented his standing as a senior member. Around him, senior figures and associates have been jailed or fled overseas, paving the way for his ascent from a relative unknown in Sydney's underworld to the city's most marked man, who this week survived the fourth attempt on his life this year. Three-and-a-half years in prison for selling firearms and cocaine to undercover counter-terror police did little to stunt his rise, which continued after he was paroled in 2020. Azari was arrested alongside Bilal Alameddine after a two-month sting, during which they sold Desert Eagle and Smith & Wesson handguns and more than $100,000 worth of cocaine to officers. Deliberately targeted by police because of his family history and known connection to the Alameddine family, Azari was handed a seven-year sentence with a non-parole period of 3½ years. Three years earlier, Azari's older brother, Omarjan, was jailed for his role in an Islamic State plot to behead Australians and broadcast their killings online. In 2015, Bilal Alameddine tried to leave Australia to join Islamic State terrorists in the Middle East as a 16-year-old. Months later, a relative sharing his notorious surname, Talal Alameddine, supplied the gun used by a radicalised teenager in the murder of police accountant Curtis Cheng outside NSW Police headquarters. Even with his jailing and connections to high-profile associates, Azari has remained a relative unknown in the gangland wars that have plagued Sydney in recent years as conflicts between rival organised crime networks claimed high-profile victims. But over the past six months, that anonymity has dissolved as he found himself at the centre of an imploding war within the broader Alameddine network that has spilt onto Sydney's streets and triggered plots to assassinate him. On Monday, Azari survived the third attempt on his life in three weeks when two masked gunmen stormed a Turkish restaurant in Auburn, shooting him in the arm and shoulder, and hitting an innocent restaurant employee – a 47-year-old mother – twice in the torso. A 25-year-old associate of Azari's, acting as his bodyguard, was shot in the face – the third companion travelling with him to have been killed or seriously injured in attempts on his life in the past month. Another man with the pair fled into a back room of the restaurant as Azari fought off one of his attackers with a chair. Weeks before, on May 25, another of Azari's associates, Dawood Zakaria, was fatally shot in the head by assailants who opened fire on a Toyota HiLux in which they were travelling. Who has carried out the failed assassinations on Azari remains a major focus for detectives, with no gunmen so far arrested, but investigators believe the orders have come from within Azari's own network after an internal conflict 'imploded'. 'Obviously, they're a violent organisation, and they're happy to target people that are outside their organisation or those, if necessary, from within their own organisation,' acting Police Commissioner Peter Thurtell said in the hours after Monday's shooting. Little over a year ago, NSW Police triumphantly declared it had 'eradicated' the Alameddine network, arresting what senior figures were left in Australia after several of the group's bosses, including kingpin Rafat Alameddine, fled the country for the safety of Lebanon in November 2022. Since then, Rafat, has been living abroad as a free man, wanted alongside fellow gangland figure John Ray Bayssari over an alleged criminal conspiracy to murder their underworld enemy Ibrahem Hamze during the peak of a war between the Alameddine and Hamzy clans for control of Sydney's lucrative drug trade in August 2021. That war, between the Alameddine and Hamzy clans, has been linked to 20 organised crime killings since 2020, police allege. In December 2023, Alameddine's second-in-command at the time and Zakaria's brother, Masood Zakaria, was charged over the conspiracy to kill Hamze after he was deported from Turkey, where he was living after leaving Australia aboard a fishing boat two years earlier. Despite what police hailed as a major victory, the Alameddine network has retained its presence as one of Sydney's most influential organised crime groups. And what success authorities did have in dismantling the network's Australian operations, has been, in part, undone by the fallout since. Police sources, who sought anonymity to speak freely about investigations linked to the Alameddine conflict, said the network has suffered from a lack of leadership in recent years, resulting in an escalating feud between rival factions that has led to the recent spike in violence, including the attempts on Azari's life. That lack of authority within the network, sources said, has left trigger-happy lower-ranking members free to call the shots with little regard for the consequences in a conflict that can't be linked to one particular incident but rather a series of minor issues within the broader network. The lack of senior leadership has also brought with it a departure from the meticulously planned and executed operations that have become synonymous with gangland killings of recent years. In its place, botched assassinations carried out by what police believe are inexperienced and incompetent hired killers chasing a lucrative contract. A suspected team of hitmen, the so-called 'Afghani crew', is believed to have been recruited into the internal conflict as contract killers. Among the warring factions, the KVT, a street gang made up of predominantly Fijian members and long enlisted as muscle for the Alameddines, has fallen out with the network. But the KVT is itself divided. A number of alleged members remain linked to Azari and other senior members of the Alameddine network who have led the organisation's attempted infiltration of Sydney's booming illicit tobacco trade. In January, several men linked to the Alameddine network and the KVT gang allegedly broke into a Condell Park storage unit and detained three men in an attempted robbery of millions of dollars worth of illicit tobacco. The men were allegedly tied up, and one had a toe severed. Far from a struggle between senior figures for control of what remains of the Alameddine empire, parts of the conflict, believed to centre on a series of minor grievances, stoop as low as the network's street-level operations. Once feared and protected by loyal followers, those at the top of the Alameddine organisation have been placed in the firing line by the conflict. The man police allege has climbed the ranks to head the network in Australia, Ali Elmoubayed, has himself received death threats and has been forced to flee the crime clan's long-time home suburb because of concerns for his safety. A week ago, Elmoubayed, a former bodyguard to Rafat Alameddine, inadvertently escaped a drive-by shooting at his Merrylands home by minutes. Elmoubayed was en route to Parramatta Local Court to ask a magistrate to let him relocate his young family when the bullets were fired. Four days earlier, a car outside the Earl Street home was firebombed. It is not clear whether the alleged shooters, who were arrested less than an hour after the incident, knew the house was empty and fired the shots as a warning, or if the attack was a genuine attempt on the gangland figure's life. Hours later, Elmoubayed's bail conditions were varied, allowing him to move to an inner-city high-rise apartment building with security features his lawyers argued would protect him and his family from future attacks. Loading His relocation was the latest indication of an emerging pattern in the conflict within the Alameddine network, with several of the crime clan's members and associates taking measures to alter their movements and make themselves less predictable for would-be assassins. A week earlier, Alameddine associate Ali Younes, widely known by his rap moniker, Ay Huncho, successfully argued for a change to his bail conditions so he could report to police over the phone rather than in person, fearing he would be targeted. Like Younes, the routines of several gangland figures have put them in the firing line of would-be assassins flying in the face of law enforcement as their stalking becomes more brazen. Police believe in two of the four attempts on Azar's life, gunmen followed him from a public place. On Monday, Azari was followed from a police station, which he left an hour before he was cornered inside the Auburn restaurant. Despite the best efforts of police to keep Azari safe, death threats still loom over him. After the Granville shooting, police warned there could be further attempts on Azari's life and raised concerns of retaliation as the conflict escalated. There would be further bloodshed on Sydney's streets because of Azari's standing in the Alameddine network, they said. Within weeks, police were proven right. In the days before Monday's shooting, and after another foiled attempt on his life in Rozelle on Friday, detectives repeatedly warned Azari of the risks posed to him should he remain on Sydney's streets. 'He was made aware of threats against his life,' Detective Superintendent Jason Box said on Tuesday. 'He acknowledged those threats against his life, to an extent, he was reasonably dismissive of what we had to say, and he's obviously continued his movements in the public area with not a great deal of concern.' This week, detectives have issued further warnings. 'I'm hoping that this individual reassesses his movements,' Box said. 'I'm hoping that he's not accessible. I'm hoping that he does take the advice that we've given and that it does not present an opportunity like we've seen yesterday.' But with little indication the warnings will be heeded, and gunmen inching closer to their goal, the warnings, like Azari's luck, may be wearing thin. 'We've given him all the information that we can … to assist him and protect himself,' Box said. 'What he chooses to do with that information is a matter for him.'
