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BROTHERS 4 Life gang leader Farhad Qaumi was arrested late yesterday in a dramatic police operation which police hailed as the end of the menacing street gang.
Qaumi, 31, was arrested by heavily armed Tactical Operations Unit officers and investigators from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad about 2pm outside a hotel on the Central Coast. Police claimed with the arrest of Qaumi - who is known as "the Afghan" - they had now knocked out its two most dominant chapters and had "cut the head off the snake".
Qaumi's recruitment to B4L allegedly came by direct appointment from the gang's founder, Supermax inmate Bassam Hamzy. Not long after joining he was appointed "captain" of its Afghan-dominated Blacktown chapter. His younger brother, Mumtaz Qaumi, 29, was also arrested in yesterday's raids at Wyong. A third man, aged 27, was arrested at Auburn.
"This is a significant arrest in the fight against Brothers 4 Life. We will keep our foot on the throat of this organisation," a police source said last night.
In total seven properties were searched, including three at Wyong, Villawood, Guildford, Auburn and Kellyville.
Police last night confirmed all three men were being questioned and were expected to be charged with numerous offences relating to their participation in a criminal group. Other charges, including firearm possession and drug supply offences, are expected to be laid.
Qaumi recently became a target after he was fired upon by a gunman while on the luxury yacht Oscar II which was docking at Rose Bay Wharf on New Year's Day. Also on the boat were a number of B4L members and other colourful Sydney identities. He was treated for a gunshot wound to his shoulder after up to 20 bullets were fired at the vessel.
The investigation into Qaumi and his cohorts was formed late last year and code-named strike force Sitella, which has arrested eight Blacktown chapter members and seized five guns.
The strike force's task was to specifically target Qaumi and bring down the Blacktown chapter of Brothers 4 Life. The Blacktown B4L faction has been at war with its sister-chapter in Bankstown for months, resulting in about a dozen public shootings, including a murder.
Police in November swooped on the gang, arresting 12 members including the gang's Sydney leader and Bankstown captain Mohammed Hamzy, 28. With both chapter heads and a swag of senior members and underlings behind bars, yesterday'stoday's arrest marks the gang's end of the gang.
Last weekFriday another alleged B4L member, Fawad Bari, 23, was arrested during a vehicle stop at St Marys after police allegedly found a .38 revolver in his van.
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Qaumi, 31, was arrested by heavily armed Tactical Operations Unit officers and investigators from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad about 2pm outside a hotel on the Central Coast. Police claimed with the arrest of Qaumi - who is known as "the Afghan" - they had now knocked out its two most dominant chapters and had "cut the head off the snake".
Qaumi's recruitment to B4L allegedly came by direct appointment from the gang's founder, Supermax inmate Bassam Hamzy. Not long after joining he was appointed "captain" of its Afghan-dominated Blacktown chapter. His younger brother, Mumtaz Qaumi, 29, was also arrested in yesterday's raids at Wyong. A third man, aged 27, was arrested at Auburn.
"This is a significant arrest in the fight against Brothers 4 Life. We will keep our foot on the throat of this organisation," a police source said last night.
In total seven properties were searched, including three at Wyong, Villawood, Guildford, Auburn and Kellyville.
Police last night confirmed all three men were being questioned and were expected to be charged with numerous offences relating to their participation in a criminal group. Other charges, including firearm possession and drug supply offences, are expected to be laid.
Qaumi recently became a target after he was fired upon by a gunman while on the luxury yacht Oscar II which was docking at Rose Bay Wharf on New Year's Day. Also on the boat were a number of B4L members and other colourful Sydney identities. He was treated for a gunshot wound to his shoulder after up to 20 bullets were fired at the vessel.
The investigation into Qaumi and his cohorts was formed late last year and code-named strike force Sitella, which has arrested eight Blacktown chapter members and seized five guns.
The strike force's task was to specifically target Qaumi and bring down the Blacktown chapter of Brothers 4 Life. The Blacktown B4L faction has been at war with its sister-chapter in Bankstown for months, resulting in about a dozen public shootings, including a murder.
Police in November swooped on the gang, arresting 12 members including the gang's Sydney leader and Bankstown captain Mohammed Hamzy, 28. With both chapter heads and a swag of senior members and underlings behind bars, yesterday'stoday's arrest marks the gang's end of the gang.
Last weekFriday another alleged B4L member, Fawad Bari, 23, was arrested during a vehicle stop at St Marys after police allegedly found a .38 revolver in his van.
Cookies must be enabled. | The Australian
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