Alleged gunman charged with Bondi murder of drug lord
Duncan Murray |
An alleged gunman has been charged with murder over the daylight shooting of convicted drug lord Alen Moradian in Sydney.
Police have charged three additional men over the shooting in a Bondi car park in 2023.
A 24-year-old man arrested at a home in Fairfield Heights is alleged by police to have pulled the trigger in the highly orchestrated shooting.
He has been charged with five offences including murder, drug and firearm related offences, and participating in a criminal group.
Two other men, aged 27 and 28, were arrested at an address in Macquarie Park on Tuesday, with the younger man subsequently charged with eight firearm offences and the older man with drug-related offences.
Both men were also charged with participating in a criminal group.
During a number of police searches in the same suburb on Tuesday, officers also seized 1.5kg of cocaine, 844 grams of methamphetamine, three encrypted communication devices, and a pistol with 23 rounds of ammunition.
All three men were refused bail and were due to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday.
Moradian, 48, was gunned down while sitting in a stationary vehicle in an underground car park near the busy Bondi Junction shopping precinct on June 27.
Nicknamed “Fathead”, Moradian was arrested in 2007 along with his wife Natasha Youkhana and others over what police called one of the largest cocaine and money-laundering rackets in NSW history.
He was sentenced to 16 years and nine months in jail for drug importation and supply.
Several people have been charged over various alleged roles in the killing, including the plot’s accused mastermind who cannot be named for legal reasons.
In December, police released CCTV footage of the incident showing two men pulling into the Bondi car park in a Porsche SUV.
One of the men can be seen leaving the vehicle wearing a hood and holding a gun.
The man disappears for several seconds before quickly returning to the Porsche, which then speeds away.
Later footage captured the duo swapping the Porsche for a red Holden Cruze that was parked on nearby James Street in Bondi.
The burnt-out Porsche was subsequently found by police, while the Holden was located burned in the inner-city suburb of Zetland.
AAP
