‘Reckless’ rapper chased by cops after public execution
Farid Farid and Alex Mitchell |
Police are horrified a rapper wanted for his alleged involvement in a murder posted a music video appearing to depict a similar incident just months after it occurred.
A warrant is out for YC EWZY – real name Harley Johan – over his alleged connection to a petrol station shooting of underworld figure Niddal Acherkouk.
The murder – captured on security footage – took place at a Surry Hills BP in inner Sydney after he had finished dinner at a nearby Turkish restaurant.
Acherkouk, 31, had parked his car at the fuel station when he was ambushed by two masked gunmen, who shot him about 7.45 pm on November 22, 2024, as he tried to flee.
A magistrate has issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr Johan, 31.
Police would not confirm his suspected connection to the murder.
They believe he remains overseas after flying to Malaysia in January.
A YouTube clip of his song Reckless has garnered more than 25,000 views and is described as “a vivid picture of the city’s darker side, caught up in cycles of violence, guns and drugs … where survival often comes at a high price”.
The two-minute video opens with a scene of masked gunman jumping out of a car and killing a driver as he pulls into an underground car park.
The video, posted just three months after the incident in March, alarmed Superintendent Andrew Garner.
“The footage in that video that accompanies the soundtrack is of a shooting with similar circumstances, and it seeks to glorify this kind of action,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“It shouldn’t be glorified, shouldn’t be tolerated, and we’re working very hard to hold people to account.”
The murder was believed to be related to organised crime networks, Detective Acting Superintendent Mathieu Russell said.
“It was certainly a horrendous shooting – brazen, 7.45pm, at a service station, members of the public, people driving along the street,” he said.
“The video clip that I’ve seen is titled Reckless, it certainly is.”
NSW Police released CCTV of the incident and appealed to identify an unknown assailant.
The man in the footage is seen wearing a black Nike hooded jacket, blue track pants and Nike runners before jumping back in a grey Porsche and speeding off with his accomplice.
The luxury car was later found alight in Kensington, with police believing the gunmen fled in another stolen white Audi hatchback.
Investigations under Strike Force Moorlands are ongoing.
Dozens of public shootings, arson attacks and kidnappings across Sydney in 2024 and 2025 led police to set up the 150-officer-strong Taskforce Falcon in May to crush the underworld warfare.
A third man was charged by Falcon detectives on Wednesday over the May 25 murder of Dawood Zakaria, ambushed on a busy road in Granville in Sydney’s west.
The 21-year-old allegedly used a false ID to rent garages used to store cars used in the shooting.
AAP
