2 Men Arrested in Connection with Australian Gang Leader Assassination

Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad, also known in Sydney, Australia, as ‘Mr. Big’, was killed this year on April 27. Ahmad had been visiting an associate in Greenacre to celebrate Ramadan, and multiple gunmen were waiting outside for him. Ahmad was shot by a slew of bullets when he exited the associate’s house. Strike Force Raptor performed CPR, but Ahmad died of his wounds. 

Ahmad was a figure of renown in Sydney’s underworld. He had only recently returned to the city from his native Lebanon when he was killed. He had served six months of a five year sentence for murdering a gangland rival. When he arrived back in Sydney, detectives warned him of a $1 million bounty on his head, but Ahmad continued to involve himself with alleged criminals and illegal activities. Ahmad dodged a separate assassination attempt last October when police tipped him off about a planned hit in broad daylight at a park in Rushcutters Bay.

“He continued to associate with people that were part of the criminal milieu and he did not want to hide… He's been warned in the past he was a marked man and as a result he didn't heed those words... he was going about his normal business without a care in the world,” detective superintendent and homicide squad commander Danny Doherty said.

The Daily Mail and the Sydney Morning Herald report that Frank Delcol, 49, was arrested last month and charged for his alleged role in the murder. Delcol also received an array of drug supply charges for the 25 kilograms of methylamphetamine found in his home. The drugs, worth approximately $22 million, were seized from Delcol’s Wetherill Park home along with $200,000 cash and several cloned number plates. Police allege that the number plates were from the getaway car that was used for the assassination.

On Tuesday, 7/26, Jason Laria, 37, was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact to murder and knowingly or recklessly directing a criminal group. Detectives allege that Laria was involved in planning Ahmad’s assassination. Laria was also charged with drug supply offenses, and was at Fairfield Local Court yesterday afternoon. He was refused bail and will reappear in court on August 4.