Three men charged after daylight shooting at Merrylands home linked to alleged crime boss

Three men have been charged after the broad daylight shooting of a house linked to an alleged crime boss in Sydney. Police were called to the home on Earl St in Merrylands in the city’s west at about 9.20am on Thursday. Nobody was inside at the time or injured in the shooting. A burnt-out Porsche was found a short time later in Chester Hill. Ali Elmoubayed, an alleged member of the Alameddine enterprise, is linked to the address. A police helicopter followed the alleged attackers as they fled the scene in the suburb of Merrylands. Three men – aged 20, 22, 23 – have since been arrested and charged with conspire to discharge firearm etc. intend cause grievous bodily harm, fire firearm at dwelling etc. organised criminal activity, damage property by fire/exp > $15,000, and participate in a criminal group. The 22-year-old was also charged with acquire etc. pistol subject to firearms prohibition order. All three men were refused bail to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Friday. Police allege that at about the same time, a Ford Territory was seen driving erratically before crashing on Prospect Rd in Greystanes. Two 17-year-old boys allegedly travelling in the car were caught and held by members of the public until police arrived at the scene and arrested them. It is alleged jerry cans containing fuel, bleach, balaclavas, and a knife were found inside the car. The teenagers have since been charged with take and drive conveyance without consent of owner, accessory before the fact to damage property by fire/exp > $15,000, custody of knife in a public place, and participate in a criminal group. They are scheduled to front a Children’s Court on Friday. Police are still investigating whether the crash in Greystanes is linked to the shooting. One of the five arrested males was also charged in relation to a home invasion in Ermington in February. He faces firearms, driving and aggravated break and enter charges. The dramatic aftermath of the shooting unfolded in Sydney’s west on Thursday morning. Police were called to reports of the shooting in Merrylands. A police helicopter flew to the area, and footage shows the burning Porsche nearby. The adults who police alleged were responsible fled in a bright blue Hyundai. The police helicopter tracked the Hyundai until about 9.40am. Footage shows the group ditching the Hyundai and attempting to flee as the alleged offenders hop suburban fences trying to get away. Police arrest the group soon after. A NSW Police taskforce aimed at suppressing and investigating violent crime in Sydney is investigating the shooting. Taskforce commander Detective Superintendent Jason Box told media on Thursday the shooting could have killed someone. “There’s always the possibility it could be fatal or someone seriously injured,” he said. Alleged criminal figure Ali Elmoubayed lived at the house in Merrylands with his pregnant wife and three children. Elmoubayed fortuitously was not home on Thursday morning when his house was shot at; he was on his way to court to ask for a bail variation. Elmoubayed and his lawyers were asking the courts to change his bail after death threats and one of his cars being firebombed in recent weeks. “We should open a bottle of wine today,” Elmoubayed said as he walked into court on Thursday shortly after the shooting, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. “What a day,” an associate said. “You should play Lotto.” Elmoubayed was granted permission to move to a high rise in the city with his family despite police arguing that several other “criminally concerned” people live in the building and nearby. Elmoubayed is before the courts on charges of supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, dealing with the proceeds of crime, kidnapping, and knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group. Police allege he is the head of the Alameddine crime network in Australia. Former kingpin Rafat Alameddine fled to Lebanon in 2022.