NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Police worried shootings linked to turf war

NZ Herald
11 Jan, 2012 04:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Photo / Thinkstock

Photo / Thinkstock

Sydney gunfight latest in string of attacks crime squad believes may be work of gangs

A wild early-morning shootout yesterday between two cars in western Sydney has raised fears that armed thugs are fighting a turf war over drugs with little concern for bystanders.

The Greenfield Park gunfight, during which at least one bullet hit a nearby house, is the latest in a long and frightening series that has killed four men, injured others, and peppered homes and businesses.

On Monday, two homes were sprayed with bullets: police said the gunmen had been "sending a message".

No clear picture has yet emerged, and police have yet to confirm the latest shootings were connected. How many of the earlier incidents were related to drugs or gang warfare is also uncertain.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Some clearly are not - such as the wounding of two men during a domestic dispute last August - but the level of violence and the involvement of bike and ethnic gangs in many of the shootings has alarmed police.

In the past six months four men have been killed, including Lone Wolf bikie Neal Todorovski, 37, on January 4, four others have been injured, 15 homes and two businesses have been shot at, there have been three running gunfights between cars, and six drive-by shootings have reportedly involved Hells Angels and rival Nomads bikies.

Police suspect the latest shootings may involve Middle Eastern crime gangs, which have become prominent in Sydney over the past decade. Their arrival was marked by an attack on the Lakemba police station in 1998 by the now-defunct Lebanese DK gang.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Last year an inquest found that 29-year-old Ramon Khananvah, a diner at Fairfield's Babylon Cafe in western Sydney, was probably the victim of a narcotics turf war.

He died when still-unidentified masked gunmen sprayed the cafe with semi-automatic handguns in October 1995. Although no one has been charged, police suspect the killers were linked to the Dlasthr (Last Hour) gang.

The latest shootings are being investigated by the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad, established in 2006 to counter a growing wave of violence.

The squad's Strike Force Lowland, formed several weeks ago to investigate the increasing supply and distribution of drugs in the St George area, is working to determined if the car gunfight and the attack on homes in Arncliffe and Auburn were related, and if they were linked to the drugs trade.

Discover more

World

The wild west of Sydney

13 Jan 04:30 PM
World

Australia's Pacific gangland

20 Jan 04:30 PM
World

Shot gang leader refuses to talk to police

30 Jan 05:10 PM
World

Soaring gun crime spurs national move to choke illegal trade

13 Feb 04:30 PM

On Monday night gunmen pumped shots from a car into a home in Auburn, where 10 people, including a number of women, were gathered.

A woman suffered minor injuries when shards from an item hit by a bullet cut her leg. One the occupants, identifying himself only as "Yaghi", told news.com.au that a bullet punched through the front door and struck close to his father's head: "It was like something from a Hollywood story."

He said the attack must have been a case of mistaken identity.

Shortly afterwards gunmen fired more than 30 shots at the Arncliffe property, where there were 15 people, but only one bullet struck the house. Most hit a car outside.

"Certainly a message was being sent," Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad head Detective Superintendent Deb Wallace told reporters.

"It's not unusual in organised crime that parties who are battling over territory or money or profit often come into dispute with each other. It will be one area that we are considering."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Early yesterday morning the violence continued when gunmen in a Toyota 4WD and a white sedan fired at each other in Greenfield Park, with one shot striking a nearby house.

Police said they believed the shootout was pre-arranged.

"They didn't happen to come across each other by chance," Superintendent Peter Lennon said.

Police attempts to stem the rising tide of shootings across Sydney have been complicated by the number and complexity of drug and turf wars between a variety of gangs.

Traditional outlaw motorcycle gangs continue their warfare: battles have waged between Hells Angels and Comancheros - killing Comancheros associate Anthony Zervas in a brawl at Sydney Airport in 2009 - and between Nomads and new gang Notorious.

Notorious has reportedly been moving into Kings Cross and has also battled the Bandidos outlaw club.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And on the rise are numerous street gangs, many ethnic and some with Islamic agendas, including the Muslim Brotherhood Movement and Asesinoz MC, with others such as Lads from Tonga, Loyal Samoan Blood, Soldiers in Red and Bloods Never Surrender.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

WorldUpdated

Trump’s 2-hour call with Putin: Russia and Ukraine ceasefire talks will begin ‘immediately’

19 May 06:35 PM
World

Israel allows 'basic amount' of food into Gaza, then 24 hours later kills more than 20

19 May 08:48 AM
World

Erin Patterson allegedly visited death cap site before fatal lunch

19 May 07:06 AM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

Trump’s 2-hour call with Putin: Russia and Ukraine ceasefire talks will begin ‘immediately’

Trump’s 2-hour call with Putin: Russia and Ukraine ceasefire talks will begin ‘immediately’

19 May 06:35 PM

Putin said the call lasted over two hours and praised Trump's involvement.

Israel allows 'basic amount' of food into Gaza, then 24 hours later kills more than 20

Israel allows 'basic amount' of food into Gaza, then 24 hours later kills more than 20

19 May 08:48 AM
Erin Patterson allegedly visited death cap site before fatal lunch

Erin Patterson allegedly visited death cap site before fatal lunch

19 May 07:06 AM
Toddler survives 15-storey fall thanks to small bush - here's how

Toddler survives 15-storey fall thanks to small bush - here's how

19 May 06:11 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP