Sydney gangland warfare and the killing of innocent bystanders

February 25, 2026 — 5:00am

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Gangland wars have long been part of Sydney’s criminal underbelly and NSW Police were sometimes accused of allowing villains to sort themselves out as long as they didn’t frighten the horses.

But those days are over.

If they were ever fought under a code of dishonour, today’s gang members are callous and stupid brutes with little consideration of the collateral damage caused by their brazen battles.

And the public is increasingly in the line of fire.

This was made clear on Tuesday when police discovered human remains believed to be those of Chris Baghsarian, an elderly widower snatched from his Sydney home, near a golf club at Pitt Town.

Police believe his abduction was a case of mistaken identity.

Strike Force Chobat detectives who had been searching for Baghsarian believe his kidnappers were targeting a relative of Sydney businessman Dimitri Stepanyan, 37, a convicted armed robber and founder of Proper Streetwear, a clothing brand linked to the Alameddine crime family.

We do not know who abducted Baghsarian, but the intended target has Alameddine links: the relative used to live on the same street as Baghsarian.

The botched kidnap took place shortly before the conflict between the once-powerful Alameddine crime family and a group dubbed the “Coconut Cartel” culminated in the drive-by shooting of former NRL winger Matt Utai outside a Greenacre home by occupants of an SUV before they fled the scene.

Inside an alleged Alameddine attack on the Coconut Cartel

Police believe Utai was an innocent casualty in the escalating gangland war and the attack was meant to target his son, Iziah Utai. A man and a 15-year-old boy have been charged over the shooting.

Eight months ago, infighting within the Alameddine crime clan resulted in an innocent waitress being shot twice in the back at a Turkish restaurant in Auburn and an alleged senior member of the notorious crime group, Samimjan Azari, being hit in the arm and shoulder, while his bodyguard took a bullet in the face. It was the fourth attempt to assassinate Azari.

NSW Police have a proven track record of dismantling organised crime syndicates, having successfully taken down criminal gangs such as Brothers for Life and pseudo-outlaw motorcycle gang Notorious – dubbed Nike-bikies – but the current wave of violence suggests pressure must be scaled up once more.

To make matters worse, warring gangs have outsourced the killings to hot-headed young thugs with little acumen who shoot, burn and run with callous indifference both to their victims and the lives of others.

They are part of a remorseless tit-for-tat male culture that likes to regard itself as a law unto itself and feeds on violence as lifeblood.

In the aftermath of an outbreak of public shootings and violence, police are often quick to offer a familiar reassurance that the attack was “targeted” and the public is not at risk.

But the kidnapping and presumed murder of 85-year-old Baghsarian is a chilling message for us all: the idea that violence remains confined to the underworld is now a myth.

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© The Sydney Morning Herald