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‘Fortress Hamze’ at crime family matriarch’s home is TORN DOWN after Daily Mail Australia campaign

'Fortress Hamze' at crime family matriarch's home is TORN DOWN after Daily Mail Australia campaign 2

A hi-tech security set-up at a public housing estate where the matriarch of the Hamze crime family lives has been torn down after a campaign by Daily Mail Australia (DMA).

DMA first asked the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) about the illegally constructed $20,000 security additions, including a metal gate and a bank of CCTV cameras, nine months ago.

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In the hours after the shooting death of underworld figure Bilal Hamze last June, a giant telegraph pole was loaded up with security cameras attached to the public housing property where his mother Maha lives.

At the time, officials said they were investigating the bizarre set-up in front of the housing commission home in Auburn, in Sydney’s west.

The pole – which had a 360-degree view of the area – and a large security gate led the property dubbed ‘Fortress Hamze’.

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The private telegraph pole carrying 360-degree view CCTV cameras led to the property being dubbed 'Fortress Hamze'

The private telegraph pole carrying 360-degree view CCTV cameras led to the property being dubbed ‘Fortress Hamze’

The hi-tech security system appeared out the front of the housing commission townhouse in Auburn where Hamze matriarch Maha lives after her son Bilal was gunned down in Sydney

The hi-tech security system appeared out the front of the housing commission townhouse in Auburn where Hamze matriarch Maha lives after her son Bilal was gunned down in Sydney

Friends and family of Bilal Hamzy seen outside the Auburn home of his mother after he was gunned down in Sydney in June 2021

Friends and family of Bilal Hamzy seen outside the Auburn home of his mother after he was gunned down in Sydney in June 2021

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Last June, LAHC said the CCTV pole was unauthorised and hadn’t been installed by the agency. The devices were also not installed by NSW Police.

Nine months later, the gate and cameras have finally been removed, though it is not clear who did so.

In a statement, a spokesperson said the removal of the gate and equipment had not be paid for by taxpayers.

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‘The NSW Land and Housing Corporation ordered the removal of these unauthorised modifications, at the cost of the responsible tenants,’ the statement said. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the LAHC for a statement on why it took so long to remove the cameras and other security measures.

Family, friends and associates of Mrs Hamze’s son Bilal gathered at the public housing townhouse after his execution-style murder in Sydney last year. 

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Friends and family gathered at the Auburn home of Maha Hamze, mother of slain criminal Bilal, after his death in June 2021

Friends and family gathered at the Auburn home of Maha Hamze, mother of slain criminal Bilal, after his death in June 2021

The casket of Bilal Hamze is carried in to Lakemba Mosque after his execution-style killing Sydney's CBD in June 2021

The casket of Bilal Hamze is carried in to Lakemba Mosque after his execution-style killing Sydney’s CBD in June 2021

Mrs Hamze had previously been shot in the legs while living at the property in March 2013 after answering the front door.

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A man was later found guilty of her attempted murder, the court case revealing he had originally asked Mrs Hamze’s nephew, notorious Supermax prison Bassam Hamzy, to help him collect a $20,000 debt. 

In February last year, the block Mrs Hamze lives in was fired on by two men who fired ‘multiple rounds’ into the townhouses.

Police later said Mrs Hamze was not the target of the attack, instead an associate of her son Ibrahem who also lived in the complex was the likely target.

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A nurse at nearby Auburn Hospital was injured in the attack after she was hit by debris from a window shattered by a stray bullet.

There is no suggestion Mrs Hamze is involved in any criminal activity.  

Brothers 4 Life gang boss Bassam Hamzy, who remains behind bars in Goulburn's supermax prison

Brothers 4 Life gang boss Bassam Hamzy, who remains behind bars in Goulburn’s supermax prison

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Bassam's brother Mejid Hamzy (pictured) was shot dead at Condell Park on October 19, 2020

Bassam’s brother Mejid Hamzy (pictured) was shot dead at Condell Park on October 19, 2020

An intense feud between the Hamzy and Alameddine clans has fuelled a series of shootings in Sydney’s west.

The most hit recent saw Amoun, the brother of jailed Brothers 4 Life gang boss Bassam, shot dead in western Sydney in a brazen lunchtime hit as he sat in his BMW.

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That incident saw police raid dozens of homes and businesses, charging 115 people with a combined 292 crimes.

Police seized 18 guns, 672 rounds of ammunition, nearly $100,000 cash, and drugs including meth, ecstasy, GHB and marijuana with a street value of more than $1.2million in the raids. 

Bassam’s brother Mejid Hamzy was shot dead at Condell Park on October 19, 2020, while extended family members Salim Hamze, 18, and his father Toufik were shot as they sat in the front of red ute outside their Guildford home in October last year. 

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