Brothers for Life
Brothers for Life, also referred to as the Hamzy Family, is a Middle Eastern criminal organisation based in the South-Western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Brothers for Life first came to public prominence in the early 2010s as internal disputes between its Bankstown and Blacktown chapters resulted in a violent gang war. Between 2020 and 2022, the gang was again in the public eye as one side of a new conflict, then against the Alameddine crime network. Since 2024, the gang has been active in Melbourne.
Founding (2007)
The Brothers for Life gang was founded by Bassam Hamzy. The son of Lebanese-Australian immigrants Khaled and Lola, Hamzy was sentenced to 21 years' imprisonment in 2002 for the May 1998 shooting murder of Kris Toumazis outside of the Mr Goodbar nightclub in Darlinghurst.Police first heard of 'Brothers 4 Life' following a raid on Hamzy's jail cell in early 2007. Preceding the raid, officers had observed that Hamzy had become the ring-leader of eleven other Supermax inmates whom he had converted to a radicalised sect of Islam. In his cell, an array of drawings and written materials were recovered, including a printed photograph of Osama bin Laden, a hand-drawn logo bearing the words "assassins Australia FFL" with depictions of AK-47 assault rifles, and notes which appeared to refer to financial transactions. Additionally, various papers were found containing alleged gang slogans, such as "Solja Warrior We don fear death and sometimes we wish for it ", and "Courage, honour, no mercy, mercy 4 da weak, family 4 life and BFL ". Following these findings, Hamzy was placed in isolation.
In April 2008, a mobile phone was discovered in Hamzy's cell at Lithgow Correctional Centre, prompting detectives from the Middle-Eastern Organised Crime squad to begin monitoring its activity. Between 1 May and 11 June 2008, the device made over 19,000 calls, meaning an average of around 460 per day, as Hamzy ran his gang of at least twelve from jail. On 4 December 2008, overnight raids took place across Sydney, yielding the arrests of his father Khaled, 57; his brother Ghassan Amoun, 22; his cousin Khaled Hamzy jr, 27; and associates Mohammad Abbas, 28; and Thomas Miholic, 36. Members of the syndicate allegedly transported around $250,000 worth of drugs from Sydney to Melbourne each week. Police charged the group with the supply of 3.8 kilograms of methamphetamine, 6.6 kilograms of cannabis, and 600 grams of ecstasy, as well as with dealing with the proceeds of crime totalling around $276,000 in cash. During the raids, at least 25,000 pills, a loaded firearm, and a drug laboratory were uncovered.
Around 2008 and 2009, several youth street gangs, the most prominent being the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, emerged in the vicinity of Auburn, the area which is home to several families aligned with the B4L network. During this time, B4L became closely allied with both MBM, and the Bandidos.
In August 2011 police declared that MBM was "dismantled and disrupted". In turn, B4L took over in the area, absorbing the remnants of MBM, as well as prolific Assyrian street-gang DLASTHR, including member Michael Odisho.
Timeline (2010-2013)
On 1 August 2010, Saba Kairouz, 26, a convicted drug dealer, was shot to death while playing touch football at Roberts Park in Greenacre.On 3 August 2010, B4L member Khaled Kahwaji, 27, was arrested at his home in Monterey and charged with Kairouz's murder.
Sometime around June 2011, Kahwaji's murder charge was withdrawn.
On 21 July 2012, a shootout ensued outside BFL member Khaled Khalil's house on Broughton Street in Old Guildford, with Khalil shooting back at a gunman who opened fire on him with a homemade MAC-10 machine gun. Bullets allegedly hit two neighbouring properties, and an occupant of one of the houses required treatment from paramedics after being struck by a bullet fragment.
On 29 August 2012, Hasan Gotkas, 16, the son of Hamzy family rival Hakan Gotkas, was left in critical condition after being gunned down alongside his father in front of the apartment block where Maha Hamze lived in Auburn. Hakan drove his son to the hospital, dropped him at the door, and then drove away. He and his family were not cooperative with police.
On 14 October 2012, B4L members Bassim Hijazi, 32, and Yehya Amood, 27, were shot at eleven times as they sat in a car in Greenacre. Amood later died from his injuries. In the aftermath of the shooting, Hijazi, the driver of the vehicle, refused to co-operate with police and fled to Lebanon. This shooting, and the shooting of six days prior, were provoked by Hijazi and Ali having allegedly said that Mohammed 'Little Crazy' Hamzy's wife, Meltem Yarar, was a "gold digger" and a "slut". In turn, Hamzy lured Hijazi to the location of the attack and shot at the vehicle. Hamzy did not know that Amood was also inside the car. Hamzy, remorseful over the accidental death, allegedly approached a friend of his after the shooting in an attempt to deliver financial compensation to Amood's two wives. At the time of the shooting, Hijazi was allegedly a lieutenant of B4L's Blacktown chapter.
On 17 October 2012, a drive-by shooting targeted a home in Winston Hills which was allegedly linked to BFL members.
On 18 December 2012, Bachir 'Barry' Arja, 27, was shot to death in front of his elderly mother outside his home in Punchbowl. Following the murder of Arja, who was described as 'a petty criminal with drug links' by the Sydney Morning Herald, several young men wearing B4L attire arrived at the scene of the crime. Less than a month prior, Ali Hachem Eid, 38, the husband of Arja's cousin Sanaa Arja, was shot to death by two masked gunmen in Punchbowl.
On 8 February 2013, five junior members of B4L were arrested by Strike Force Apollo over a random attack on a civilian in Haymarket.
On 9 February 2013, an unknown B4L member, identified by the pseudonym 'Julian', was shot three times in the leg by fellow gang member Faoud Ekermawi, 35. The shooting was provoked by 'Julian' dipping into the gang's cocaine supply and consuming $7,000 of it. Ekermawi had fronted 'Julian' the cocaine so he could re-establish himself as a drug dealer since 'Julian' had left the gang a month prior, and was rejoining. After hiding out in fear of the consequences for his theft, 'Julian' finally surfaced to meet with Ekermawi. Disciplinary action was decided, and 'Julian' was put into a car with Ekermawi and Michael Odisho. As they drove, Faoud, 'Julian's' best friend, told him “you made me look like a gronk,” before making a gun gesture with his fingers, saying “you know the way I pull up people, not with my fist". As Ekermawi spoke, Odisho, who had been sent along to ensure the job was done, loaded a.25 calibre pistol and handed it to Ekermawi, who shot 'Julian'. They dropped 'Julian' off where they had first picked him up, and he drove himself to Bankstown Hospital. After refusing to talk to detectives at the hospital, once he was discharged, police visited 'Julian' at his house. After being threatened with having his parole revoked for hindering an investigation, he agreed to become a police informant. The co-operation of 'Julian', who was most commonly known from this point onwards as 'Witness A', marked a breakthrough for law enforcement's efforts against B4L.
On 19 February 2013, Michael Odisho, 28, and Faoud Ekermawi, 35, were arrested and charged over the October 2012 Winston Hills shooting, and the 9 February knee-capping, as a result of Witness A's testimony.
On 9 March 2013, Maha Hamze, the aunt of BFL founder Bassam Hamzy, was shot eight times in the legs through the front door of her home in Auburn. The shooting was committed by Sydney criminal Reynold Glover, who was jailed for murder in 1999. Glover spent 176 days on remand before the murder charge was dropped, and he pleaded guilty to robbery in company. In 2009, Glover was accused of a series of armed robberies on armoured cash-in-transit vans where $6 million was stolen. He was found not guilty of all charges, however, he was eventually convicted of the armed robbery of a transit van outside Broadway Shopping Centre in 2013. Glover supposedly committed the shooting of Bilal Hamze's mother Maha as retaliation against Bilal stealing $5,000 from Glover's mother whilst he was incarcerated. Glover was later convicted of attempted murder in relation to the incident and given a twenty-year sentence.
On 9 March 2013, twenty minutes after the attack on Maha Hamze, shots were fired into the home of Hamzy family rival Hakan Gotkas in a nearby street.
On 15 March 2013, B4L member Khaled Kahwaji, 29, was shot to death in his car outside a home on Wilbur Street in Greenacre.
On 17 March 2013, Bassam Hamzy got into a brawl with Glover at Silverwater Correctional Complex. Glover was in jail over the Maha Hamze shooting. Prior to the dispute over Bilal, Glover and Hamzy had had a positive relationship.
On 2 August 2013, a house on Lignite Place in Eagle Vale was targeted in a drive-by shooting by unknown B4L members.
On 8 August 2013, Bassim Hijazi resurfaced in Sydney, and was charged with trying to rob a Louis Vuitton store in Sydney central business district. He was allegedly attempting to steal around $400,000 in goods. BFL member Adam Achrafi was also charged over the incident.
On 11 September 2013, B4L members Nazir Akbari, 27, and Mesbah Mirzael, 25, were arrested and charged with demanding property in company with menace, as well as with knowingly participating in a criminal group. The charges stemmed from an extortion attempt against Hornsby businessman Mohammed Farooq Mangal, who owned a smash-repair shop. Between 13 July and 27 August, Akbari and Mirzael visited Mangal's business with "at least four other men" on several occasions, with Akbari demanding $15,000 and Mirzael demanding $40,000. The pair threatened that if their demands weren't met, that they would burn down the shop whilst Mangal was inside.