According to the prosecution, one of the two accused gunmen would have “taken the shot” if former nightclub owner John Ibrahim had been in a car that was wrongly targeted.
Two individuals, Yousif Zrayka, 21, and Siaosi Maeakafa Tupoulahi, 24, are facing charges related to an alleged plot to murder Ibrahim that went awry on July 25th, close to his residence in Dover Heights, Sydney.
Today, Zrayka’s bail was denied at a Supreme Court hearing when it was heard that he was allegedly still wearing gloves and a balaclava when he was taken into custody.
The men apparently waited on Ibrahim’s street and opened fire on two cars they thought belonged to him; Tupoulahi allegedly even reached for his pistol in an apparent attempt to confront the second car’s driver.
“There is no doubt that would have taken the shot if the intended victim had been in the,” prosecutors stated in a written statement to the court.
With much of the incident captured on CCTV, prosecutors said that Zrayka faced a “overwhelming” case and recommended that bail be rejected.
“Police have seized telephones and pieced together the lead-up to the conspiracy to commit murder offence,” according to the prosecution.
“There was a significant level of planning involved.”
The males allegedly started a short pursuit after fleeing the scene near Ibrahim’s home after the police were summoned.
A paper of claimed facts claims that when the guys were stopped owing to heavy traffic, Zrayka surrendered and Tupoulahi managed to defy arrest attempts and fled into surrounding houses.
“During this time, Tupoulahi had his balaclava on causing fear for residents who were inside their homes,” according to the report.
The story goes that a neighbor saw Tupoulahi hiding out on their property and decided to wake him up.
They tased him and then took him into custody.
“The prosecution submits the actions of Tupoulahi and Zrayka possess all the hallmarks of an organised crime contract murder,” according to the report.
Ibrahim is characterized as a prominent community figure with ties to organized crime, according to the report.
Prosecutors claimed that Zrayka was subject to a conditional release order when the alleged crime occurred because he was discovered returning from Tasmania on an aircraft with $45,000 in cash bound to his person.
This, they maintained, would be enough to convince the court that he has criminal ties, in addition to the suspected murder plan.
The parties have reached an agreement that the earliest the matter might go to trial is late 2025.
