Five charged over alleged kidnapping of Ay Huncho
The five-man team behind a Sydney rapper’s alleged kidnapping of his bodyguard at gunpoint has been charged by the state’s anti-gang detectives a day after the man was abducted from a Guildford home in the latest targeted attack on the Alameddine crime family.
Emilio Chalhoub, 32, was allegedly beaten by a group of masked men after he was abducted from a house in Guildford on Monday night; This triggered a massive police operation which led to detectives being led to a safe house off the Hume Highway in Casula. Here the group escaped before being arrested in a nearby street. Chalhoub was rescued in Casula about an hour after his abduction and taken to hospital for facial injuries.
Chalhoub is the bodyguard of rapper Ali Younes, aka Ay Huncho, an alleged senior member of the Alameddine organized crime network. Last year Chalhoub was the intended target of an attack on his home in Guildford; His 62-year-old father had allegedly been stabbed by two intruders – a 15-year-old boy and a 22-year-old man – at the height of an infighting within the splinter Alameddine network.
Luke Manuatu, 22, Anaru Warren, 22, Hikairo Mohi, 21, Harley Sorbello, 21, and a 15-year-old boy were charged with a string of offenses following Chalhoub’s abduction.
This includes kidnapping and causing actual bodily harm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, wearing a face mask with intent to commit a criminal offense, using fire to cause property damage of more than $5,000, and aggravated use of an armed vehicle.
The four men were refused bail at Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday, while the 15-year-old boy will appear in the Children’s Court on Wednesday.
More to come
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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously ran The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s national news live blog.Connect via email.
