Mohammed Skaf charged with 24 new offences
Updated ,first published
Notorious Sydney gang rapist Mohammed Skaf has been charged with 24 drug and other offenses after being arrested at his Greenacre home on Wednesday night.
Skaf faces 22 charges of supplying various quantities of prohibited drugs, knowingly dealing with the proceeds of crime and directing the activities of a criminal group after his Juno Parade home was raided by police investigating the supply of cocaine in Sydney’s south-western suburbs late on Wednesday night.
It was claimed that the police seized $220,000 in cash, approximately 68 grams of cocaine, 10 grams of MDMA, many mobile phones and a vehicle during the raid on Skaf’s house, while 140 grams of cocaine and $25,000 in cash were seized during a search of Skaf and a park close to the residence.
Skaf was refused bail to appear before Bankstown Local Court on Thursday.
Two other men allegedly involved in the drug supply, John Harvard (alias Ahmed Warwar) and Winter Egitmeglu, were also arrested on Wednesday night and will appear in court on Thursday.
Harvard and Egitmeglu were charged following simultaneous raids on their respective Bankstown and Newington units just before midnight on Wednesday. It was claimed that drugs and weapons, including batons and ballistic vests, were seized at the addresses.
Skaf, then 17 years old, his brother Bilal and at least 14 men raped at least six female students over several weeks in 2000. They took the girls from places such as shopping malls and train stations and repeatedly forced them to perform sexual acts on men.
After nearly 21 years behind bars, he was released from Long Bay prison in October 2021 under strict parole conditions that allowed him to be released. The parole decision was valid until January 2024, when his sentence ends.
Skaf returned to police attention in March following the establishment of Strike Force Earley 2, which was tasked with investigating the large-scale supply of cocaine and other illicit drugs in Sydney’s south-west.
Detective Chief Inspector Jeffrey Walsh, of the Green Valley Enforcement Team, said police would allege Skaf directed the activities of the criminal organisation.
“We totally ripped this off [group]”That’s for sure,” Walsh told 2GB Sydney radio. “All these people are going to appear in court today, so we’ll have more information to release then.”
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.
