A $250,000 reward has been announced for information that helps police track down a Sydney underworld figure and one of the country’s most wanted fugitives.
Police allege Anthony Pele, 25, fled Australia in August 2023 after killing one innocent victim and wounding two others in a bungled underworld hit.
Ahmed Al Azzam, 25, died in hospital three days after he was found seriously injured in his parked car following the shooting at Greenacre in southwest Sydney on July 23.
Two other people, a 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman, were wounded in a separate car parked about 50m away.
Pele allegedly got on a plane soon after pulling the trigger on all three victims in the early-morning attack.
Pele has been widely reported by other media outlets to be the alleged leader of emerging crime-for-hire network the Coconut Cartel.
The gang has allegedly become embroiled in a feud with the Alameddine network, a notorious crime family, in recent months.
The conflict has spilled into shootings across Sydney, including two mistaken identity killings in as many days in late August.
Several people, including a 16-year-old boy, are currently before the courts over the alleged botched hits.
In announcing the reward, NSW Police said Pele was the subject of four outstanding warrants relating to offences including murder, shooting with intent to murder, conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to kidnap and supplying commercial quantities of drugs.
NSW detectives, alongside the Australian Federal Police and international police forces, are ramping up efforts to track down the 25-year-old down and extradite him to Australia.
“While investigators believe Pele is currently residing overseas, his exact whereabouts remain unknown,” NSW Police said.
