Aspiring fashion mogul in custody after alleged ‘kill car’ chase

The alleged driver of a would-be “kill crew” and aspiring fashion entrepreneur will spend Christmas in prison after police say he crashed a luxury getaway car in suburban Sydney.

The arrest marks yet another alleged instance of young men getting involved in Sydney’s underworld.

Magdy Hassan, 20, was described by his lawyer as a dedicated brother, warehouse worker and businessman behind Blance Apparel.

But police claim he was the driver of a stolen black Mercedes that swung into a Greystanes cul-de-sac on Monday afternoon.

Also in the car, police allege in a series of charges laid in the local court, were Rodger Tell, 19, Kabu Bringi, 22, and a fourth man who remains on the run – along with a loaded sawn-off shotgun and jerrycans of petrol.

The group were wearing black balaclavas, and the passengers laid low in their seats as schoolchildren wandered past, Parramatta Local Court heard on Tuesday.

One student began filming the group before police were called. The tip-off was “vital”, Detective Superintendent Simon Glasser told reporters.

“We acted upon it straight away and we had some results.”

The black Mercedes sped away from approaching police, allegedly reaching speeds up to 80km/h on suburban streets before colliding with a parked car on Paton Street, Merrylands West. Hassan, Tell and Bringi were arrested in the aftermath of the crash, while a fourth man escaped police.

Police are still investigating what the men had planned, but Glasser said “it’s quite obvious that we’ve disrupted some further serious crime”.

Hassan, Tell and Bringi have been charged with weapons and stolen vehicle offences along with disguising their faces.

Hassan has been charged with pursuit offences along with not displaying P-plates. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The aspiring fashion mogul sat silently in the local court on Tuesday wearing prison greens as his lawyer argued he could be safely released on bail to live with his family in Penrith.

He would not associate with any members of a gang known as APK, his lawyer offered.

However, a police prosecutor argued Hassan was an “extreme risk” to the public.

“He’s driving, [the crew] is armed with a sawed-off loaded shotgun,” the prosecutor said.

“The court should consider what they were up to and the facts should raise a significant concern of public safety.”

Magistrate Emma Manea refused him bail, with the case to return to court on 16 January.

Hassan’s alleged accomplices Tell and Bringi will have their bail reviewed on Thursday.

The fourth man who remains at large “should be considered armed and dangerous”, Detective Superintendent Simon Glasser said.

The allegedly stolen car is characteristic of the “kill cars” police allege are used in Sydney’s spate of public place shootings linked to organised crime.

A loaded shotgun was found under the driver’s seat of the SUV, believed to have been stolen from Melbourne.

“It shows the level of planning that sometimes goes into these crimes,” Glasser said.

Police swooped on a separate “kill team” in Revesby in October, allegedly on their way to murder a man outside a day care centre.

Last week police arrested alleged members of a hit crew called G7 over the shooting murder of Sydney tradie John Versace.

Versace was shot dead in his driveway, police claim, by 21-year-old Blaze Collins at Condell Park in May. It followed the arrests of 19-year-old Ahmed Naji and a 43-year-old man at properties in Bankstown and Casula six days earlier.

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