Armed home invaders target underworld social media personality

The home of underworld social media personality Ryan Naumenko, who posts online under the name Outlaw Media, has been “targeted” in a terrifying midnight home invasion.

Naumenko said in a media statement posted on Instagram that his 70-year-old mother was “punched multiple times in the face” after three young intruders carrying a machete and a small bat “jumped the fence and smashed their way through the backyard.”

He said they were telling his mother to say “Ryan’s a dog,” but left when they heard his voice.

Naumenko, who describes himself as “part journalist, part outlaw” complete with a “30-page criminal history”, runs an Instagram channel and podcast where he regularly claims to expose the activity of Melbourne’s underworld and posts attacks on those he believes are villains.

Victoria Police said they were “investigating an aggravated home invasion in Mildura” which occurred just before 12.30am on Wednesday, 29 October. “It is understood three offenders were wearing hoodies and masks and were carrying machetes and a baseball bat,” said a police spokesperson.

Police said that the woman sustained minor injuries in what investigators believe “was a targeted incident.”

Four police and underworld sources say there are dozens of potential suspects who could have organised the home invasion, with Naumenko commonly picking feuds with powerful gangland players.

His past online targets have included tobacco wars boss Kazem “Kaz” Hamad, his cousin and business associate Ahmed Al Hamza, Mick Gatto, former bikie Toby Mitchell, and various other figures linked to organised crime gangs and street gangs.

In more recent times, Naumenko, 42, has been engaged in a public feud with former sergeant-at-arms for the Mongols outlaw bike gang turned Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal.

Last month, Fazal and Naumenko, launched a podcast called Word on the Street, which Naumenko said would “dive into the gritty underbelly of crime”. But the pair fell out, with Naumenko publicly airing claims about the ABC reporter’s dealings with the Alameddine crime family, including his alleged role in passing on death threats to well-known YouTube figure Jordan Shanks, known online as FriendlyJordies.

Apart from 20 tit-for-tat murders, the Alameddine gang and the rival Hamzy clan have engaged in kidnapping, arson and torture as they battle for control of Sydney’s lucrative drug trade.

Fazal said in an email last week: “Ryan Naumenko has a criminal history, a history of harassment, and a documented record of dishonesty. As a journalist you should know that background is material when assessing his reliability and motives as your source.”

On Wednesday, Naumenko threatened revenge over the home invasion on Instagram.

“I know the c---s who did are reading this – we’ll find you. On God we will.

“F-----g putrid skunks wanna come run through my families (sic) home and cause terror and fear – and receive no consequence? I don’t fear prison like these bitches do. It’s on.”

After offering a reward for anyone who could identify the trio, he later posted, “I know who ordered the boys to attend my home last night. Watch what I do now...”

In another twist, on Wednesday evening, Naumenko posted that Victorian Police had executed search warrants for access to Naumenko’s phones.

It’s the second known time Naumenko has been targeted at home.

In October 2024, two masked men were parked outside the property when they were seen by a neighbour who called the police. The offenders escaped after disposing of two getaway cars.

In a post on social media platform Substack in July this year, Naumenko claimed he’d nearly been killed because of his content, prompting him to professionalise Outlaw Media.

“A brush with a hit team – staring down semi-automatic handguns – changed everything. It was the wake-up call I needed to shift gears, to turn this hobby into a legitimate, profitable outlet for raw, unfiltered crime news,” he said.

It is not suggested that Fazal had anything to do with the Mildura home invasion.

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