Kaz Hamad crew member killed in suburban daylight execution

A man killed in a brazen daylight shooting in Melbourne’s outer north was part of a street crew controlled by tobacco kingpin Kazem “Kaz” Hamad and his cousin, suspected major drug trafficker Ahmed Al Hamza.

Police intelligence holdings from 2022 identify Athan Boursinos, 21, as a member of the gang, which has been linked to a string of drive-by shootings, home invasions and violent assaults connected to a tit-for-tat feud that erupted as Al Hamza was trying to wipe out rival crews in Melbourne’s underworld.

Boursinos was shot in a laneway behind his family home in Wollert before 9am on Thursday, shortly before he was due to appear in the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court over charges including drug and weapon possession, theft and driving offences.

If Boursinos was still an active member of Hamad’s syndicate, the murder could spark a wave of retribution from the Iraq-based gangland boss, who holds a commanding position in the multibillion dollar illicit tobacco trade and has been linked to dozens of firebombings and several murders since the start of the tobacco war in early 2023.

Distraught mourners gathered near the crime scene as police continued to comb for clues to the “targeted” attack, which occurred after a confrontation in a laneway near a kindergarten.

A distressed young woman was being comforted by several other women near the crime scene on Champions Parade, while a middle-aged man and woman consoled each other nearby.

Boursinos is the son of a retired police officer.

The man’s family members drove up to a home on Champions Parade about 3.15pm, shortly after police had gathered to share information next to a van parked outside it. A young woman collapsed to the ground near reporters, about 50 metres from the home, yelling into a phone: “He said he’d never leave me alone in this world. He lied.”

As police shielded her from media, she begged them as she lay on the ground, sobbing: “Please, can you check again? I don’t think he’s dead.”

“Would you just let me see him? I won’t touch,” the young woman could be heard saying.

A police officer walked over to console the distraught woman, telling her: “No. No, no, no – we can’t.”

Tape lined the entrance of the Korin Korin Child and Family Centre on Champions Parade, across from the laneway. Parents came to collect their children from the centre in the morning, and officers ushered more vehicles out of the centre’s car park in the afternoon.

In the laneway, empty balconies of neighbouring townhouses, each with their own garage, hung over the wide concrete driveway where forensics units worked.

Images of the crime scene show the victim’s body on the ground next to a grey 2018 BMW coupe. Two bullet holes appear to have pierced the open door of the vehicle. Shattered glass from a broken window blanketed the ground near the car.

A neighbour said they were in bed when they heard the distinctive sound of the man’s BMW revving up. Seconds later, at least seven or eight shots were fired.

An older man cradled the 21-year-old’s head as he lay bleeding on the ground.

Screams filled the quiet suburban neighbourhood as the neighbour realised the gunfire wasn’t the car backfiring – followed by the howls of the man’s family after police arrived, within just minutes of the shooting.

“I heard loud bangs – pop, pop, pop,” said the neighbour, who asked not to be named to protect their safety. “I stayed where I am and I started screaming. I went around the fence and I saw him lying next to the car. Someone was holding his head up.”

Another neighbour also reported hearing loud bangs and screaming around the time of the attack, which police believe was “very deliberate and obviously targeted”.

SES tents were erected in the laneway on Thursday afternoon, as police and forensics officers worked at the scene taking photos and video and marking evidence.

A large orange tarpaulin blocked off Game Lane, while police tape and officers stopped traffic from entering Champions Parade and Phoenix Circuit.

Detective Inspector Dean Thomas, head of the homicide squad, said police believed Boursinos had been approached and shot dead by another male in Game Lane, a laneway behind Champions Parade. The man had then fled in a vehicle.

Police are investigating whether a car found burnt out in Amery Street, Reservoir, about 20 minutes from the crime scene in Wollert, may be connected to the shooting.

“We don’t know if that is linked to this particular incident this morning,” Thomas said. “We will work now to piece together what has gone on to identify those responsible.”

Photographs of the scene of the fire show a white Nissan Patrol four-wheel-drive parked by the nature strip engulfed in flames, and firefighters trying to put out the blaze, which appeared to have caused significant damage to the vehicle.

The suspected getaway vehicle is badged with plates belonging to a black BMW wagon, according to VicRoads.

Thomas said police were not treating the incident as an underworld hit at this stage.

“It’s being investigated as a fatal shooting. It appears very deliberate and obviously targeted,” he said.

Thomas urged anyone with information about the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

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