Convicted gang rapist Mohammed Skaf is back behind bars after being arrested on drug charges, with police alleging he was the ringleader of a large-scale supply operation in Sydney.
The 42-year-old was released from prison in 2021 after serving 21 years behind bars for his role in a series of pack rapes on schoolgirls that horrified the nation.
He was arrested by police before midnight on Wednesday at a home in Greenacre, in Sydney’s south-west, after an investigation into alleged large-scale drug supply.
Police allege they found cocaine and $25,000 in cash while searching Skaf and a park close to where he was arrested.
During a search of the Greenacre home, police allegedly found a further $220,000 in cash, several mobile phones, more cocaine and a small quantity of MDMA.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email“We’re going to allege he’s the principal of the whole investigation,” Det Chief Insp Jeffrey Walsh said on Thursday. “He [allegedly] directed everybody – he directed the runners.”
Skaf was charged with 24 offences, including supplying a commercial quantity of drugs and knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group.
Police also arrested a 51-year-old man at a unit in Bankstown, where officers allegedly uncovered a ballistic vest, a baton and steroids.
A 54-year-old woman was arrested at the same time at a unit in Newington, where police allegedly found the illicit drugs ketamine and MDMA.
The connection between the duo and Skaf remained unclear at this stage, Walsh told reporters.
Both the woman and the older man were charged with offences including supplying prohibited drugs and participating in a criminal group.
All three were refused bail. The men were due to face Bankstown local court on Thursday.
As a 17-year-old, Skaf was part of a group of more than a dozen teenagers and young men who were responsible for six gang rapes in 2000.
His brother Bilal was the ringleader in the crimes, which involved victims being lured with the promise of smoking marijuana before they were repeatedly sexually assaulted.
Skaf was refused parole several times before being released in 2021. A parole hearing shortly before he was let out heard he continued to blame his victims.
