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NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb defends force's gangland murder record

'Not a CSI program': NSW Police Commissioner says investigations take time

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has defended the force's handling of recent gangland murder investigations, saying solving a case is not as easy as it appears on television.

There have been more than a dozen fatal shootings linked to Sydney's underworld since August 2020, but police have only laid charges over two of the killings.

Bodies continue to pile up as homicide and organised crime detectives chase leads in unsolved murders, some of which now date back months or years.

The latest targeted shooting claimed the lives of two women in the city's south-west on Saturday night, an incident which has rocked the community.

Speaking at a press conference today, Commissioner Webb said detectives were working tirelessly to find breakthroughs.

"This is not a 'CSI' one-hour program," she said.

"These [investigations] are complex and these take time.

"So from the double murders last weekend. [There are] multiple crime scenes, we've retrieved many forensic exhibits.

"Unfortunately, I wish it was 'CSI' and it went very quickly, but it doesn't. And that's just the reality.

"There are many lines of inquiry and we need to exhaust those lines of inquiries. And we will leave no stone unturned."

Investigations into Sydney's latest gangland shooting are still in their early stages. (News Video)

Commissioner Webb said she didn't believe there was a perception that police had lost control of the streets, where underworld feuds were spilling over.

"I don't think that's the case at all," she said. 

"We've got almost 18,000 police out on the streets every day protecting our communities.

"All assets are being used and we leave no stone unturned. And we will continue to do so."

Lametta Fadlallah, 48, and Amneh "Amy" al-Hazouri, 39, died from several gunshot wounds after being ambushed outside Ms Fadlallah's Panania home at the weekend.

Homicide Squad boss Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty described the shooting as "organised, methodical murder".

He said the fact it appeared a woman, mother-of-two Ms Fadlallah, was the target showed gangsters had plumbed new depths.

"There used to be an unwritten law with the criminal element that you don't touch family," Superintendent Doherty said.

"You don't touch women.

"It looks like that rule book has been thrown out the window.

"It shows how low they've gotten at this point, that anyone associated with targets, they don't discriminate if you're male or female."

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