NSW Police's mega strike force set up to target gangland violence has laid more than 800 charges against 251 people in Sydney since being formed late last year.
Strike Force Hawk was created after gangster Salim Hamze, 18, and his father, Toufik Hamze, 64, were killed in a drive-by shooting in Guildford, in south-west Sydney in October, 2021.
"We are coming for you make no mistakes," Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke warned following their deaths.
That was a sentiment echoed by police yesterday after the assassination in a "hail of bullets" of crime figure Mahmoud "Brownie" Ahmad after he left an associate's home at Greenacre about 9.30pm.
Over the past 18 months, there have been at least six gangland murders in Sydney, with Ahmad's "well-executed" shooting adding to the death toll.
Ahmad had a $1 million bounty on his head and had been warned by police he was a marked man.
Just last week, his associates were told they were also in danger but Ahmad continued "along [with] his normal business".
"His life was always in danger. He was always [going to] be a victim of circumstances," homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said.
"He was either going to end up on a slab in the morgue or back in jail. Unfortunately for him, he's in a morgue."
His killers are still on the run.
In a sign of how closely police were watching Ahmad, it was members of the anti-gang Raptor Squad who found him dying on the street and performed CPR.
Officers from Strike Force Raptor are among Strike Force Hawk's 335-strong personnel after 10 existing operations were brought together last year.
It also includes 100 detectives from Homicide and Criminal Groups and from the south-west region.
Superintendent Doherty said police being first at the scene was a reflection of their months and months of suppression and disruption tactics.
"Police are out there, every day and every night, knocking on doors, not only trying to disrupt this sort of criminal activity but [also] suppress it.
"And, I think, they have been reasonably successful in relation to that."
Strike Force Hawk has so far carried out 360 search warrants, seized 700 firearms, along with $2 million worth of prohibited drugs and about $2.5 million in cash.
Their response is being ramped-up after Ahmad's slaying, with investigators working across multiple crime scenes, looking for camera footage, tracking the vehicles involved and conducting forensic testing on the multiple bullets fired.
Police said it was a miracle that no innocent bystanders were shot.
"I think everyone's had a gutful of it and I think it's a point where we need information from the public and from the community to help us do our job so we can put those people away," Superintendent Doherty said.
There's some information suggesting Ahmad's ongoing feud with rival underworld family, the Alameddines, could have played a part in his death.
However, according to Superintendent Doherty, other crime networks can't be ruled out.
"We need to keep an open mind about that. Because there's a long list of people [who] would like to see or do harm to Ahmed."
Police are appealing for information, phone footage or dash cam footage from the number of people they say were on the street and witnessed the incident.
"We can't do this on our own … there's a lot of work to do but, you know, any information [we would be] grateful [for]. It can be done in confidence.
"And we really strongly appeal for anyone to come forward if not in person or ring Crime Stoppers."
The Crime Stoppers number is 1800 333 000.
