The Robbery and Serious Crime Squad established Strike Force Mulach to investigate several related violent incidents which also included shots being fired into the Campbell Road home occupied by the wife and five children of a senior politician who lives in Iraq, an attempted arson, and a brick being thrown through a window.
State Crime Command Director, Detective Chief Superintendent Darren Bennett, said coordinated raids were carried out last Wednesday by NSW Police in Blacktown and Seven Hills with two men, aged 22 and 24, charged with a number of serious offences related to alleged extortion attempts associated with the violent incidents.
He said at the same time, Canadian law enforcement authorities in Edmondson, also arrested a 32-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man, who is the alleged “mastermind” behind the extortion scheme.
During their operation, the Edmonton Police Cybercrime Unit allegedly seized a replica firearm and electronic devices.
Those involved were allegedly motivated by money, demanding $10 million via social media and letters from the senior Iraqi politician who is believed to be a dual Australian citizen.
“There’s been constant demands for money over a period of time, and we think some money has been handed over to people in Sydney to commit acts of violence in and around the family home,” DCS Bennett said.
While investigations are continuing, he said they were happy with the outcome to date which showed the way NSW police and the State Crime Command could “work in the international space in relation to online threats and online extortion”.
THE alleged campaign of harassment included:
– December 5, 2019: At 1.15am, four masked people, including one armed with a firearm, forced entry into the Campbell Road home. A 16-year-old boy was hit in the head with the gun before the men stole a sum of cash and fled.
– August 10, 2020: At 12.30am, shots were fired into the home. Two adults, two teenagers and a child were inside, but no one was injured.
– February 5, 2021: At 2.40am, a brick was used to smash the front window of the home.
– February 14, 2021: At 2.45am, a threatening note was left outside the home before a fire was lit on the front porch, which damaged the stairs and a small section of the yard.
