Warring families and feuding bikie gangs in Sydney's south-west have been fuelled by the discovery of a pistol in a breastfeeding mother's handbag

Warring families and feuding bikie gangs in Sydney's south-west have been fuelled by the discovery of a pistol in a breastfeeding mother's handbag, a gun under a car seat and a list of potential targets.Detectives attached to Strike Force Lieutenant have spent the last week trying to keep a lid on simmering resentment and anger following the murder of Abdul Qadier Darwiche, 37, a father of four, last Saturday.
Darwiche's brother, Moustafa "Michael", was arrested on Thursday night with a hidden loaded gun and the addresses of relatives of the main suspect in the killing, Mohammed "Blackie" Fahda, a court heard.The 40-year-old father of five and a friend, Michael Darwick, 36, were arrested in Bankstown with a loaded Glock pistol allegedly hidden underneath the rear seat. In the car was also a piece of paper with five addresses of people with the name Fahda and an article about Abdul Darwiche's murder, Bankstown Local Court was told.Police allege the men, who said they were going to McDonald's, were "in the proximity" of one of those addresses when they were stopped.But Michael's barrister, Michael Coroneos, told the court his client had no knowledge of the gun and was a passenger in the car.Police appealed yesterday for anyone who saw Fahda not to approach him. They said they believed he was still in Sydney."We urgently need to speak with Mohammed 'Blackie' Fahda in order for the investigation to proceed," said the commander of the Homicide Squad, Detective Superintendent Geoff Beresford.Superintendent Beresford also called on the families not to take the law into their own hands.In a statement tendered during Michael's bail hearing yesterday police also alleged the Darwiches, the Fahdas and members of another family, the Razzaks, "have previously and are currently suspected of being involved in various levels of organised crime … and are believed responsible for a number of incidents of violence"

Posted in: Sydney's south-west