Assyrian gang associates entangled in a turf
war in Sydney may have been behind a fatal bikie shooting after the gun used in
the shooting was found at one of their homes.
Ex-Nomads bikie gang member Adrian Buxton was
shot several times outside his home in Colyton in the city's north-west on May
19 last year.
Adrian Buxton was gunned down outside his home in Colyton. Photo:
Nick Moir
Two men ambushed Mr Buxton as he took
his wheelie bins out to the curb, peppering him with bullets.
Before his death, Mr Buxton
had completed a stint behind bars for drug supply and parted ways with
the bikie fraternity when he got out of jail.
Two men ambushed Mr Buxton as
he took his wheelie bins out to the curb. Photo: Facebook
Detectives are yet to find a clear
motive for his murder but have found the gun and identified multiple
cars used in the execution.
Fairfax Media understands the gun used
to kill Mr Buxton was found during a raid at a home where an Assyrian
crime figure was last September.
The man, who has strong ties to the
street gang DLASTHR, was charged with firearms offences after police
raided the Cabramatta property and found a a .32 calibre pistol and a
357 Magnum.
Another man was also arrested and
charged with unauthorised firearm possession.
A photo of the black Audi Q7 police believe was linked to the murder
of former bikie Adrian Buxton in May, 2016. Photo: NSW Police
Ballistic testing later revealed one of the
guns was used to kill Mr Buxton.
In a further twist, detectives are also
hunting for the Assyrian figure's black Audi Q7, one of three cars linked to Mr
Buxton's shooting.
Antonio Hermiz, 20, was gunned down in Wetherill Park in Sydney's south-west
in December. Photo: Supplied
Police say somehow the Audi ended up in the
hands of Antonio Hermiz, who was shot dead at Wetherill Park last month.
Mr Hermiz, who also had links to DLASTHR, was
killed during a heated confrontation in the Western Sydney Parklands on December
23.
A DLASTHR gang member tattoo. Photo: Supplied
Police received information that Mr Hermiz was
possibly hiding the luxury four-wheel-drive before he was murdered.
They still haven't been able to find the car
but at up to $90,000 a pop, don't believe it has been destroyed.
CCTV from around the Colyton area on the night
of Mr Buxton's shooting captured three cars travelling together as well as
dropping and picking people up at different times and locations.
"We have seen CCTV footage around the area and
at this stage we have at least three cars that were around the area and
travelling together," Homicide Squad Detective Chief Inspector Mark Henney said.
"The black Audi was identified fairly quickly.
We seized one of the other cars from an associate of these people."
The third car, a light coloured sedan with a
distinctive rear brake light on the boot lid, was spotted in grainy CCTV
footage. Police are yet to confirm the identity of the car owner.
Detectives are now focusing on these pieces of
evidence in an attempt to find out why Assyrian gang associates, whose violence
has mostly been contained to communities in and around Fairfield, would be
linked to the murder of an ex-bikie from the north-west.
"We have a car and a gun, we are looking in
the right pool, we just have to find the right fish," Inspector Henney said.
Mr Buxton's murder is one of eight underworld
shootings, including the killing of crime figures Wally Ahmad and Hamad Assaad,
that Strike Force Osprey is overseeing.
Police have received information about several
possible motives for Mr Buxton's demise, including that he had an affair with
someone else's wife and that a hitman was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars
to carry out the shooting.
However, the strike force is now focused on
the physical evidence that has come to light in the past several months.
