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The Parramatta Eels have sidelined a rising star over concerns for his safety and to protect teammates, staff and spectators amid a deadly gangland war between the Alameddine crime family and a rival criminal group.
Mohamed Alameddine has not played in the NSW Cup – a tier below the NRL – since June 8 after several incidents involving his close relatives, including the alleged use of a drone by an organised crime network in April to surveil a gangland rival during a junior rugby league match in western Sydney.
Mohamed Alameddine has not played in the NSW Cup – a tier below the NRL – since June 8.
Alameddine is contracted to Parramatta next season, but the club-imposed exile has cast doubts over his NRL future.
The club was put on notice after police foiled an alleged plot to assassinate Sydney rapper Ay Huncho, during which several alleged would-be assassins deployed a drone at the match one of Alameddine’s family members was playing in.
Ay Huncho, whose legal name is Ali Younes, is alleged to be a senior member of the Alameddine organised crime family, which Mohamed Alameddine is related to. The Alameddine family has for several months been the target of sustained attacks from rival group, the Coconut Cartel. Police believe the cartel’s offshore leadership facilitated the alleged attempt on Younes’ life. Mohamed Alameddine is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Members of NSW Police’s anti-gangs Raptor Squad, which has been investigating the conflict between the Alameddine family and the Coconut Cartel, met with NSW Rugby League officials after the April incident and alerted them to potential safety concerns sparked by Younes’ presence at the match. The league increased security, including at matches in which Alameddine’s relative was playing.
Rapper Ay Huncho, whose legal name is Ali Younes.Instagram
The Eels formally stood down Alameddine, a talented winger, after a gunman confronted two of his relatives outside a western Sydney school a day after he was his side’s only try scorer in a 60-4 loss to Canterbury-Bankstown. The pair escaped unharmed after the gunman’s weapon jammed.
NSW Police contacted Parramatta after both incidents involving Alameddine’s relatives, but did not direct the club to stand him down and reiterated that he was not accused of any wrongdoing or linked to organised crime.
The Eels, sources familiar with the situation but not authorised to speak publicly told the Herald, instead decided to proactively stand Alameddine down from all future games indefinitely.
Two of Alameddine’s relatives flee after being confronted by a gunman outside a western Sydney school.Nine News
He has been absent from training since but is following a specialised individual program and remains in contact with his teammates via WhatsApp.
Parramatta declined to comment on Alameddine’s absence when contacted on Thursday.
The Coconut Cartel, comprising defected Alameddine network members and others vying for control of Sydney’s lucrative drug trade, has claimed credit for a series of attacks, including shootings and firebombings, since declaring war on the family in January.
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