Crime figure shot dead in Sydney shopping area

A man said to be a “major player” in Australia’s organised crime network was shot dead in a busy Sydney shopping area, police say. 

The unnamed man, 48, was targeted in a car park at 08:30 local time on Tuesday and died at the scene. 

“The shooting bears the hallmarks of an organised crime murder. It’s being treated as that,” Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said.

Doherty added the man had links to one of Australia’s largest outlawed motorcycle gangs. 

The man, named by local media as convicted drug kingpin Alen Moradian – a figure in the illegal cocaine trade. Authorities have not publically named the individual. 

“He’s a major player in the organised crime network and so he has high-level links to the Comancheros [bikie gang]. He obviously had a big target on his back,” Mr Doherty told a news conference.

“We’re talking about a safe community in Bondi Junction with shots fired in an underground carpark, emergency services responded very quickly – that’s why they attempted CPR on the victim”, he added.

Local police and homicide squad detectives are investigating. 

Three crime scenes have been created and two cars have been linked to the shooting.