Drug kingpin Alen Moradian, also called Sydney’s Tony Soprano, killed in broad daylight

Alen Moradian, the drug lord who is also referred to as Sydney’s Tony Soprano, was shot dead by rival gang members in broad daylight in one of the town’s affluent suburbs on Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred at Spring Street in Bondi Junction around 8.30 am at an underground car park.

Moradian, aged in his 40s, was ambushed by two assailants and killed. The police who were informed of the incident rushed to the spot and saw the cocaine lord lying on the road in a pool of blood.

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New South Wales police said that two men fired into his vehicle as he sat in the front seat.

“The shooting this morning bears the hallmarks of an organised crime murder,” Det Supt Danny Doherty told reporters.

“He’s a major player. He obviously had a big target on his back.”

According to The Daily Telegraph newspaper, Moradian was part of a secret cartel called the Commission, which controls the drug market in Sydney.

Jailed in 2011

In 2011, he was sentenced to 16 years and nine months in jail after pleading guilty to importing a large commercial quantity of cocaine and supplying it. He was later released in December 2017 after taking into account the time he had already spent behind bars

During the court trial, the judges were informed that Moradian and his wife, Natasha Youkhana, lived a luxurious life, and bought property, designer furniture, jewellery, a wedding reception, and luxury travel, all using drug money.

An email showed Youkhana urging her husband to be more like “Tony Soprano”, fearing their over-the-top lifestyle would result in them getting caught, Guardian reported.

“Why do you just sit there and show off – ‘I am the man, I am the man’?” the email, tendered in police facts, read.

Following the incident, dozens of police officers and detectives swarmed the area and shut down roads surrounding the crime scene.

The cops also found a burnt out Porsche on James Street, which is about one kilometre from the crime scene.

Killed due to high standing in underworld

Sky News reported that some residents heard "big" explosions as the car was engulfed by flames.

Police suspect that the burning of Porsche might be linked to the shooting.

The cops believe that the drug lord was assassinated due to his “high standing” in the criminal underworld.

“He was a high level identity in the criminal network so he was a high level target for these shooters,” Superintendent Doherty said.

“He obviously had a big target on his back.”

Meanwhile, police have launched a manhunt to locate the assailants, with choppers being deployed to scan the city.

(With inputs from agencies)

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