Alen Moradian funeral: Tensions rise at Bondi Junction shooting victim memorial
Guards at the funeral of slain drug lord Alen Moradian warned the media that his associates were prepared to attack them outside the church as hundreds gathered for his memorial service.
“Don’t you know who these people are?” a security guard asked a Daily Mail Australia photographer. “They’ll break your goddamn face.”
Moradian bid farewell to the Christian rites of the Assyrian Church of the East at a service in southwest Sydney guarded by a small army of about 10 security guards.
Family and friends gathered at St Hurmizd’s Cathedral in Greenfield Park on Wednesday morning, nine days after the cocaine kingpin and Comanchero bikie heavyweight was shot in the east of the city on his wife Natasha’s birthday.
Mourners were seen comforting Moradian’s widow. Her emotions were hidden behind designer sunglasses as she hugged a loved one wearing $1,790 Louis Vuitton Run Away sneakers.
The widow of slain mobster Alen Moradian, Natasha, arrives at her husband’s funeral at St Hurmizd Cathedral in Sydney’s Greenfield Park on Wednesday morning.
Family and friends gathered at St Hurmizd’s Cathedral on Wednesday morning, nine days after the gangster was shot in the east of the city on his wife Natasha’s birthday
The security brigade, hired by Moradian’s family, gathered about an hour before the ceremony started to check two gates at the entrance to the church.
In tense scenes, security guards threatened the media to withdraw and warned reporters and photographers that they could be attacked by Moradian’s associates.
Two young men were seen handing thick white envelopes to security.
As Moradian’s coffin was wheeled away in a hearse, a ribbon over a floral tribute was decorated with the words ‘My Alen’.
While police were on high alert, there is no suggestion that anyone pictured at the funeral made threats to the media or has criminal ties.
Glamorous women and heavily tattooed men dressed in black embraced as they greeted and comforted each other as they pulled into the church parking lot.
In the hours leading up to the service, several police cars were spotted making circles around the church, including riot control, highway patrol and general duty vehicles.
Across the street from the church was an unmarked car carrying undercover agents. A detective was seen with a camera taking pictures as mourners arrived.
Alen Moradian, left, is pictured with Fares Abounader, who was shot dead outside his home in Panania in September 2020 at the start of Sydney’s latest gang war
Pall bearers carry the coffin of slain mobster Alen Moradian into the church on Wednesday
Plainclothes police officers sauntered back and forth in front of the church, their pistols clearly visible in holsters strapped to their hips.
Several mourners were stopped in their cars for random breathalyzers as they left the funeral.
Florists began delivering bouquets of flowers to the steps at the front of the church at around 9:20 am before the hearse pulled up a short time later.
Natasha Moradian and her sister Tanya were seen driving past the church in separate vehicles about an hour before the service.
Moradian was sitting in a rented Audi in the underground car park of his Bondi Junction apartment, about to head to the gym, when he was suddenly fired at about 8.30am.
He was shot multiple times in the head at close range, rendering his face almost unrecognizable.
Moradian bid farewell to the Christian rites of the Assyrian Church of the East at a service in southwest Sydney watched by about 10 security officers
Mourners were seen comforting Moradian’s widow as she arrived at the service, her emotions hidden behind designer sunglasses
The 48-year-old crime boss had also received bullets in his torso when one of the two killers apparently fired rounds into his body from a gun magazine.
“They walked up to him and emptied a clip into him,” a source said. “He wasn’t going anywhere.”
Police are still chasing the gunmen and have seized two burnt-out getaway cars left behind near Bondi and Zetland shortly after the shooting.
Moradian’s car was seen to have seven bullet holes through the driver’s side window.
Detectives traced the Audi – which was not registered to Moradian – to a rental car company in southwest Sydney.
One of the getaway cars – a gray Porsche Macan dumped on James St in Bondi – may prove vital to solving the crime after failing to set it on fire completely.
In a major breakout, firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, allowing detectives to recover an intact handgun under one of the seats.
Moradian was shot dead in a rented Audi in an underground car park below his rented unit at Bondi Junction in eastern Sydney on June 27.
In the hours leading up to the service, several police cars were spotted making circles around the church, including riot control, highway patrol, and general duty vehicles
Moradian, dubbed Australia’s ‘Tony Soprano’, pleaded guilty in 2010 to importing 40kg of cocaine, although authorities suspected the loot was up to 100kg.
He was convicted in July 2011 of importing a large commercial amount of cocaine and sentenced to a minimum of ten years and five months in prison.
Detective Danny Doherty said last week that Moradian’s ties to the big names in Sydney’s underworld made him a high-value target.
“He is a high-level criminal identity … he is a major player in the organized crime network and also has ties to the Comanchero OMCG,” Detective Doherty said hours after Moradian’s death.
“Obviously he had a big target on his back.”
Moradian, who was still on parole when he was executed, attempted to flee abroad last August after being told there was a bounty on his head.
He had unsuccessfully tried to change his reporting conditions to allow him to leave the country, but authorities denied permission.
Daily Mail Australia understands that NSW police declined to confirm to Community Corrections – which oversees parolees – whether they believed his fears were genuine.
Forensic police are pictured outside the block of units in Spring Street, Bondi Junction where Moradian was shot dead on June 27
The black Audi Alen Moradian was driving when he was shot dead was towed from the crime scene the day after his execution. Bullet holes are visible in the driver’s window
A source said the underworld figure had instructed lawyers to approach the Community Corrections office in Windsor, northwest Sydney, about amending his parole.
“They contacted Community Corrections to release him from his reporting requirements so he could leave the country because he was afraid there might be a target on his back,” the source said.
Community Corrections sought information from the police and they were unwilling to confirm that he was in real danger.
“On that basis, the Community Corrections could not release him from his reporting obligations, so he could not seek refuge abroad.”
Moradian’s lawyers also contacted the State Crime Command to seek clarification on whether or not police risked his life.
“They wouldn’t confirm or deny that he was at risk of being killed,” the source said.
Discussions took place with Community Corrections regarding Moradian’s move to Melbourne, but this would require Victorian authorities to take responsibility for his parole.
Another suggestion was made that Moradian could move elsewhere in NSW and report to another community correction office, but it fell through.
Any decision to amend Moradian’s parole should ultimately have been made by the Commonwealth Parole Office as he had committed federal crimes.