New details in alleged gangland murder of Bilal Hamze and how the plot to kill his brother Ibrahem unfolded

A person of interest in the murder of Bilal Hamze was acting “frantic” and making calls around the time of the underworld figure’s death, a court has been told. Bilal Hamze was shot dead as he left a Sydney CBD restaurant with a sex worker in June 2021. Samuel Rokomaqisa is standing trial at the NSW Supreme Court over the murder of Bilal Hamze and conspiring to murder Bilal’s younger brother, Ibrahem, both of whom are cousins of Brothers 4 Life gang founder Bassam Hamze. But Mr Rokomaqisa’s defence lawyer George Thomas on Tuesday claimed the sex worker who had been dining with Bilal was in contact with someone identified by police as a person of interest, who was also in the area at the time of Bilal’s murder. “You will hear evidence about (the sex worker) in communication with someone else who was in the near vicinity at the time of these events, someone who on the police assessment was a person of interest,” the lawyer said. “They described his behaviour as frantic, sending messages, making phone calls around the time of the killing.” Mr Rokomaqisa, 35, is also accused of aggravated assault, and is alleged to have links to the Alameddine family and their organised crime network, which have long been rivals of the Hamze’s. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges and denied any involvement with the Alameddine family and the alleged crimes. Prosecutors allege Mr Rokomaqisa was in a stolen car from which 10 shots were fired at Bilal on June 17, 2021, after he left the Kid Kyoto restaurant. Bilal died in hospital, and the stolen car was later found burned out in Northwood. It was also alleged Mr Rokomaqisa was involved in a plot to kill Bilal’s brother, Ibrahem, the following month, including by surveilling his unit. Mr Thomas said there could have been “two conspiracies” to murder Bilal’s brother Ibrahem, citing a June 8 phone call in which the words “Ibby’s gotta go” were allegedly heard. He said there was no indication his client was involved in this call, and that it fell outside the time frame of the conspiracy to kill Ibrahem anyway. This could suggest “two conspiracies on foot, simultaneously, to kill the same fella”, he told the court. Detective Chief Inspector Joseph Paul Marie, who was called to the scene following Bilal’s murder, was called in as the first witness in the trial on Tuesday morning. Mr Marie told the court Bilal had moved from his Auburn family home before his death as there were a “number of threats on his life”. He said there was a clear conflict between the Hamze and Alameddine families as at June 2021, with Ibrahem also later moving from the Auburn home. Alleged crim’s ‘bragging’ and ‘unexplained wealth’ Crown prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe on Monday said Mr Rokomaqisa allegedly “bragged” to a trial witness of how well he’d driven the getaway car after Bilal’s murder, and that he was allegedly heard saying he was linked “to the shooting and s**t” following a news segment played while he was in prison. A little over a month after Bilal’s killing, Mr Rokomaqisa was allegedly involved in an enterprise to murder Bilal’s brother, Ibrahem, “as an act of retaliation” by the Alameddine’s crime network. This included the surveilling of Ibrahem’s unit over a three-week period in July and August 2021, which came to a head on August 14 when a cop noticed a car trying to park in a no stopping zone across from the unit. A police chase ensued but was abandoned when it became “too dangerous”. Mr Rokomisqa is accused of then using a gun to threaten an elderly man into giving he and another his car after they got a flat tire during the chase. Crown prosecutor Kate Ratcliffe on Monday said Mr Rokomisqa allegedly told his ex-partner he’d been waiting for “just some c*** to come out” when asked why he “kept disappearing” around August 2021, which she argued was a reference to the alleged surveilling of Ibrahem’s unit with the intent to kill him. Mr Rokomisqa also allegedly told his ex he was owed some $270,000 for the alleged murder and conspiracy to murder. The trial continues.