Three armed African males have been arrested after police intercepted a suspected “kill car” allegedly involved in a car chase through western Sydney.
The three alleged occupants of the black Mercedes SUV, Rodger Tell, 19, Madgy Hassan, 20, and Kanu Bringi, 22, faced court on Tuesday charged with firearms and car theft offences, while a fourth man of African appearance is still on the run. Police said he should be considered “armed and dangerous”.
NSW Police said they were called to Regina Street in Greystanes at about 5.15pm on Monday after a report of four men in balaclavas sitting in an SUV, but the driver allegedly accelerated away and ran red lights while speeding until crashing into a parked car on Paton Street, Merrylands.
The four masked men then fled on foot, with two arrested nearby and the third tracked down to a nearby backyard with the help of a police helicopter and the dog squad.
All three were known to police, who made the arrests thanks to a tip-off from a 13-year-old boy who spotted them in the car, 9News reported.
Police allegedly seized a loaded shotgun from the vehicle, which had allegedly been stolen from Balywn, Victoria, and two jerry cans of petrol were found in the back.
Detective Superintendent Simon Glasser said: “What the vehicle was being used for is still under investigation, however, it’s quite obvious that we’ve disrupted some further serious crime.”
Hassan, the alleged driver, entered pleas of not guilty in Parramatta Local Court but bail was refused despite his lawyer promising he would not associate with members of a gang called APK, while Tell and Bringi will make bail applications on Thursday, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Police allege vehicles similar to the one involved in the incident containing weapons and fuel are being used as “kill cars” by organised crime, and several have been seized in recent months during a crackdown on gang shootings.
Header image: Left, right, two of the men being arrested (9News).
