Ava Benny-Morrison -Jun 14, 2016
Crime figure Walid "Wally" Ahmad, 41, was shot dead at a Bankstown shopping centre on April 29. Photo: Supplied
EXCLUSIVE
A suspect in a double-shooting and brother of dead underworld figure Walid "Wally" Ahmad has rejected claims he is on the run in the Middle East, despite leaving the country after a fatal gunfight.
The denial comes as those closest to Wally Ahmad have used his death as an opportunity to pin the blame on him for a fatal shooting in Condell Park.
Mahmoud "Brownie" Ahmad left Australia in April, not long after he was allegedly involved in the shooting at his brother's smash repairs – The A Team Body Works – in south-west Sydney.
Police believe Brownie Ahmad, a violent figure whose friends consider him unpredictable and volatile, was one of those who fired a gun at Condell Park.
The gunfight ended in the death of Safwan Charbaji, who was aligned to the rival Elmir family through marriage, and put Abdullah El Masri, who used to work for The A Team Body Works, in a coma.
Detectives also believe Fawaz Elmir, who hasn't been seen since April, fired a gun at the confrontation as there is an arrest warrant out for shoot with intent to murder.
Fairfax Media understands Brownie Ahmad travelled to Lebanon in the days after the April 9 shooting and was later followed by his wife and children.
Asked if he wanted a chance to set the record straight, Brownie Ahmad said there was "nothing to clear".
"Tell the cops to get their facts right first," he told Fairfax Media. "I'm not running or hiding so f--- off. They can talk shit as much as they want."
A status on one of his online profiles reads: "I'm coming back don't worry".
After he travelled to Lebanon, his brother Wally Ahmad was executed in the middle of a suburban shopping centre as he sat with friend Nael "Kojak" Halid.
Wally Ahmad was at a cafe after finishing a gym session at Bankstown when someone fired a volley of shots into the standover man's bulky frame.
He bled out on the tiles of Cafe Havana.
An obvious motive for the crime figure's brazen execution is retribution for the shooting at his Condell Park business, which has been the scene of many confrontations.
But detectives are open to the possibility someone used that as a cover to murder Wally Ahmad, a father of six who made a living out of extortion and mediating conflicts.
With Wally Ahmad dead, Fairfax Media understands his associates and at least one of his brothers have been attempting to pin the blame for the Condell Park shooting on him.
Sources have confirmed some of those closest to Wally Ahmad have told police he fired the shots that killed Mr Charbaji and injured Mr El Masri.
Mr El Masri woke up from a coma only two weeks ago. Considerable effort was given to protecting the 25-year-old in Liverpool Hospital after a prominent member of the Nomads outlaw motorcycle club, and Wally Ahmad's right-hand man, tried to visit Mr El Masri after the shooting.
While Mr El Masri came out of a coma and remembered the names of his relatives, Fairfax Media understands he struggled to recall details of the Condell Park shooting.
One theory being investigated is that two well-known criminal families – the Elmirs and Ahmads – came together outside the Ilma Street business to settle a $100,000 dispute.
At the end of the heated confrontation, which played out on the street for up to half an hour, Mr El Masri and Mr Charbaji ended up with gunshot wounds.
Mr Charbaji, who was shot at close range in the head and chest, was married to Mohamad Abul Hamid Elmir's sister.