Crown admits deportation of Sydney underworld figure was illegal

Sydney underworld figure Masood Zakaria’s deportation from Turkey was illegal, prosecutors have conceded.

The NSW Supreme Court heard on Thursday morning that the 31-year-old’s forced removal in late 2023 was not permitted under Turkish law because of his pending appeal against the country’s decision to deport him. He was arrested at a seaside villa earlier that year.

The concession looms as a significant factor in the alleged kingpin’s unprecedented legal challenge to have a raft of serious charges, including murder, thrown out. The timing of his deportation, which his lawyers say was unlawful, is a major focus of the legal challenge.

Zakaria’s legal team is seeking a permanent stay of proceedings against him after alleging the Australian Federal Police facilitated his illegal deportation from Turkey in a recovery operation akin to a “kidnapping”.

If their application is successful, the charges against Zakaria, including for the murders of father and son Toufik Hamze, 64, and Salim Hamze, 18, and a conspiracy to murder gangland rival Ibrahem Hamze at the height of an underworld feud in 2021, will not be prosecuted.

Prosecutors on Thursday flagged that an expert in Turkish law would be called to give evidence on the legality of Zakaria’s deportation.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard the AFP encouraged Turkish authorities to deport Zakaria, a high-value target for Australian law enforcement agencies, weeks before his arrest on the country’s south-west coast.

The AFP maintains its actions were lawful. The hearing before Justice Edward Muston is expected to run for two weeks.