Solicitor shot in Granville ambush now accused of kidnapping, drug supply and gang activity.
A Sydney solicitor seriously injured in a gangland ambush has been charged with an array of grave offences, including kidnapping, directing a criminal group and drug supply.
Sylvan Singh, 25, was shot during a violent attack in Granville on 25 May that left Dawood Zakaria, 32, dead. Zakaria, an associate of the notorious Alameddine crime network, suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head after gunmen opened fire on their Toyota Hilux.
The ambush unfolded on Church Street beneath the M4 overpass when a Mercedes pulled alongside the Hilux and its occupants unleashed multiple rounds. Singh, who was in the vehicle, sustained multiple wounds but survived. He was rushed to hospital covered in blood, where he spent weeks recovering.
While initially treated as a victim, Singh has now been formally charged with a series of offences. Police allege he was involved in a kidnapping for ransom, and he now faces a count of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Detectives further accuse him of knowingly directing the activities of a criminal group on two separate occasions.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn addition, Singh has been charged with supplying prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis, supplying a prohibited drug above the indictable quantity, and supplying a prohibited drug in a commercial quantity. NSW Police confirmed he is due to face Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday.
The case has sent shockwaves through Sydney’s legal and criminal underworld. Singh’s role as a solicitor has added a disturbing twist to an already bloody saga, intertwining professional respectability with organised crime.
Zakaria’s killing marked one of the most brazen gangland attacks in Sydney this year. Police described the shooting as targeted, a carefully orchestrated strike in the ongoing turf wars gripping the city. Images from the aftermath show Singh slumped, bloodied, in the vehicle as emergency crews arrived at the chaotic scene.
The investigation has already seen multiple arrests. Detectives last week charged a 19-year-old man in connection with the shooting. That arrest followed another teenager’s capture in Guildford days earlier. Both face accusations of murder, attempted murder, stealing motor vehicles, and participating in a criminal group engaged in violent crime.
Authorities have linked the killings and shootings to ongoing feuds between entrenched Sydney gangs. NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley has condemned the wave of violence, branding the incidents “horrific” and vowing to clamp down on vendetta-fuelled shootings.
“The violence on our streets is horrific,” Ms Catley said at a recent press conference. “We won’t tolerate these lawless thugs playing out their vendettas in our communities.”
Singh’s case underscores the blurred line between victim and alleged offender in Sydney’s underworld. Once pictured as a bloodied survivor dragged into a deadly feud, he now stands accused of orchestrating the very criminal activity that fuels the cycle of violence.
His court appearance this week will be closely watched, not only for the charges themselves but for what they reveal about the infiltration of organised crime into professional circles.
As the cycle of arrests continues and the streets of western Sydney remain tense, the case against Singh adds yet another dark chapter to the city’s year of gangland bloodshed.