Sydney murder suspects arrested at Junee prison

TWO men and a teenage boy with alleged links to the Alameddine crime family have been arrested in Junee and charged with the murder of a Sydney university student who police allege was gunned down in a botched organised-crime hit.

Vaifaalie Tuafuti, 23, and Omar Mohamed, 22, were arrested at Junee Correctional Centre on Tuesday, September 29, following a complex weeks-long homicide investigation.

Police say a 16-year-old boy was also arrested. He cannot be identified for legal reasons.

All three were taken to Wagga Police Station and charged with the murder of 23-year-old Marco Tapia, who was shot dead inside his family home in Sydney’s south-west earlier this month.

They were also charged with two counts of special aggravated break and enter and commit serious indictable offence with a weapon, and possessing an unauthorised prohibited firearm.

Image: NSW Police

Police allege the trio stormed Mr Tapia’s Glen Alpine home about 3.40am on September 1 and confronted the biochemical engineering student before he was fatally shot.

Detectives believe Mr Tapia, who had no known links to organised crime, was an innocent victim of an attack intended for someone else.

The two men and the teenage boy were arrested in Melbourne and extradited to NSW earlier this month over alleged links to the firearm used in the killing.

Investigators allege the trio was involved in a home invasion at Hurstville and shootings at vehicles in Turrella on August 31, the night before Mr Tapia was killed.

Police told a Melbourne court that ballistic examination linked cartridge cases recovered from those scenes to a firearm found at the Glen Alpine crime scene.

That evidence has formed a key part of the investigation into the alleged network behind the attacks.

Image: NSW Police

During the extradition proceedings, police alleged the group had links to the notorious Alameddine crime family and had been involved in a recent spate of violence against the so-called Coconut Cartel.

Following their initial arrest in Victoria, the three were driven across the border and handed over to NSW Police at Albury on September 18.

They were remanded in custody and charged with special aggravated break and enter, committing a serious indictable offence, two counts of firing a gun at a home, and organising and partaking in criminal activity.

Two other teenage boys, aged 14 and 16, were arrested earlier this month and charged with murder over Mr Tapia’s death, after they allegedly helped stage vehicles and provide the weapon used in the killing.

They also remain before the courts.