Detectives believe they know who murdered Sydney gangland figure Raphael Joseph in 2104 and they're hoping a large-scale search on the city's outskirts will uncover his remains.
NSW Police say 37-year-old Joseph was likely murdered by drug dealers in March 2014 many years after he claimed to have a $100,000 bounty on his head.
He was last seen getting into the back of a silver Holden Commodore at McDonald's in Auburn, but exactly what happened after that wasn't known until a recent breakthrough in the case.
Now, homicide squad Detective Chief Inspector Grant Taylor says investigators are confident they know who killed Joseph almost four years ago.
"We have established that Raphael was kidnapped by a drug supply syndicate, taken to a premise, which is known to us, and there he was inevitably murdered," Chief Insp Taylor told reporters on Tuesday.
"We know very well there were several people involved in this murder, we know who they are, and they can expect a visit from us in the near future."
Detectives recently found the silver car which had a secret compartment in the dashboard believed to have been for drugs.
"Both the Commodore and the premises where Raphael was murdered have been painstakingly forensically examined," Chief Insp Taylor said.
Those examinations and information received from the public led to the seizure of two more vehicles police believe are part of the drug syndicate's supply business.
"One of which may have been used to dispose of Raphael's body," Chief Insp Taylor said.
Police believe Mr Joseph trusted the occupants of the vehicle and got into it voluntarily before being driven to another location and killed.
A large contingent, including forensic officers, the bomb squad and the riot squad, are now searching a property at Blaxlands Ridge.
That's not where police say Joseph was murdered but they think it's where he could be buried.
"Officers are searching for items relevant to the investigation, and we believe Mr Joseph may have been buried on the property," Chief Insp Taylor said in a statement.
Six years before his disappearance, Joseph had been extradited from the United States over his suspected role in in the fatal shooting of Dimitri Debaz in the Sefton car park of the Playhouse Hotel in 2002, which sparked a wave of crime in the city's southwest.
Mr Joseph was charged with murder but the case was later dropped.
Known as Huss or Hussany to his mates and family, Joseph pleaded with US authorities to keep him in the country because an Australian crime family had placed a $100,000 bounty on his head.
He also claimed members of Sydney's Bronx Boys gang wanted to murder him and his lawyer previously filed documents in court alleging his friends and associates had been kidnapped and tortured.
Chief Insp Taylor said police are confident those associated with Mr Joseph know what happened to him.
"While we are following strong lines of inquiry, I would encourage those people to come forward now, as it won't be long before we come for you," he said.
Australian Associated Press
