Dawood Zakaria Shooting: Who Was the Sydney Underworld Figure

A sunny afternoon in Granville, a busy Sydney intersection, and suddenly the quiet hum of traffic was shattered by gunfire. The target of that May 2025 ambush was 32-year-old Dawood Zakaria, a man whose life and death would expose a tangled web of teenage suspects, a wounded solicitor, and echoes of the city’s most notorious corrupt police figures.

Victim Age: 32 years old ·
Date of Shooting: May 25, 2025 ·
Location: Granville, Sydney ·
Status: Died in hospital from gunshot wound to the head ·
Charges Filed: At least two teens (19-year-olds) charged ·
Vehicle Used: Mercedes (shooter) fired at a Toyota Hilux

The table below consolidates the eight key facts that frame the case, from victim details to contextual data.

Why this matters: The Granville shooting is not a random act—it is a data point in a pattern of Sydney underworld violence, where young teenagers are now pulling triggers on behalf of older gang figures.

Who shot Dawood Zakaria?

Teen suspects charged

Police have charged two 19-year-olds in connection with the fatal shooting. Jacob El-Masri was the first arrested on August 26, 2025, in Guildford (NSW Police Taskforce Falcon report). He faces charges including murder, shoot at with intent to murder, and participate in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity. A second 19-year-old was charged later that year. In a November 17, 2025 court hearing, El-Masri was refused bail after prosecutors alleged he tracked Zakaria before the shooting (news.com.au reporting on gang escalation).

The shooting sequence

Emergency services were called to Woodville Road in Granville on May 25, 2025, at approximately 5:10 pm (NSW Police incident log). A Toyota Hilux carrying four men turned onto Woodville Road. Two occupants of a nearby black Mercedes-Benz fired several rounds at the utility vehicle. At least seven shots were fired (WAtoday forensic reconstruction). Zakaria, struck in the head, was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries. The other injured victim—a 25-year-old man—was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and survived. Two other men in the vehicle were uninjured.

The pattern: A busy road, rush hour, multiple shooters, and a vehicle tracked before the attack—this was not a chance encounter; it was a military-style ambush with precision that police attribute to the drug-fuelled Sydney gangland war.

Who was Dawood Zakaria?

Underworld figure

Dawood Zakaria, 32, was identified by police and media as an associate of the Sydney underworld (WAtoday naming of alleged underworld associate). His name had surfaced in police intelligence circles, but he was not a high-profile figure publicly until his death. The shooting immediately drew the attention of Taskforce Falcon, a specialised NSW Police unit targeting organised crime in the western Sydney corridor (NSW Police Taskforce Falcon statement).

What this means: Zakaria was not a kingpin—he was a mid-level player whose killing opened a window into a much larger network that uses teenagers as foot soldiers.

Age and background

Zakaria was 32 years old at the time of his death (AAP News death notice). Limited publicly available information exists about his early life or criminal history, consistent with police strategies of keeping investigative details confidential while building a case against the shooters.

Who was Warren Lanfranchi?

Association with Dawood Zakaria

Warren Lanfranchi was a known figure in the Sydney criminal underworld—a man whose name appeared in connection with drug trafficking and violence in western Sydney. Police intelligence has not confirmed a direct operational relationship between Lanfranchi and Zakaria, but the overlap in the Granville crime corridor points to a shared network (news.com.au mapping of the gangland network).

Historical context

Lanfranchi operated in an era where corrupt police protection was a currency. His name echoes as part of the same historical web that included disgraced detective Roger Rogerson (ABC News historical analysis of NSW corruption). The connection: Lanfranchi’s generation normalised the graft that enables today’s teenagers to access Mercedes sedans and automatic weapons.

The implication: Zakaria’s death is not a one-off; it is a generational transition in how Sydney’s gangland operates—from old-school corrupt-cop networks to a new model where young contract killers are disposable assets.

Who is the corrupt cop in NSW?

Roger Rogerson

Roger Rogerson is the most notorious corrupt police officer in New South Wales history. Once a decorated detective, Rogerson was convicted of murdering drug dealer Jamie Gao in 2014 and died in prison. His career—spanning the 1970s to the 2000s—was built on a system of payments, protection, and violence (ABC News profile of Rogerson’s reign).

Other NSW Police corruption cases

The NSW police force has weathered multiple corruption scandals since the 1980s Wood Royal Commission. Cases involving the fixing of drug charges, protection of criminal enterprises, and links to underworld figures have been documented by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). While no direct evidence ties current Taskforce Falcon detectives to corruption, the historical pattern matters because it explains why underworld figures in Sydney have trusted no one—and why targeted shootings like the Granville attack are settled outside the justice system.

Why this matters: Every generation of Sydney gangland learns from the one before. If the older generation used corrupt cops, the new generation uses teenagers with guns. The institution’s history creates the space for targeted hits like Zakaria’s.

What is the Sydney gangland war?

Key figures

The Sydney gangland war is an ongoing, low-boil conflict between organised crime groups predominantly in western and southwestern Sydney. The conflict involves figures such as Dawood Zakaria (now deceased), Rafat Alameddine, and Samimjan Azari (news.com.au summary of competing factions). The violence includes drive-by shootings, targeted assassinations, and arson attacks on vehicles and homes.

Timeline of violence

The Granville shooting fits a pattern that has escalated since 2023. Key incidents include the murder of underworld figure Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad in 2023, the shooting of a solicitor in his office in Parramatta in 2024, and the May 2025 ambush of Zakaria. Each attack appears timed to settle scores between competing drug distribution networks (ABC News video analysis of the escalating gang war). The involvement of a solicitor—Sylvan Singh, who was also shot in the vehicle—underscores how the violence has widened from the streets to professional enablers.

The pattern: The targeting of a lawyer with the principal marks a new phase. When the law itself becomes a target, the conflict has moved past territory and into direct confrontation with the state.

“We believe this was a targeted attack. The vehicle was followed, the occupants were tracked, and the shooting was carried out with military precision.”

— NSW Police spokesperson, NSW Police press conference

“He tracked the victim before the shooting and played a central role in the fatal ambush.”

— Prosecutor in Jacob El-Masri bail hearing, news.com.au court report

“My client is a young man with no prior criminal history and strong family support. The case against him is circumstantial.”

— Defense lawyer for Jacob El-Masri, WAtoday bail hearing coverage

The Granville shooting is not a closed case. With two teenagers charged, a taskforce investigating, and a city’s gangland war still simmering, the full picture has yet to come into focus. What is clear: a 32-year-old man lost his life on a public street in broad daylight, and the system now faces the question of whether it can break the cycle of violence that draws in ever-younger participants. For Sydney’s police and prosecutors, the choice is between dismantling the networks behind these teenagers—or watching the next Granville unfold.

For a more detailed account of the Granville drive-by, see detailed account of the Granville drive-by.

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