Alleged Middle Eastern gang associate charged with child grooming in Sydney

An alleged associate of the notorious Alameddine organised crime network has been arrested at a home in western Sydney and charged with child grooming.

Mostapha Alameddine, 39, who allegedly has links to the Middle Eastern syndicate of the same name, was taken into custody on Wednesday morning after allegedly trying to groom what he thought was a 14-year-old girl online.

NSW Police said interstate officers assumed the online identity of a teenage girl and allegedly had sexually explicit conversations with Alameddine where he sent and requested explicit photos.

The investigation was handed over the State Crime Command’s Raptor Squad, which carried out a raid at a home in Merrylands and allegedly seized drugs and electronic devices.

After Alameddine’s arrest he was taken to Granville Police Station, where he was charged with “use carriage service-groom under 16 years of age for sex”, “use carriage service-send indecent material to under 16 years of age”, “use carriage service-procure under the age of 16 sex with another” and “possess prohibited drug”.

Alameddine, who works in the security industry, was refused police bail to face court on Wednesday.

Detective Inspector Brad Abdy said police allege Alameddine was an associate of the organised crime network, which has been involved in a series of underworld conflicts with rival Middle Eastern, Pacific Islander and Vietnamese gangs in Sydney in recent years.

“While he was engaging a member of the police force, this activity could just as easily have been not a member of the police and an innocent 14-year-old,” Mr Abdy said.

Header image: Left, right, Alameddine being arrested (NSW Police).

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