The alleged kingpin of a major drug gang has been extradited to Sydney to face court almost two years after fleeing the country and attempting to shelter in Turkey.
Alleged senior Alameddine gang member Masood Zakaria touched down at Sydney airport about 6pm on Tuesday.
Described as one of NSW's most wanted men, police allege Zakaria was involved in a failed plot to murder underworld figure Ibrahem Hamze in 2021.
He has been charged with 11 serious and violent offences after being deported from Turkey last week.
After arriving in Sydney, the 28-year-old was taken to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged with conspiring and agreeing to murder, knowingly directing activities of a criminal group, supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, reckless grievous bodily harm as well as assault and affray.
He was refused bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.
Zakaria fled the country last year while under investigation for a string of serious organised crime-related offences.
He was arrested when he landed in Darwin on Sunday afternoon and then extradited to NSW.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald described Zakaria as one of the state's "most wanted and significant" organised-crime figures.
He has been a focus of a transnational offshore task force Operation Gain targeting the nation's most prominent overseas-based offenders.
The Sydney man was wanted by police over his claimed links to the Alameddine gang and his alleged involvement in a failed plot to murder Hamze.
Police thwarted the plot when they tried to stop a stolen Mercedes in North Sydney that investigators believe was to be used for the crime.
Several men have previously been charged with conspiracy to murder.
Mr Fitzgerald said Zakaria fled Australia in a fishing boat as police were about to arrest him in 2022.
They believe he was second in charge of one of Sydney's largest crime gangs.
Turkish officials notified Australian authorities after Zakaria allegedly entered the country in 2022 on a false passport.
He was arrested and transferred to immigration detention in January where he was held in custody awaiting deportation.
