Police Arrest Two Over Alleged Plot To Murder ONEFOUR Members

NSW Police have uncovered an alleged plot to murder four members of controversial drill group ONEFOUR, arresting two men in conjunction with the conspiracy as part of a wider raid on an international crime syndicate.

READ MORE: Why Are NSW Police Silencing ONEFOUR And The Voices Of Australian Rap?

As reported by the ABC, police raided two properties in south-west Sydney this morning (January 11), arresting two men believed to be linked to “a well-known crime syndicate”, but also known to carry out kidnappings and killings as contract workers (occasionally on behalf of rival gangs).

The suspects were identified as 26-year-old Brandon Masueli and 20-year-old Yousef Rima. They’re expected to be hit with multiple charges including conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Police have reportedly applied for an arrest warrant to take down a third suspect, 22-year-old Anthony Pele (who is assumed to be overseas at the present), and are planning to arrest and charge two other men. According to Peter Faux – a detective superintendent with the Organised Crime Squad – Masueli and Pele are linked to the organised crime network known as Haouchar.

In a statement published by the ABC, Faux noted that police will allege Masueli was involved in the murder plot, but shouldn’t be considered its “mastermind”. He affirmed that “there were other people organising the intended murder”.

Faux said the aforementioned crime syndicate operated on behalf of another organised crime network, taking on the job for its financial incentive. “There are a number of motives we're looking at, but it's highly likely there's a conflict between the organised crime group that took out this contract and the intended victims,” he said.

Those victims include four of ONEFOUR’s five members: Pio ‘YP’ Misa (who reportedly plans to step away from the group), Dahcell ‘Celly14’ Ramos, Spencer ‘Spenny’ Magalogo and Jerome ‘J Emz’ Misa. The group’s other rapper, Salec ‘Lekks’ Su’a, was not mentioned in the report, and it hasn’t been confirmed as of yet whether he too was targeted in any way.

According to police, the members of ONEFOUR were not aware of the alleged plot to have them killed before officers reached out. They have not alleged any ONEFOUR members of being involved in any criminal activity linked to this incident.

“We're confident that we've stopped [the murder plot] from occurring,” Faux said, noting that he and his team are “working closely” with ONEFOUR.

At the time of writing, no official party associated with ONEFOUR has commented on the matter.

Last November, it was announced that ONEFOUR would be supporting The Kid LAROI on his 2024 Australian tour. It follows the release of the Netflix documentary ONEFOUR: Against All Odds, which drew attention from NSW Police when it was screened at SXSW Sydney in October 2023.

Reviewing ONEFOUR’s set at last year’s Listen Out festival in Melbourne (Naarm), this writer opined the group “had a blast onstage, clearly revelling in their fandom’s buoyancy” and “made the most of every second in their 20-minute set, [spitting] every bar with visceral passion as they leapt around the stage”.