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By Anton Rose
Topic:Crime
Dramatic arrests occurred in peak hour traffic on Tuesday. (Supplied: NSW Police)
The use of so-called "kill cars" in underworld hits are by no means new, but they have become an increased focus for investigators — and they are reaping the rewards.
On Tuesday, police said they thwarted an underworld assassination at a south-western Sydney daycare centre because they tracked the alleged "kill team" in their cars on a busy road.
Over the past five years, using and torching multiple cars as part of gangland violence has become a tried-and-true method of those hired by underworld figures.
In the cases where detectives have located getaway cars, they almost always have the same characteristics.
The cars have been stolen, sometimes months in advance, have cloned plates and contain a kit to commit and get away with murder.
That kit has often been found by police to include balaclavas, firearms, a change of clothes and a jerry can with fuel to set the car alight and dispose of forensic evidence.
The tactic has been used in murders linked to bikie gangs, Middle Eastern organised crime networks, Pacific Islander gangs and Asian drug syndicates operating in Sydney.
In a few cases, police said the cars were staged for weeks, if not months, ahead of a planned attack.
The keys to another getaway car and gloves were found in the glovebox of a car police allege was carrying hitmen. (ABC News)
On Tuesday, when armed tactical police swarmed two cars in peak-hour traffic at Revesby and arrested three alleged would-be hitmen, they uncovered similar items.
"In the first vehicle we arrested two men aged 18 and 19, we recovered balaclavas and two pistols in that vehicle," State Crime Commander Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook said at a press conference.
"In the second vehicle … we arrested a 26-year-old man and found two jerry cans full of petrol inside the vehicle.
Images from inside one of the cars also showed keys to a Porsche and a Mercedes, gloves and a change of clothes.
A gun found in a staged "kill car" in May by Taskforce Falcon detectives. (Supplied: NSW Police)
As far back as August last year police flagged they were targeting the use of "kill cars" to track those responsible.
The comments came after police seized eight "kill cars" and 15 cloned number plates in an operation targeting a business in Fairfield.
"These are not the standard high performance kill cars we normally seize. These cars are meant to hide in our community and allow criminals to avoid the consequences of their evil intent," Organised Crime Squad Commander Peter Faux said at the time.
"Detectives will continue to target the use of these kill cars across Sydney and aim to conduct further raids in the near future.
"We're also now turning our attention to find those responsible for stealing and staging these cars, and I expect arrests to follow."
On Wednesday, Superintendent Faux said the fact the trio arrested this week were driving a stolen car with clone plates raised the alarm with police.
"They had balaclavas on, there was enough indication that something was happening," he said.
A jerry can found in a staged "kill car" by police in Guildford this year. (Supplied: NSW Police)
In many cases police have found those involved staging the cars are minors.
Detectives have begun to focus on getaway cars after a wave of violence exploded on Sydney's streets this year.
When Taskforce Falcon formed in May, within days police had said they found cars staged in suburbs that had all the hallmarks of a "kill car".
One located in Guildford contained a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle, as well as jerry cans and balaclavas.
Taskforce Falcon was established after a series of attacks linked to a feud inside the Alameddine crime family sparked a number of shootings.
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