Australia police foil 'kill team' gang hit near daycare centre

Police stopped two cars and arrested the men, finding two firearms, balaclavas, bodyworn cameras and jerrycans containing fuel during a search.

A third firearm was located during subsequent searches of vehicles and premises allegedly linked to the men.

Footage from Tuesday showed the two cars wedged between police vehicles as authorities moved in on the alleged offenders brandishing firearms.

The cars' windscreens were pocked with bullet holes.

One witness, who did not wish to be named, told Australia's Channel Nine he heard the gunshots and went to investigate.

"I started walking out of my house and I heard some more gunshots and then cars were swerving," he said.

Police Assistant Commissioner Scott Cook said authorities had been investigating a transnational crime network "believed to be involved in multiple conspiracies to murder" for several weeks. 

Police allege the victim was targeted due to a breakdown in relationships within the syndicate, he said. The trio of men reportedly did not know the victim.

- 'Prepared to kill' -

They came "pretty close" to carrying out the hit, Cook said.

He expressed shock that the group was "prepared to kill" in an area where there was such a high risk of collateral damage.

"These individuals were being watched, and we moved at the right moment," Cook said.

He also stressed there was no chance the trio would have been "allowed to make it to a center".

The men have been charged with a string of offences, including conspiracy to commit murder and participating in a criminal group. 

The trio were refused bail and will appear in court Wednesday. Investigations are ongoing.

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported a Vietnamese criminal syndicate hired the three men and paid for a hit on the victim who was previously linked to the network.

Sydney police have in recent months stepped up efforts to curb criminal activity linked to Vietnamese groups after a string of violence.

In April, a Sydney mother was abducted and executed over her husband's alleged connections to a Vietnamese-linked organised crime network. Her children were also wounded. 

In another case, a man was shot in the head and buried alive. 

He survived, dug himself from the dirt and stumbled into a service station to ask for aid.

lec/oho/tym