Known Sydney drug dealer Bill Panagakos was shot dead at point blank range on his 45th birthday. He was found dead on Tuesday night outside a Petersham primary school, in Sydney’s inner west. Witnesses say they head five loud bangs and residents of Railway Street, where the shooting occurred, said they saw a person flee the scene on a motorbike.
Panagakos has been involved in a heroin and cocaine ring outside a Kings Cross hotel. He had a history of gambling, and a previous firearm conviction and had been out of jail for five years, after serving six months for drug dealing. On his release, he set up Gossips Cafe at the North Ryde shopping centre and detectives were investigating his business dealings over the past years.
“There were a number of shots fired,” Acting Superintendent Alf Sergi said.
“At this stage he is not connected to outlaw motorcycle gangs but we cannot discount that.”