Ashleigh Ann Seeney, a 28-year-old physical education teacher at Airds High School, was charged on September 23, 2026, with plotting to murder a man tied to an internal conflict within the Haouchar crime family in Sydney’s west, just days after being charged as an accessory after the fact in a separate fatal shooting.
A Double Descent from the Classroom to Taskforce Falcon
The stark fluorescent lighting of a police station is a far cry from the school gymnasium, yet that is where 28-year-old Ashleigh Ann Seeney found herself on a Tuesday afternoon. Taskforce Falcon detectives arrested the physical education teacher at Wollongong police station, plunging a routine educational career into the murky depths of Sydney’s organized crime underbelly. The NSW Education Department swiftly confirmed that Seeney, an educator at Airds High School in Sydney’s south-west, has been stood down from her duties.
Police allege she plotted this targeted hit alongside two teenagers aged 18 and 19. Investigators assert that Seeney maintained “constant contact” with these young men, actively relaying information concerning police movements before hastily fleeing the area immediately following their arrests.
Unraveling the Haouchar Family Feud
The roots of this alleged conspiracy extend deep into the fractured loyalties of the Haouchar crime family. Detective Superintendent Jason Box, commander of Taskforce Falcon, revealed that the intended target of the West Hoxton plot was a local man caught in the crossfire of an internal dispute over illicit drugs. Police have repeatedly warned the intended victim about the active threat to his life, though authorities note he has remained largely dismissive of the danger.
Historically, the Haouchar syndicate commanded an international billion-dollar trafficking operation spanning drugs, guns, and tobacco under the leadership of Bilal Haouchar. While Bilal Haouchar fled Australia for Lebanon—where he is currently jailed—the operational landscape has shifted. Superintendent Box noted that contemporary syndicates increasingly rely on “crime as a service,” operating purely for financial gain without traditional gang loyalty. As Box explained regarding participants in these plots, “They’re all fully aware of what the intention is, so they’re all complicit in the offence of the conspiracy to murder.”
Back-to-Back Murder Charges in One Week
The West Hoxton conspiracy charge marks the second time within a single week that Seeney has faced serious allegations of involvement in gangland homicide. Just days prior, homicide squad detectives charged her as an accessory after the fact regarding the September 2 shooting of 40-year-old Joshua Macdonald at Merrylands West. Police allege Macdonald was killed in a mistaken identity shooting outside his business partner’s home, and that Seeney subsequently assisted the primary assailants in evading police capture.
While Seeney was initially granted bail on those accessory charges, her freedom was remarkably short-lived. Hours after walking out of custody, she was served with the fresh West Hoxton murder conspiracy charges, alongside allegations of participating in a criminal group to contribute to criminal activity and failing to disclose the identity of a driver or passenger. On Wednesday afternoon, Judge Te’res Sia formally revoked her earlier bail. Seeney did not apply for bail on the new charges and remains remanded in custody ahead of her next appearance via videolink before Parramatta Local Court on November 19.
The Takeaway for Our Communities
