Murder, Kidnapping, and Man Shot and Buried Alive Tied to Drug Syndicate

2026-06-18 12:10:27

A murder, kidnapping and man shot in the head and buried alive are all linked to a drug trafficking syndicate, police allege.

The NSW premier condemned the level of violence allegedly involved, labelling those responsible "animals".

Footage shows a man stumbling into a petrol station.

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You wouldn’t know it, but police say he’s just been shot in the head, and escaped a grave his attackers dug for him.

They thought they’d finished the job, but he made it inside, collapsing onto a chair, then to the ground.

An employee was at his side before paramedics arrived.

The alleged attempted murder that sparked a major police investigation is one full of twists and turns now spanning the east coast of Australia.

Police allege those responsible are violent assassins responsible for a kidnapping and a murder that played out in Sydney and was kept secret until now.

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Detective Superintendent Joseph Doueihi from NSW Police said: "We will allege that this syndicate responsible for these three offences linked to the Victorian drug trafficking syndicate."

The six days of carnage unfolded between July 19 and 25 last year.

The "contract crew" allegedly executed a 32-year-old father.

Rich "Dylan" Choup was described as a man with "a huge heart who put others before him".

"We believe Mr Choup was an employee of that syndicate and has fallen foul of that syndicate for some reason," Doueihi said.

He was last spotted on July 25 and was slapped across the face and led to a grey Audi.

"He was tortured, he had his ear severed and then he was murdered," Doueihi said.

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Six days prior the same car was allegedly used in kidnapping of a 31-year- old at Canley Vale in Sydney’s south-west with a man taken from Regents Park.

His ear was severed with a box cutter.

Two days later on July 21, 900 kilometres away in Jimboomba – 50 kilometres from Brisbane – detectives allege a 23-year-old victim was lured into a car driven from New South Wales to Queensland

The man was shot in the head, through the eye, and the bullet lodged in his brain.

He was buried in a shallow grave but he somehow he made it out.

The service station worker who came to his side said "he had severe facial injuries, including his eye socket".

"He come and ask for a taxi and I said, ‘are you sure you don’t want an ambulance?’ He said no please, no ambulance."

All up five people have been shown in the CCTV released today, but detectives are hunting far more than that.

Detectives are asking for the public’s help to track down these alleged assassins.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said: "What these animals are up to, these are disturbing crimes.

"I think that the public would be rightly horrified."

The two victims who survived are not cooperating with the investigation, police said.

Anybody with information is urged to contact
Crime Stoppers
.

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