Authorities suspect that a “contract crew” might be involved in three cases, encompassing a murder, an attempted murder, and a kidnapping that occurred in July of the previous year.

On Friday, July 19, 2024, a 31-year-old man was kidnapped from south-west Sydney.

Choup was last seen at about 6.10pm on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Cabramatta, where he told friends he had a meeting and asked them to wait nearby.

At about 6.25pm, CCTV showed Choup meeting with a man on Railway Parade. The other man appeared to reprimand and slap him.

“There was no resistance there, there was no attempt to flee, there was no attempt to strike back,” Doueihi said.

“So, it was quite evident from that footage that Mr Choup was in fear of that person.”

Both men were then seen walking towards a grey Audi SQ2.

Police have also released CCTV of a white Lexus and white Audi RS3.

Two men seen on CCTV moving the cars before and after Choup’s disappearance, are also of interest to police.

“I can tell you that we believe that the persons involved are common to all three incidents,” Doueihi said.

“Not every person depicted on the CCTV is involved in every matter. They are common across those matters.”

Doueihi clarified that while police do not claim the individuals seen in the CCTV footage were directly responsible for the violent acts, it is believed they possess information that could assist law enforcement in their inquiries.

He said police believed Choup was an “employee” of a Melbourne drug syndicate, but the exact motive behind his murder was unknown.

The kidnapping and torture of the first man was also believed to be linked to the syndicate’s activity, while the motive for the attempted murder in Queensland had not yet been firmly established.

Doueihi said the surviving victims were not fully cooperating with police but had spoken with investigators to an extent.