Middle East squad to work on gun crime A NEW targeted approach to gun crime in Sydney will be led by the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad (MEOC) of NSW police. Operation Apollo will focus on western Sydney, which has seen a recent concentration of fatal shootings and other drive-by attacks. Commissioner Andrew Scipione says the "wall of silence" that witnesses often put up is beginning to ease. "We believe that it's starting to come down," he told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday. That's a fantastic advance. Local police will continue to respond to drive-by and other targeted public shootings but the MEOC will also attend crime scenes and co-ordinate the broader police response. Head of Operation Apollo, chief superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, admits a number of fatal shootings across western Sydney in the past six months remain unsolved. He says the new approach to shootings will take time to result in charges. "Be patient with us," he told reporters. Things aren't going to happen overnight. More than 7400 illegal guns have been seized in NSW so far in this financial year, compared to 6900 in the previous year.