By Marta Pascual Juanola, Cameron Houston and Lachlan Abbott
Police are investigating whether a blaze at a Brunswick gym linked to former Mongols bikie and professional kickboxer Suleiman “Sam” Abdulrahim was deliberately lit.
Emergency crews were called to Power Gymnasium, in Melbourne’s inner north, about 5am on Friday after triple-zero callers reported flames and smoke billowing from the front window and roof of the Holmes Street business.
A fire broke out in the early hours of Friday morning at Power Gymnasium in Brunswick.Credit: Nine News
Arson chemists will inspect the building on Friday after officers conducting an initial assessment of the scene could not determine the cause of the blaze.
Police initially said the fire was not suspicious but issued a revised statement hours later saying they would investigate whether the blaze could have been deliberately lit.
No one was injured in the fire, but the building was badly damaged.
In a statement posted on social media, Power Gymnasium said the fire had been caused by an electrical fault in their reception area.
Abdulrahim boxes professionally under the name The Punisher.
“It is with a deep heart that we have to advise all of our members that due to unfortunate circumstances, the gym will be closed for the next few days,” the statement read.
“Please do not feel threatened or intimated [sic].”
Abdulrahim, who was shot multiple times in the chest last year while leaving a funeral in Fawkner, in Melbourne’s north, has posted numerous videos to social media of himself training at the gym.
The business has also promoted the kickboxer, who fights under the ring name “The Punisher”, on Instagram.
Police are now investigating the early morning blaze.Credit: Nine News
Business records show Abdulrahim’s boxing promotion business, Power Promotions, is also registered to the gym’s address.
Two masked men ambushed Abdulrahim as he drove on Box Forest Road last June, peppering his black Mercedes-Benz with bullets, before spectacularly crashing their getaway car.
The hitmen later fled Australia for the Middle East.
It is the fourth time that a business connected to Abdulrahim has gone up in flames this year. A Moonee Ponds tobacco and vape store linked to the kickboxer’s sister was firebombed on three separate occasions in late May and early June.
Abdulrahim has previously denied his connection to the Moonee Ponds business despite promoting it on social media before the attack.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, has CCTV, dashcam, or any other information that could assist investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
Coming soon: John Silvester lifts the lid on Australia’s criminal underworld. Subscribers can sign up to receive his Naked City newsletter every Thursday.