By Chris Vedelago and Cassandra Morgan
Police and prosecutors are offering the possibility of immunity from prosecution for the hit team that assassinated Melbourne underworld figure Mohammed Akbar Keshtiar in a bid to solve the year-old murder.
There is also a $1 million reward on the table for anyone who provides critical information that can help solve the murder, when the former bikie known as “Afghan Ali” was gunned down near Chapel Street in South Yarra on August 4, 2023.
Police made the announcement on Monday in a bid to break open the notorious killing, with investigators probing lines of inquiry that include links to outlaw motorcycle gangs, Middle Eastern organised crime syndicates, and the city’s “tobacco war”, in which almost 100 illicit cigarette shops have been targeted in deliberate fires.
“The shooting incident of Mohammed Keshtiar was a deliberate, planned and organised assassination of him on that particular evening,” homicide squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said.
“We are particularly keen to hear from anyone that has any knowledge of those responsible for the shooting of Mohammed Keshtiar and also those involved in the burning of [the getaway car] that occurred during the early hours of the following Saturday morning [August 5, 2023].”
The $1 million reward comes with a “standard” offer of potential immunity for those who may be criminally implicated in the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Mohammed Akbar Keshtiar was gunned down outside his apartment building in South Yarra last year.
“It’s now over 12 months. You know relationships with people can change so it’s an opportunity. Hopefully, someone will see this and go, ‘You know what? I’m going to do it’, and come forward and share it,” Thomas said.
The Director of Public Prosecutions will consider, according to established guidelines, the granting of indemnity from prosecution for anyone with information.
The Age has previously reported that Keshtiar was deeply involved in the illicit tobacco trade before his death, including having interests in a number of cigarette stores.
One of the key suspects for ordering the brazen hit is exiled kingpin Kazem “Kaz” Hamad, who has been waging a war for control of the tobacco market for more than a year since he was released from prison and deported to his native Iraq.
What the stolen Toyota Prado looked like before it was set on fire. It featured distinctive wheels.Credit: Victoria Police
Keshtiar was walking with another man outside his apartment building in Almeida Crescent, which runs off Chapel Street, about 11.40pm when a stolen grey Toyota Prado slowed down as it passed the pair and a passenger fired.
Keshtiar slumped to the ground but the man he was with managed to escape uninjured. The Prado then pulled up alongside the incapacitated Keshtiar and a passenger wearing dark clothing got out and shot the former bikie several more times.
The shooter then got back in the vehicle and it drove away.
Passersby tried to save Keshtiar but he died in hospital. The Toyota was discovered on fire in Churchill Park Drive, Endeavour Hills the following morning.
Investigators say the hit was a planned and targeted execution involving a number of people – at least two, directly.
The crime had “added complexity” given Keshtiar was connected to a number of organised crime groups, Thomas said.
He said police were keeping an open mind about the motive behind his assassination.
“The life he has decided to lead is a life that involved criminal activity and dealing with people of ill repute,” he said.
“Regardless of what life someone decides to live, they don’t deserve to be killed in the manner in which he has been.
“He has family, he has loved ones that deserve to know exactly what has happened.
“We also have people involved that have displayed this public violence with a firearm, they need to be held to account. They pose a risk.”
Thomas said Keshtiar’s associate was lucky to survive the incident and had spoken to police about what happened when the shots were fired, but had not provided a statement.
Thomas said police had looked at hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, but urged the community to look closely at the stolen car to help investigators find the killers.
A nightclub operator on Chapel Street last year told The Age that Keshtiar and another crime figure – a boxer – were involved in “standing over” several venues on the busy street.
Keshtiar served time in prison for the attempted murder of a man and a woman he gunned down while on bail in 2003 and for shooting a security guard at a Prahran nightclub.
The underworld figure was recruited to the Mongols, one of Melbourne’s most powerful bikie gangs, while in prison.
Several years before the South Yarra hit, Keshtiar survived a botched assassination attempt, which resulted in a death that was a case of mistaken identity.
Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.