Bikie Ricky Ciano found dead in Oberon car may have been given drug ‘hot shot’

FORMER Rebel Ricky Ciano, found dead in his car in western NSW, may have been murdered using a toxic dose of drugs. It comes as police released footage of the enforcers last known moments.

• Ricky Ciano: Former Rebels bikie found dead in car
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A BIKIE enforcer found dead in his car in western NSW may have been murdered using a toxic dose of drugs.

The circumstances surrounding Ricky Ciano’s death continue to baffle police five months after he was found dead in his BMW by the side of a ­lonely stretch of highway near Oberon.

Ricky Ciano was found dead in Oberon in his white BMW. His cause of death is yet to be determined.

The former Sydney Rebel had already survived an alleged hit after a $500,000 contract was placed on his head.

When the 35-year-old’s body was found on Valentine’s Day it was immediately treated as suspicious, with at least three other Sydney bikies known to him killed over the previous 18 months.

After months of investigation the Homicide Squad is still to establish whether Ciano died from an accidental overdose and was then dumped by associates or died in the BMW after using a “hot shot” — where a lethal injection of drugs is taken unwittingly.

The former Rebel was among several bikie related deaths during the same period.

Police are now seeking to determine if Ciano died from an accidental overdose or a “hot shot”.

Three days before the discovery of his body on Duckmaloi Rd, 15km from Oberon, a highway patrol officer pulled over his ­vehicle for a routine traffic stop in the Penrith area where he had a number of known associates.

“We’ve tracked his BMW from the vehicle stop through the Blue Mountains and into the Oberon area, and then the car goes back and forth a number of times,” acting head of the NSW Homicide Squad ­Detective Superintendent Jason Dickinson said.

Police have released in car vision of Ciano’s last known moments.

CCTV caught the bikie’s white BMW on camera. Picture: NSW Police Media

“We believe Mr Ciano may have stayed in the ­Oberon area and that someone else drove his car on the other trips, so we ­obviously want to speak with those people.

“There is also a white Toyota Hiace van seen travelling to the same rural area outside of Oberon on the Saturday, which we are also working to identify­.”

Investigators are appealing to members of the community who may have been travelling between Penrith and Oberon over that weekend.

Police are also seeking further information about a white Hiace, seen in the Oberon area on the day in question. Picture: NSW Police Media

“We’re keen to speak to anyone who may have seen Mr Ciano, his BMW, or the Hiace van at any time over that weekend,” Supt Dickinson said.

“Our inquiries in the Oberon area lead us to believe his vehicle was parked — where it was later located — as early as the Sunday afternoon, February 12.”

“While we’ve already made numerous inquiries, we are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who was on Duckmaloi Rd around that time and has not yet spoken to police.”