Possible motive for Surry Hills execution of underworld figure Niddal Acherkouk is revealed

Underworld sources have revealed why they think the horrific assassination of a man in Surry Hills happened on Friday night.

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The horrifying shooting of an underworld figure at a Surry Hills petrol station may have been the result of stealing drugs from one of Australia’s most ruthless bikie gangs.

Comanchero bikie associate Niddal Acherkouk’s assassination on Cleveland St, one of the busiest streets in the city, on Friday evening has underworld sources suggesting the motive for his killing was the “rip” - a criminal term for the theft of drugs - from others within that world.

Police sources said Acherkouk was known to them, including for being the victim of an attempted kidnapping in Punchbowl last July, but was never considered by them to be a major player in a bikie gang or crime group.

Niddal Acherkouk, 31, was shot dead in the carpark of a BP petrol station at Surry Hills on Friday. Picture: Instagram

“He has been around the Comos (Comanchero OMCG) … but he wasn’t playing ‘first grade’,” one source said.

Acherkouk’s killing has shocked Sydney, largely due to the fact video of his final moments went viral within 24 hours of his death.

The CCTV has led some in the underworld to compare the two killers to soul-sucking dementors out of Harry Potter for their decision to wear black ponchos, seemingly in an attempt to make it harder to distinguish their body shape.

Others have joked the footage of them chasing their terrified victim around the petrol station bowsers as he ran for his life could have the Benny Hill theme song playing over the top.

But there is nothing funny about Acherkouk’s death, especially for NSW Police, who are once again dealing with a flare up of the gang war with no end.

Bystanders rush to help a bleeding Acherkouk in the moments after he was shot. Picture: Supplied

Underworld sources have suggested a possible motive for Acherkouk’s killing may have been the “rip” - a criminal term for the theft of drugs - from others within that world. Picture: Supplied

If not for luck, Acherkouk could have been the fifth underworld figure to be shot dead in just three months.

The current iteration of the war began with the execution of Torek Ayoub, known in the underworld as the “Angel of Death”, on August 26 in Parramatta.

Vailena Koloamatangi was then targeted by masked gunmen in Winston Hills on October 2, but despite being shot four times, survived.

A few days later Fetaiaki Toupoulahi answered a knock at the door of his Homebush apartment to find masked gunmen on the other side.

He too was shot multiple times, including in both arms, but managed to shut the front door and escape with his life.

A Porsche used as a getaway car by the killers, was dumped and set on fire in Kensington. Picture Supplied

Then there was a third attempt in 18 months on the life of Khoder Hamdan when 10 bullets were fired at him in Auburn, on October 23.

If those three men - who police say have underworld associations and are known to them - had been killed, the feeling on the streets of Sydney would better resemble the periods in mid-2022 and mid-2023, when the public demanded politicians and police do something to stop the bloodshed.