Shooting victim Niddal Acherkouk laid to rest at Lakemba Mosque

Crowds gathered at the funeral for slain underworld figure Niddal Acherkouk, who was shot at a Surry Hills petrol station last week. Warning: Graphic crime images

Crowds gathered at Lakemba Mosque this afternoon for a funeral service for slain underworld figure Niddal Acherkouk, who was shot dead at a Surry Hills petrol station last week.

Attendees at the ceremony wore black, and were seen hugging each other in front of a heavy police presence.

Acherkouk’s casket was carried from under the mosque, with the crowd following it up the stairs and through the entrance to the building.

Mourners continued to file into the mosque as the Imam started reciting the Qur’an for Friday prayer.

Underworld sources have suggested the Cleveland St assassination of Acherkouk, a Comanchero bikie associate, was a “rip” — a criminal term for the theft of drugs.

Victim Niddal Acherkouk.

His funeral was held on Friday afternoon.

Police sources have previously said Acherkouk was known to them, including as the victim of an attempted kidnapping in Punchbowl last July.

It’s understood he was never considered to be a major player in a bikie gang or crime group.

Mourners carry Niddal Acherkouk’s coffin outside Lakemba Mosque.

Acherkouk’s coffin is carried out out after the service.

Acherkouk’s killing shocked Sydney, largely because of footage of his final moments going 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 wearing black ponchos, seemingly in an attempt to make it harder to distinguish their body shape.

CCTV footage of the brutal assassination at a Surry Hills service station.

Mourners bow their heads near the hearse bearing Acherkouk’s coffin.

People coming to Acherkouk’s assistance on Cleveland St after the shooting.

Ahmad Hriachie, known online as the Muslim Undertaker, drove Acherkouk’s casket to Rookwood Cemetery as cars followed closely behind.

Once at the cemetery, a crowd quickly gathered as the casket was taken to the burial site before being lowered into the ground.

Further recitation of the Qur’an was heard on a speaker before Mr Hriachie said a few words in English.

Many surrounded where Acherkouk was laid to rest before each person was asked to throw dirt onto the casket.

Family and friends were each seen making prayers, staring into the dirt as others began to slowly disperse.