Kensington shooting: Suspect appears close to Mokbel stepdaughter
One of the men on the run over the fatal Kensington fight-night shooting appears to have a close relationship with the daughter of Tony Mokbel’s ex-partner, Danielle McGuire, with social media images showing her cosying up to the fugitive. Meanwhile, police are investigating whether the three suspects all opened fire.
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Police are investigating whether three men suspected over a fight-night shooting last week, which killed one man and left another fighting for life, all opened fire.
The Herald Sun understands that handguns were used by each of the men outside a boxing match in Kensington last Friday.
Detectives are also believed to be seeking a fourth man, who is yet to be identified, over labourer Ben Togiai’s murder.
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The El Nasher brothers Abdullah, 27, and Ali, 28, and their associate Mikhael Myko, 25, were on the run.
There was speculation that they were being harboured by figures within their large network of criminal associates.
It is unclear whether the men carried guns into the Melbourne Pavilion, which had put security measures in place for the evening.
CCTV footage appears to show one of the men leaving and then returning shortly before the gunfire began.
The deadly shooting was the first of three in the space of four days, even as police continue to serve firearms protection orders under recent laws that were introduced with the aim of reducing such shootings.
In the past 10 months detectives have served 150 of the orders, a high proportion of them on Middle-Eastern organised crime identities.
The orders give police the power to search the subjects for guns, without a warrant.
The El Nasher brothers are closely connected to underworld associates.
Images posted on social media show Ali arm in arm with Anthony Mokbel, the nephew of feared drug lord Tony Mokbel.
Draped in a heavy chain necklace and gold-studded belt Ali, along with Anthony, makes rude hand gestures for thecamera.
In another image they strike a similar pose. A hard- faced Ali, a man bag across his shoulder, holds a cigarette.
In images dated January 4, Ali and Anthony are seen with a large group of men.
A caption with the photos reads: “Ended 2018 with bang and came in 2019 red hot brotherr (sic) make sure but my f---ing brothers.”
One image shows Ali holding a toddler and wearing a T-shirt with a large pistol.
Ali’s brother Abdullah appears to have a close relationship with Mokbel’s stepdaughter, Brittany McGuire.
The daughter of Mokbel’s ex-partner Danielle McGuire, she can be seen cosying up to the fugitive in Snapchat images that were posted by Abdullah in December.
His Facebook page lists him as being “in a relationship” and Ms McGuire has posted a red heart next to “Abz Nash” on her own Instagram page.
The Kensington inquiry is one of three homicide squad investigations into the shootings that have killed four people in the past week.
On Monday night Deniz Hasan, 40, and Ali Ali, 28, were shot dead at Meadow Heights, in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
No arrests have yet been made over the double killing.
Friends on Thursday paid tribute to Hasan, a father of two. One, who asked not to be named, told the Herald Sun: “I’m still very shocked and numbed by it all.
“Everyone knew he was the most beautiful person going around and did anything for everyone but himself, especially his two girls.
“He was always happy with them. They were his world.”
About 9.55pm on Sunday, Mitat Rasimi was fatally shot in an ambush while in a car in Dawn Avenue, Dandenong. The mortally wounded man ploughed his Peugeot into a tree, and was found dead soon afterwards.
Rasimi was once jailed for being part of Tony Mokbel’s crime empire. Links to outlaw motorcycle gangs are believed to be the focus of one police line of inquiry.
Detectives believe that the murders are unrelated.
“At this stage there is no evidence to suggest that the shooting in Meadow Heights is linked to two other separate shooting incidents in Kensington and Dandenong in recent days,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.