Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim arrived back in Melbourne with a $2m bounty on his head
Sam Abdulrahim touched down in Melbourne on Monday with a $2m bounty on his head. By 10am Tuesday, the city’s most-hunted gangland figure lay dead in a hotel car park in a hit described as “pure execution”.
Victoria
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Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim had flown back to Melbourne the day before being murdered in a contract killing at Preston.
Underworld sources say there was a $2m price on the head of Abdulrahim when a hit team struck in a car park beneath the Quest Hotel on Tuesday morning.
The boxer and former Mongol bikie had been under threat for years as an array of powerful, well-resourced gangland enemies closed in.
Multiple men walked up to Abdulrahim and carried out their deadly work in seconds before speeding off down High St in a stolen white Porsche.
“Pure execution,” was how one source described the murder.
There were ominous warnings from Abdulrahim’s family in the aftermath that the matter was not over.
Among those expected to come under scrutiny from police are foreign-based crime lords Kazem Hamad and Ahmed Al Hamza.
They shared a longstanding hatred of Abdulrahim and are suspected of being involved in previous attempts on his life.
Abdulrahim had been marked for death for years and was extremely wary of his personal safety, jetting in and out of Australia and staying in rental apartments when here.
He is believed to have flown in from Asia on Monday.
Friends had told him to stay overseas, as recently as the weekend, but Abdulrahim insisted on returning.
Police will investigate how the hit crew came to know of his whereabouts on Tuesday.
“Someone sold him out,” a source told the Herald Sun.
Big money had been on offer for Abdulrahim’s location in recent months as his enemies sought to eliminate him.
But as the walls closed in, the target was fatalistic.
“It’s all part of god’s plan,” he told one mate.
“He had pretty much accepted the fate that he’d be killed.”
The Porsche was later found incinerated at Reservoir.
Detective Insp. Dean Thomas of the homicide squad said Abdulrahim had been shot several times, including once in the head.
Police performed CPR on Abdulrahim, but he died at the scene.
His girlfriend, who was present, escaped unharmed but was later seen highly distressed and being comforted at the scene.
“She did her best to render first aid,” Insp. Thomas said.
Abdulrahim had been staying at the Quest for one night before the shooting.
Insp. Thomas said he was unsure how the offenders knew of his location on Tuesday morning.
“Who has known, how has that information been shared … will be part of our investigation,” he added.
Abdulrahim had been under threat of death for years with multiple contracts on his life.
Insp. Thomas said police had continued to warn Abdulrahim of the danger he faced each day, and agreed when asked if it was just a matter of time before the former bikie was murdered.
“I think common sense prevails here, perhaps (it was a matter of time),” he added.
“We had nothing, at this stage, to suggest there was a live threat that was imminent. Because if we did, we would have done what we could to share that information with him.
“Also, we need to be conscious that he is aware that his life had been at risk … he was provided with options.
“Each time that Victoria Police has been made aware of any live threats to this particular male, safety messaging has been provided to him with a number of options provided.”
Insp. Thomas said detectives had no evidence to suggest a revenge attack was imminent.
Abdulrahim had been living on the move since two shootings at his former family home in Thomastown last year.
One of those was a near-fatal ambush in which 17 shots were fired at him in a dead-of-night attack after he was lured from the property by a hit team who had set his parents cars alight in another suburb.
Gunmen shot him eight times as he left his cousin’s funeral at Fawkner Cemetery in June, 2022.
They infiltrated the memorial and tracked Abdulrahim’s car as he left the cemetery before driving up alongside his black Mercedes G-wagon and opening fire
In February last year, it was revealed “The Punisher” had multiple contracts on his head after a Thornbury venue set to hold a boxing match in his bid for a world title was set alight.
Abdulrahim had in recent months spent time in Thailand and Malaysia and had abandoned much of his previous social media activity. One of Abdulrahim’s associates who visited the scene of the shooting on Tuesday but did not want to be named said he constantly warned him of the danger.
He said Abdulrahim was not fazed by the many murder attempts and almost accepted the fact he was marked for death.
The associate, who had known “The Punisher” for five` years, spoke of his loving nature and caring attitude toward those he respected.
Abdulrahim’s sister, Ektimal Abdulrahim, took to social media on Tuesday afternoon to send a message to his killers.
“Whoever shot my brother to death, I’m after u mother f---er,” she posted.
“I know it’s u dog. Never ends here.”
In a post on social media, Abdulrahim’s high profile ex, Married At First Sight contestant Jessika Powers, said she was thinking of The Punisher’s family and loved ones.
“I feel physically sick,” she posted. “Please let’s take a moment to think about his family, his wife and child.
“Thank you for all your messages, but this is the worst thing to hear, and I want to be respectful to the people he loved and cared for most.”
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