Deadline: Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim proves he’s ultimate underworld survivor

Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim is playing the ultimate game of survivor in Melbourne’s underworld, winning boxing bouts and dodging assassination attempts.

Mark Buttler and Andrew Rule with the latest crime buzz.

Survivor Thomastown

Say what you like about bullet magnet Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim – and plenty do – but he is one of Melbourne’s great underworld survivors.

Abdulrahim’s near-miss last Friday morning as gunmen opened fire on him at Thomastown was testimony to his enduring good luck and, possibly, the poor marksmanship of the hit-team.

There are those in law enforcement and on the other side of the divide who believe it is a matter of time until Abdulrahim’s blessings are exhausted.

In recent years, police have foiled at least one attempt to eliminate him as the plot neared completion and have warned the boxer numerous times that his many enemies want him brown bread.

The Thomastown attack came less than two years after would-be killers almost finished off Abdulrahim in a funeral ambush.

Police investigate the shooting at Abdulrahim’s Thomastown house. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

A bullet casing out the road outside the Punisher’s home. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

In June, 2022, he narrowly survived being shot multiple times as he attended his cousin’s farewell at Fawkner Cemetery.

One observer remarked the shooters who have repeatedly tried to kill Abdulrahim had similarities with the Richmond midfielders, generating forward entries then squandering their opportunities.

“They certainly turned the ball over at Thomastown. He ended up chasing the shooters down the street ... defence turned into attack,” he said.

In between assassination attempts The Punisher has managed to defend the WBC Australasian cruiserweight title, where he knocked out Panya Chomphoophuang in fight in Bangkok — with the bout shifted to Thailand when the Melbourne venue set to host the venue torched.

Four businesses across Melbourne connected to Abdulrahim have also gone up in flames in attacks police believed were linked to the war over Victoria’s illicit tobacco trade.

Perhaps Abdulrahim is banking on the kind of against-the-odds longevity of his former Mongols bikie clubmates Toby Mitchell and Mark Balsillie.

Mitchell lived to tell the tale after being shot twice in the space of two years more than a decade ago.

Balsillie was wounded multiple times in a 2017 shooting which police suspect was the handiwork of former Comanchero triggerman Hasan Topal.

Sam Abdulrahim has survived his second assassination attempt within two years.

Other survivors have found their luck can only take them so far.

Gangland triggerman Nabil Maghnie avoided death twice, in 2011 and 2016, when injured in shootings.

It was third time unlucky when a gunman who still remains at large finished him off at Epping in January, 2020.

Maghnie’s old running mate Gavin Preston pulled through after being the victim of a vicious stabbing gang attack inside Barwon Prison in 2014.

He also managed to dodge death as he was stalked with murderous intent by dangerous armed robber Chris Binse some years earlier.

Fate finally caught up with Preston in September last year when he was shot dead in an underworld killing at a Keilor cafe.

Burger man puts heat on Deadline

Regular readers will recall our item last week about burger boss and activist Hash Tayeh challenging media figure Avi Yemini to a boxing match.

Tayeh hit Instagram to make that invitation, so it was with some shock that we noticed he later used the same medium to turn on the authors of this column.

He accused the veteran (we think he meant respected) journalists responsible of ignoring his offer to debate Yemini and making him look like a thug.

Hasy Tayeh’s social media invitation to Avi Yemini for a ... debate. Just ignore the boxing gloves.

Silly old Deadline must have missed the bit about a conversation.

Maybe we got the wrong impression because Hash had dressed up the post with a set of boxing gloves.

Why, he even suggested a venue where the stoush could go down, all in the name of raising money for charity, on a “date TBD”.

So, if Hash wanted us to think it was really about a debate, maybe he should have decorated the invitation with a couple of lecterns and some book shelves.

For his part, Yemini said he found it interesting that a peace activist would immediately resort to conflict to resolve differences of opinion.

“Straight to violence,” he said.

Lifters and leaners

He’s connected to a senior bikie but some CCTV from a pub brawl shows he might not quite be the tough-guy he’d like the world to think.

This bloke – who has a long history of violent offending – seemed more happy to let others on his team do the heavy lifting as things unfolded in the lounge.

The footage shows him appearing to take a back seat behind mates until he was sure the rival combatants were well and truly restrained.

Our hero then launches an appalling cheap shot on one fellow trying to fend off two others.

The coup de grace comes after security arrives to break things up.

The chap concerned sneaks around the back of the fracas and boots a victim in the head as he tries to get to his feet.

He-Man then scurries from the bar.

Thankfully, he was rounded up quickly and is set for a well-deserved stint in the big house where his tactics won’t be readily accepted.

Bandits who hit the skids

Police are hunting an armed robber accused of using his underwear as a disguise

The suspect pulled his jocks over his head in a bungled heist at a Port Melbourne pub, which was marred by a nasty fall when he tripped over a cape he was wearing.

That effort at concealment is so idiotic that it would be reasonable to surmise that no one else has ever employed it previously.

Wrong!

Deadline’s long memory dragged out an attempt back in 2017 when a bloke stole the till from the Sydney cafe with Reg Grundys over his head.

Further investigations online revealed numerous other cases worldwide in which criminals had carried out their dirty work using this unorthodox method.