Fresh theory in dramatic Mongols gang split
Several theories are circulating about what caused the Mongols to part ways with Toby Mitchell and other key players – but was it strictly business?
Police & Courts
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A theory that the Mongols bikie gang split came about for commercial reasons has emerged a year on from the dramatic expulsion of colourful underworld identity Toby Mitchell.
A smear campaign was launched against Mitchell in the weeks after he was removed as Victorian president of the outlaw motorcycle gang in April last year.
Soon after he was cut from the club, word was being actively spread that Mitchell was being ostracised because of a breach of OMCG ethics.
In a shock move, he had been called to a meeting of senior Mongols on April 1 and told he was out.
Some say he knew it was coming. The alternative version was that he was so shocked he thought it was an April Fool’s joke.
But the Herald Sun has been told the alleged ethics breach was almost certainly not the true reason.
There were soon indications the split was about more than Mitchell.
Key men Mark Balsillie and Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim departed within weeks, summoned to a meeting on the Gold Coast.
One school of thought has it that the Mongols were involved in a commercial arrangement with another organised crime group under which changes had to be made for the deal to get the green light.
Balsillie — who was shot in 2017 by Comanchero Hasan Topal — seemed an unlikely man to cut.
He was held in high enough regard to have three years earlier been entrusted with the task of travelling to Russia to patch over Comancheros in that country to the Mongols.
Abdulrahim also appeared to be someone the gang would not want to lose.
The kickboxer had been recruited several years earlier for his valuable connections in the northern suburbs Middle-East organised crime sphere.
Two months later, Abdulrahim was shot while attending his cousin’s funeral at Fawkner Cemetery.
He stated publicly in the aftermath that he did not believe the Mongols were responsible for that ambush, in which he was blasted while sitting in his Mercedes-Benz.
Two young suspects fled to Dubai in the aftermath of the shooting and have not returned.
There was more bad luck for another jettisoned member at about this time.
Echuca-based Jason Addison was a former national Bandidos president who had patched over to the Mongols with almost all of his chapter’s members several years ago.
Addison was a man of considerable influence on the Victoria-New South Wales border, regarded as a key strategic position in the OMCG world.
Several months after the split, he was bashed by three men in a ferocious onslaught at an auto swap meet in central Victoria.
Despite the departures, the Victorian Mongols remain a formidable unit and are a major target of the anti-organised crime Echo task force.
President Nick “The Knife” Forbes and sergeant-at-arms Phil Main have recently carried out a major restructure, closing chapters and centralising the operation.
The Mongols have taken some heavy hits in recent years.
Its operations in the Cobram area were badly damaged in 2021 by a major Echo operation which swept up alleged local sergeant-at-arms Josh Eddy.
Two members, Josh Rider and Aaron Ong, were last year convicted over the 2019 murder of fruiterer Paul Virgona in an ambush on EastLink.
That followed the near-fatal shooting of respected Mongol Rocco Curra at Bulleen three months earlier.
Key Players
Nick ‘The Knife’ Forbes
Gold Coast based Nick ‘the Knife’ Forbes is the current President of the Mongols. Took over the leadership in April, 2022. In October last year he was charged over an alleged assault involving a Hells Angel member almost a decade ago. Forbes was a former Fink. Is known for his ruthless leadership style.
Phil Main
Main is the current national Sergeant-At-Arms of the Mongols. He is Melbourne-based and recently closed several Victorian chapters of the OMCG in a bold move aiming to improve unity and cohesion among club members.
Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim
Abdulrahim is a former Mongol. He was shot in a brazen drive-by shooting in Fawkner in June last year. The Melbourne-based boxing fighter is a current free agent. He is making a return to the boxing ring on May 6 in a highly anticipated fight which will see police, associates and members of the Middle Eastern Organised Crime community attend.
Jason Addison
The former bikie strongman was a Bandidos boss before defecting to the Mongols several years ago. In 2022, the 57-year-old was allegedly assaulted by three men in central Victoria. In 2017 he was found not guilty in a Queensland court over an extortion charge.
Mark Balsillie
Melbourne-based Mark Balsillie belonged to the Comancheros before defecting to the Mongols. He survived an assassination attempt on his life in 2017, where he was shot eight times in Melbourne. Balsillie was sent to Russia pre-pandemic to patch over ex-Comancheros to his new gang.
Toby Mitchell
Arguably Melbourne’s most prominent bikie. Was gunned down outside of Doherty’s Gym when he was the sergeant-at-arms of the Bandidos gang in 2011. Became a prominent member of the Mongols between 2019 and 2022. The now 48-year-old is currently not a member of any OMCG.
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