Inside the Melbourne contract hit that didn’t quite happen

It was the Melbourne contract hit that didn’t quite happen, though whoever wanted it done had the right man for the job.

It was the Melbourne contract hit that didn’t quite happen, though whoever wanted it done had the right man for the job.

The hired gun was an experienced, intelligent criminal who would later admit in court he had shot, stabbed and bashed people in the line of his outlaw work.

After agreeing to an undisclosed fee for the murder, he got down to business.

The shooter surreptitiously installed a tracking device in the intended victim’s car so he knew his every movement.

The electronic surveillance soon showed a big negative; that the target rarely left the city.

This meant a clean getaway after the deed would be made more difficult by a high number of cameras.

Another issue later emerged when the tracker indicated the car’s owner had been at a police station for several hours one day.

This led the gunman to believe his quarry may be a police informer, persuading him to abort the mission.

Crime figure Hawre Sherwani knocking on the door of a Caroline Springs property. Picture: 7News

There has been no shortage of contract murder work in Melbourne in recent years as the city is gripped by warfare over the illicit tobacco trade and various other disputes related to the drug trade and, in some cases, deep-seated personal hatred.

Those who nominate the targets are frequently based overseas and have no hands-on role in the planning or execution of the crime.

Most of the shootings don’t involve high-tech means like tracking gear but rely on traditional angles like trickery, betrayal, surveillance or inside information on a target’s movements.

Earlier this month, a well-planned and fatally effective ruse was used to murder crime figure Hawre Sherwani in Melbourne’s west.

Sherwani collapsed at the front door of a property. Picture: 7News.

Sherwani was mindful of his personal security after more than 20 shots were fired at him as he walked his dog at Fraser Rise in March last year.

But someone knew he would be in Caroline Springs and followed him in a Volkswagen Tiguan.

Sherwani, probably accustomed to being pulled over by police after a lifetime of criminal activity, stopped his car when the lights and sirens were activated on Heysen Park Way.

Moments later, he was riddled with bullets from a high-powered pistol and died in hospital.

Trickery was also used in May last year in the attempted hit on organised crime figure and tobacco wars combatant Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim.

Two crews were involved in that attack, the first torching a car in the inner-northern suburbs which belonged to Abdulrahim’s parents.

Knowing he would respond quickly, others were waiting outside his Thomastown house and, when he raced out, they were ready.

Gunmen fired 17 shots at Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim survived a shooting ambush. Picture: Jason Edwards

Gunmen fired 17 shots at Abdulrahim but all missed and he was able to get to his vehicle and chase the shooters.

Deception is also suspected of putting a victim in position for a non-fatal ambush in Melbourne’s north last October.

A figure with strong links to Melbourne’s underworld is understood to have been lured to Fawkner, possibly in the belief he would be meeting associates.

The 48-year-old from Lalor was shot in the leg and found on a bloodstained footpath in Denys St.

Investigators will be keen to establish why cagey Craigieburn crim Mahmoud Karam was in Campbellfield on the night of December 20.

It was there that he was taken by surprise and fatally wounded.

60-year-old Mahmoud Karam was shot and killed in a targeted ambush in Campbellfield. Picture: Supplied

Other times, inside information can be a key element of the underworld shooting game.

Someone dangerous had word Douglas Mikhaeel, a former member of crime boss George Marrogi’s Notorious Crime Family, was attending a birthday party out west on January 20, 2023.

He left the gathering at about 9pm with his partner and her two children.

As he stopped at a level crossing on Mount Derrimut Rd in Deer Park, a group of masked men pounced and shot Mikhaeel multiple times.

He was able to drive himself to Sunshine Hospital and survived.

Mohammed Keshtiar, an organised crime figure known as “Afghan Ali”, was cautious about his security after previous attempts to kill him over some years.

But someone knew enough to be in position on Almeida St, South Yarra, as he walked home to his Capitol Grand apartment after a gym session in August, 2023.

The killers took their chance when it came, not concerned about the presence of horrified witnesses in the street.

Mohammed "Afghan Ali" Keshtiar was gunned down in South Yarra.

The next month, someone was well-briefed enough about what Gavin Preston was up to find him at the Sweet Lulu Cafe in Keilor.

As he sat eating breakfast with associate AJ Maghnie, a car suddenly pulled up before two men jumped out and shot Preston dead.

Weeks after Preston died, someone was aware underworld figure Robert Issa was in the car park at Craigieburn Central shopping centre.

As the 27-year-old sat in a white Mercedes-Benz with a friend, he was sprayed with bullets and died at the scene.

Again, the killers took their chance where it came, not fazed by carrying out the brutal crime in front of members of the public.

At least three vehicles were used at various stages of the killers’ getaway, each being torched in various locations across Melbourne’s north.

Surveillance was a major factor in two mobile ambushes last year.

27-year-old Robert Issa was shot and killed at Craigieburn Central shopping centre last year. Picture: Supplied

In May, an organised crime figure who had been tailed through Melbourne suburbs was the victim of an attempted hit on a freeway on-ramp.

He wound up in a critical condition after shooters who had tracked him from the western suburbs to Jacana made their move when vehicles were stopped by traffic lights at the M80 Ring Rd.

The bleeding 51-year-old victim drove himself to hospital in Parkville and survived.

Police believe what happened was another high-level crime of violence linked to conflict over Melbourne’s lucrative black market tobacco trade.

Three months later in Hadfield, a shooter knew enough about a target’s movements to wait by a roadside then tail him.

CCTV later showed the stalker’s black vehicle pull out and follow as the would-be victim drove along Grevillia Rd, before his car was blasted.

There are occasions when sheer opportunism is instrumental for the hit teams.

In a 2022 murder attempt on Abdulrahim, gunmen sat in wait as he drove away from his cousin’s funeral at Fawkner cemetery.

Knowing he would be there to honour his cousin, Naz, the hit team planted themselves at the ceremony and watched Abdulrahim’s black Mercedes G-Class 4WD.

As it pulled away from the cemetery, they made their move and pulled up alongside.

Abdulrahim was shot eight times but was able to get away and survived the near-fatal onslaught.