Killers who posed as police to execute gangster Hawre Sherwani in Caroline Springs had ‘done their homework’

Killers of gangland figure Hawre Sherwani are suspected of deliberately choosing one of the most common vehicles in Victoria Police’s fleet when they posed as police to carry out their hit.

Killers are suspected of deliberately choosing a VW Tiguan for the hit on gangland figure Hawre Sherwani as part of their fake police ruse.

The Tiguan is one of the most common vehicles in the Victoria Police fleet, which would have lent authenticity when they pulled over Sherwani at Caroline Springs on Thursday.

The model the murderers used had been stolen two months ago from Clyde, on the other side of Melbourne.

“They’ve obviously done their homework,” a police source said.

An unmarked Victoria Police 2024 VW Tiguan. Picture: Facebook

The hit team’s Tiguan was found incinerated at Fraser Rise after the ambush on Heysen Park Way.

Their decision to pose as police to murder Sherwani was likely to have been driven by the danger he posed and the fact he knew he was marked for death.

The hit team torched the stolen Tiguan. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

The 33-year-old died on Thursday night after being riddled with bullets from what firearms experts believe was a high-powered European-made semiautomatic pistol.

His background of violent crime, access to guns and proven willingness to use them meant he was a high-risk target for the hit team.

There was the additional issue of his likely wariness after a series of violent incidents and firebombings directed at him in the past two years which meant a traditional ambush, such as via an arranged meeting, may fail.

Sherwani knew there was a target on his back and he had been on his toes about security for some time.

A gunman fired 20 shots at him from an Audi as he walked his rottweiler dog at Fraser Rise in March last year.

Sherwani had been run off the road in another confrontation a year earlier, his home had been firebombed three times and close associate Robert Issa was shot dead at Craigieburn in October, 2023.

Sherwani caught on CCTV after bashing a man at a smash repair business in 2014.

Another potential plus for the fake cops tactic was he was a career criminal likely to have been long accustomed to police attention.

The police source said getting to the former Comanchero would have been a tricky proposition.

“He knew he was being targeted by people who aren’t messing around,” the officer said.

“They had to think a bit more creatively.”

Sherwani was shot dead while he sat in his car. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Victorian criminals have posed as police to carry out murders before, but not for many years.

Rodney Charles Collins and an accomplice dressed in stolen police uniforms and used a fake warrant to get into the West Heidelberg home of Ramon and Dorothy Abbey in 1987.

The couple were then murdered by the remorseless Collins as their children hid in bedrooms.

In 1980, businessman Roger Wilson was pulled over in his Porsche after leaving home in Narre Warren.

He was then murdered by the men he thought were plainclothes officers, notorious hit man Christopher Dale Flannery and career criminal Kevin Williams.

One former gun dealer said it appeared to have been fitted with an extended magazine round. Picture: David Crosling

The gun used on Sherwani, which was left at the scene, will undergo ballistics checks to see if it is linked to any other shootings.

Firearms experts have told the Herald Sun they believe it may be manufactured by firearms company ZEV Technologies.

A model very similar in appearance to the one abandoned at Caroline Springs sells online for almost $3000.

One former gun dealer said it appeared to have been fitted with an extended magazine round.

“Full customisation is at hand with three slide lengths, threaded or non-threaded barrels, and two grip sizes, giving you a total of ten possible configurations to choose from,” an online description of the ZEV says.

It is unclear why the gun was left at the scene.

It’s unclear why the gun was left at the scene. Picture: David Crosling

A possible explanation may lie in the fact that police suspect one of the killers was injured during the ambush.

Police did not say how that happened, but it could have been after being struck by the getaway car or Sherwani’s vehicle as he tried to reverse away from trouble.

There is now a chance it will yield crucial forensic evidence, including fingerprints and DNA.

Both gun attacks on Sherwani in the past year also endangered members of the public.

On Thursday night, one round pierced the wall of a home and clipped the bed of a sleeping child.

In the Fraser Rise drive-by, a 64-year-old woman cooking dinner was narrowly missed by a stray bullet.