Narre Warren man charged with murder of Mohammed ‘Afghan Ali’ Keshtiar

Police have charged a man over the alleged murder of powerful gangland figure Mohammed “Afghan Ali” Keshtiar, who was gunned down in South Yarra two years ago.

A man has been arrested over the alleged murder of powerful gangland figure Mohammed “Afghan Ali” Keshtiar.

Officers from the special operations group arrested 23-year-old Narre Warren man Adris Kheyali on Friday morning in Dandenong.

He was charged with one count of murder, one count of conduct endangering life and appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday night.

He was remanded in custody.

Footage showed the suspect, in khaki pants and a light pullover, being led to a police vehicle by two homicide squad detectives after his arrest.

A man is arrested by homicide squad detectives over the murder of Mohammed Keshtiar.

Keshtiar was allegedly murdered in South Yarra on August 4, 2023.

He and a male associate were walking along Almeida Crescent when a vehicle sped towards them.

Police said it slowed and shots were fired, hitting Keshtiar several times, before someone from on board got out and put more rounds into him.

The other man fled to safety.

Witnesses tried to save Keshtiar with first aid but he died later in hospital.

A stolen Prado linked to the killing was found torched on Churchill Park Drive in Endeavour Hills the next day about 4.40am.

The homicide squad announced a $1m reward for the killing in September last year

Keshtiar was regarded as a highly influential Middle-Eastern organised crime player and was enmeshed in the battle for control of Melbourne’s illicit tobacco trade.

He had previously been linked to the Mongols bikie gang and had escaped a previous attempt on his life.

Keshtiar had ‘significant connections’ to a number of organised crime groups.

That was in 2017 when a contract killer suspected of having Keshtiar in his sights opened fire at Narre Warren and killed the wrong target, Zabi Ezedyar.

Crime command assistant commissioner Martin O’Brien said the arrest was “incredibly significant” in the fight against organised crime.

“This was an incident that involved a confronting level of public violence which could have easily impacted innocent members of the public,” he said.

“For that reason alone, this investigation has remained the highest priority for Victoria Police over the past 20 months.

“It’s never been any secret that Keshtiar had significant connections to a number of organised crime groups, which certainly added complexity to the investigation.

“Today’s arrest is as a direct result of an incredible amount of work over the past couple of years by investigators from Crime Command, particularly the Homicide Squad. They have also been supported in this investigation by a range of specialist units.

“Every piece of information, every investigative lead has been tirelessly worked through in the hope it would provide the breakthrough detectives needed.

“Most importantly, today’s arrest is about holding those involved in organised crime groups at all levels to account and ensuring that the harm they wreak on the community does not go unchecked in any way.”

Kheyali will reappear in court in August.