Police on alert for violence against family of Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim after failed hit job
With an unspoken boundary crossed in the failed assassination attempt on Sam Abdulrahim, police now fear another of his family members may be targeted.
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Police are gearing up for potential violence against the family of one of Melbourne’s biggest underworld identities after he survived another botched execution.
After the second reported attempted hit on Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim’s life this year, officers are on alert for further attacks against Abdulrahim’s camp ahead of a boxing match featuring his nephew, Khoder Abdulrahim.
Gunmen opened fire on the ex-Mongols bikie and boxer last Friday after luring him outside his Thomastown home by torching cars belonging to his parents in the early hours.
Following in his uncle’s footsteps in becoming a professional boxer, young gun Khoder has been sharing regular updates of his intensive training in the lead-up to the July 27 bout at the QRoom in Thomastown.
He is understood to be close with 32-year-old Abdulrahim, who earlier this year took out a major boxing title in Thailand.
The Herald Sun is not suggesting Khoder is involved in any criminal activity.
Abdulrahim is not involved in his nephew’s upcoming fight or its promotions.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said officers would respond to any violent incidents if they unfolded at the venue next month.
“Police are aware of a forthcoming sporting event to be held at a venue on Settlement Road, Thomastown on 27 July,” she said.
“Officers will respond swiftly to any breaches of the peace or anti-social behaviour to ensure public safety.”
The former bikie fought at the same Thomastown venue last year, taking out the WBC Australasian Title less than 12 months after being shot eight times as he sat inside his car outside his cousin’s funeral in Fawkner.
That match attracted a swath of high-profile crime figures, including fellow former Mongol Toby Mitchell and Finks national president Mark Balsillie.
Up to 100 uniformed and plainclothes police officers and officers from the Viper task force, which investigates organised crime patrolled the area surrounding the venue.
Abdulrahim fought overseas in February this year after a Thornbury reception venue originally slated to hold the match went up in flames in a tobacco war attack.
Since that victory, he has emerged as one of the key figures behind the revival of the once-defunct Sydney gang Brothers for Life with plans to expand its reach in Melbourne and Adelaide.
Assailants tried to gun down Abdulrahim less than three weeks after the Herald Sun revealed plans for the gang’s resurgence.
The botched hit sparked fears of retribution, as underworld sources said major unspoken boundaries had been crossed by using Abdulrahim’s parents as bait to coax him out of his home.
He has remained one of the most well-known figures in Melbourne’s underworld, with several venues linked to him going up in flames since Victoria’s tobacco wars broke out in March last year.
The gunmen involved in last week’s shootout remain on the run.
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