Ex-Comanchero boss Tarek Zahed’s bid to be released early

A former Comanchero boss has learnt the outcome of his bid to be released from prison early after hindering the discovery of evidence in a murder case.

Former bikie kingpin Tarek Zahed will remain in jail until at least the end of this year after he failed in a bid to have time shaved off his sentence for his role in the botched attempted destruction of evidence in the gangland killing of Youssef Assoum.

Zahed was earlier this year jailed for a maximum of three years and six months in prison after being sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court and was told he would be eligible for release on parole in December after serving two years and four months.

However, he last month took his fight to the Court of Criminal Appeal in an effort to have time taken off his sentence and be released early.

On Wednesday, the three-judge panel, consisting of Justices Desmond Fagan, Natalie Adams and Tim Faulkner, dismissed his appeal.

Tarek Zahed will remain behind bars. Picture: NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Zahed, the former Comanchero national sergeant-at-arms, was dramatically arrested by heavily armed police at Edgecliff in Sydney’s eastern suburbs when officers shot out the windows of his car with bean bag rounds in August 2022.

Zahed, once dubbed the “Balenciaga bikie” due to his penchant for designer clothes, was charged with murder and kidnapping, with police at the time alleging he was responsible for the 2014 murder of Mr Assoum, 29.

But in a dramatic twist, the murder and kidnapping charges were dropped, as he and his brother Abdul struck a plea deal.

Tarek pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of hindering the discovery of evidence after he admitted to cleaning the car in which Assoum was killed and directing it to be destroyed at a wrecking yard.

Abdul pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder and was subsequently jailed for a maximum of three years and nine months.

The court was told that in December 2014, Mr Assoum was violently assaulted inside his Volkswagen Touareg, including being shot in his leg.

Mr Assoum was discovered on a street near Bankstown Hospital suffering stab wounds to his head and a gunshot wound to his thigh. He later died in hospital due to massive blood loss.

Zahed was arrested in dramatic circumstances in August 2022. Picture: NSW Police

He has been in custody since his arrest. Picture: NSW Police

The court was told that Zahed in the following days asked another man to destroy the Touareg.

At the time, Zahed knew that Mr Assoum had been killed and suspected his brother Abdul was involved, the court was previously told.

He was motivated to protect his brother and acted out of a “misguided sense of loyalty”, his lawyers previously told the court during sentencing proceedings.

Zahed told a man to remove blood from the seat, floor and dashboard and together they wiped down the car.

Zahed then told the man to dispose of the car through a wrecking yard. However, this did not occur.

The other man then paid a friend to get rid of the car by blowing it up.

It was driven to Georges Hall in southwestern Sydney and set alight, but the blaze was extinguished by firefighters.

Zahed’s fingerprints were found on the vehicle along with a bullet that had traces of blood that were DNA-matched to Mr Assoum.

Zahed’s lawyers last month argued before the Court of Appeal that his sentence was excessive when compared with his co-offenders, including his brother.

Abdul was jailed after he was found to have repeatedly lied to police and hospital staff about his knowledge of Mr Assoum’s death.

The Court of Appeal found that the judge who sentenced both Tarek and Abdul did not fall into error.

“Taking everything into account the applicant could not have a justifiable sense of grievance as a result of receiving a sentence only slightly shorter than that imposed upon Abdul,” the court said in its judgment.

Youssef Assoum died in the attack in December 2014. Picture Instagram

Zahed (with sunglasses) was formerly a Comanchero national sergeant-at-arms. Picture: Supplied/Instagram

Zahed’s arrest came only months after he sensationally survived an assassination attempt that killed his other brother Omar.

In May 2022, Zahed was shot 10 times outside an Auburn gym in western Sydney.

Omar, 39, died after he was shot several times in the arms, stomach and legs, while Zahed was taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition.

He survived the attack but suffered significant injuries, including losing an eye.

The court was previously told Zahed had only had limited vision in his remaining eye due to cataracts and could not read or watch television.

Zahed had been kept in solitary confinement since his arrest and earlier this year the court was told the only thing he had to occupy his time was a CD player.

His legal team previously told the court that upon his release Zahed intended to move to Victoria.

He will be eligible for release on December 27 this year.