Speed camera near where Sam Abdulrahim’s killers torched ute crucial clues in execution

A mobile speed camera located just metres from where a crew of gunmen torched a ute after executing Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim will play a key part in the investigation.

A mobile speed camera just metres from where a crew of offenders torched a ute after killing Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim may provide crucial clues as to who was driving the vehicle.

Detectives on Wednesday revealed they had discovered a burnt-out Ford Ranger ute near Melbourne Airport about 90 minutes after the underworld figure was murdered at Preston.

They are investigating whether it was the vehicle used to transport a group of up to four offenders from Reservoir, where a white Porsche was torched minutes after the execution.

The Ford Ranger was left a charred mess at a deserted area of Western Ave in Westmeadows on Wednesday.

A burnt-out Ford Ranger found on Western Avenue in Westmeadows. Picture: Regan Hodge

Inside the torched Ford Ranger. Picture: Regan Hodge

The Ranger had a canopy and a distinctive sticker of bull horns on the rear window before it was razed by fire.

“Now, we’re working on the belief that it is involved, given the timing and location,” ­Detective Inspector Dean Thomas of the homicide squad said.

But it has emerged that a mobile speed camera had been parked about 300m from where the Ford was set alight on Tuesday.

The driver of the Ranger ute, if caught speeding on the camera, will have his face and number plate snapped in what would be a big mistake in the getaway mission.

Detectives are working on the belief the Ranger is linked to the murder. Picture: Regan Hodge

The Ranger was left a charred mess. Picture: Regan Hodge

The camera was parked outside the Toll depot and faced traffic coming from Mickleham Rd.

It is likely the driver would have been eager to escape the Reservoir scene as quickly as possible.

“There was a big camera facing all the traffic coming down. If it has facial recognition, the party is over,” one Westmeadows local said.

Locals in Reservoir say the Ford was mysteriously left parked in the street the night before the murder, which was likely later used to transport the offenders who torched the Porsche. It was a carefully executed plan.

The Ranger was set alight at the quiet end of Western Ave, away from an array of security cameras nearby. The burnt-out ute sat surrounded by two large paddocks, away from much of the public’s eye.

Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim was shot dead on Tuesday. Picture: Instagram

A speed camera may provide crucial clues as to who was involved in his killing. Picture: Jason Edwards

A dirt track winding past the nearby waste management ­facility also leads to the Tullamarine Freeway.

That track ends just metres from the terminals at Melbourne Airport.

It also emerged that the murder crew may have done an all-night car park stake-out to get their man.

The Herald Sun has been told one theory is that the group had gone into the underground carpark of the Quest Hotel in Preston on Monday night.

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas confirmed the use of the mobile speed camera was one line of inquiry.

“We don’t know whether it will help or not, that’s part of our investigation,” he said.

“I won’t go into whether that has been of assistance, but certainly that is part of what we’ll be looking at.”

Adbulrahim, who had been constantly on the move for months because of a $2m bounty on his head, emerged at 10am with a girlfriend.

The shooters pounced as they walked to his white AMG GLC63.

“When he came down, they shot him,” a gangland source said.

The former Mongols bikie had arrived back in Australia from overseas on Monday.

He had regularly flown in and out of the country amid the escalating risk posed by a range of dangerous enemies, among them powerful foreign-based crime bosses Kazem Hamad and Ahmed Al Hamza.

Abdulrahim and Hamad had been at war over market share in Victoria’s lucrative illicit ­tobacco sector.

That friction was compounded by Hamad blaming Abdulrahim for the 2016 ambush death of his mate, Kadir Ors, at the Campbellfield Plaza shopping centre.

Police and underworld sources believe it is unlikely an underworld war will explode in retaliation for the events at Preston.

They say that, if anything, it may take some of the fizz out of what has been a volatile situation for the best part of two years because it was hard to imagine anyone wanting to take on Hamad.

“This will ease the trouble in Melbourne for sure,” one underworld source said.

“I think this will stop. Sam was the problem.”

Abdulrahim will be farewelled at a funeral at the Epping Mosque from 10am on Thursday.

“Taken too soon, Sam was a man full of life, He was loved by all and his smile would always light up the room. He will be dearly missed but never forgotten,” the funeral notice read.

“A loving father, son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin, partner and friend. He will be dearly missed, but never forgotten.”

Inspector Thomas said he hoped Abdulrahim’s distressed family and friends would work with police to help track down his killers.

“They’ve gone through a traumatic incident yesterday,” he said.

“We will continue to speak to them as we move forward. We’ve got to give them that space so that they can grieve and do what they have to do as a family.

“But we certainly will be continuing to speak with them as we move forward.”

Originally published as Speed camera near where Sam Abdulrahim’s killers torched ute crucial clues in execution