By Marta Pascual Juanola and Lachlan Abbott
Within 48 hours of spraying ex-Mongols bikie Suleiman “Sam” Abdulrahim with bullets as he left a funeral in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, the two masked gunmen suspected of carrying out the hit had fled Australia.
Two months after the shooting, police claim they know who the men are and where they are hiding overseas, and say they are working with other agencies to bring them back to face justice in Australia.
Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim in a photo from his Instagram page.Credit: Instagram
Officers from the armed crime squad swooped on several homes across Melbourne on Monday morning and arrested six people believed to have helped the two men carry out the attempted hit on June 25.
One of the men, 18-year-old Yasir Al Qassim, has been charged with attempted murder, possessing a firearm, theft of a motor vehicle, and driving while suspended.
He appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday where his lawyer told the court it was the teenager’s first time in custody and flagged a bail application would be lodged on Friday.
It is not yet clear what role Qassim played in the attempted hit, but he is not suspected of being one of the shooters.
The other five – an 18-year-old Lalor man, 20-year-old Meadow Heights woman, 24-year-old Meadow Heights man, 20-year-old Docklands man, and 19-year-old Greenvale man – have since been released.
Abdulrahim, a kickboxer, was shot in the chest several times when his Mercedes-Benz four-wheel-drive was peppered with bullets as he left the funeral along Box Forest Road. The 30-year-old survived the attack, despite being taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Armed crime squad Detective Inspector Mark Hatt said the six people arrested were believed to have played various roles in the shooting, including co-ordinating the attack and assisting the primary offenders, who fled Australia within 48 hours of the attack.
Hatt would not comment on what country the men had fled to or whether it had an extradition agreement with Australia.
“We know who they are. We know where they are. And we will be bringing them back in due course to face justice,” he said.
The two masked men crashed a Mazda SUV into a fire hydrant as they fled the scene before one of them carjacked a woman and child at gunpoint and took off in her Ford Territory, while the other tried to hide in a fast food restaurant garbage bin on Sydney Road.
Earlier in the day, the men had been spotted driving in a Ford Focus along Barry Road, opposite the Upfield train station. That car has never been found, but police recovered a number of items inside the Mazda, including the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting.
It is unclear whether forensic officers used fingerprints and DNA obtained from the car to identify the alleged offenders.
Abdulrahim had been the target of multiple assaults in the months before his Mercedes-Benz was sprayed with bullets.
Hatt said there were indications the two men had “history” with Abdulrahim, but would not comment on whether they were members of an outlaw motorcycle club or hired as hitmen.
He said the armed crime squad had teamed with the newly created anti-gang unit, the Viper taskforce, to protect the community from any potential retribution attacks. Officers had also been in touch with Abdulrahim about his protection, he said.
“Today’s arrests are as a result of an exhaustive two-month investigation by detectives from the armed crime squad and I will make it clear that this investigation is far from over,” Hatt said.
Officers from the Viper taskforce outside an Epping home where Yasir Al Qassim was arrested on Monday.Credit: Victoria Police
“I know this shooting and subsequent carjacking caused significant community concern, as is often the case when we see incidents of significant violence play out so publicly.”
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