Comanchero national sergeant-at-arms bikie Tarek Zahed charged over 2014 murder

Comanchero bikie boss Tarek Zahed has been charged with murder and kidnapping after he was arrested at gunpoint in the middle of a busy Sydney road.

National sergeant-at-arms of the Comancheros Tarek Zahed was picked up by tactical police in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Sunday afternoon. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

Comanchero bikie boss Tarek Zahed has been charged with murder and kidnapping after he was arrested at gunpoint in the middle of a busy Sydney road over his alleged involvement in a 2014 gangland murder.

The national sergeant-at-arms of the Comancheros was picked up by tactical police in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Sunday afternoon, months after he had survived an attempt on his life that left his brother Omar dead.

The 42-year-old was arrested on New South Head Road and taken to the inner-city Surry Hills police station, where he was charged with murder and kidnap in company with the intention of committing a serious indictable offence occasioning ­actual bodily harm.

He was refused bail and will face a magistrate at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday.

It is understood the arrest is in relation to the death of Youssef Assoum, who died after he was found shot and stabbed near a Sydney hospital in 2014.

Police arrest Comanchero bikie Tarek Zahed in Edgecliff, eastern Sydney, on Sunday afternoon. Source: Twitter.

“As part of an ongoing investigation, a 42-year-old man was arrested by Tactical Operations Unit officers during a vehicle stop on New South Head Road at Edgecliff about 4.50pm today (Sunday),” police said in a statement.

Assoum, found by a doctor in December 2014 just 50m from Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in Sydney’s west, was shot in the leg and stabbed in the head.

On Sunday, there were reports of gunshots – understood to be bean bag pellets – and a large number of tactical police converged towards a black BMW hatchback in the middle of the road. The vehicle, with damaged glass on the back passenger-side door and rear windscreen, was then descended on by heavily armed officers.

Photographs show four TOU 4WD vehicles involved in the take-down outside Edgecliff train station. Police can be seen surrounding a man, understood to be Tarek Zahed, on the ground on the footpath.

The arrest comes just months after an attempt on his life at a gym in western Sydney in May.

Omar Zahed, 39, went into cardiac arrest in the lobby of the gym after being shot in the arms, stomach and legs.

The body of Omar Zahed lies outside a gym in May.

He died at the scene but Tarek survived despite sustaining multiple shots to his body and head.

It has been reported he had a bullet wound to his eye, leaving him partially blind.

Last week, the first public image of Tarek since the shooting emerged online, posing with three friends in designer attire in Melbourne. In the image, uploaded to Instagram by Comanchero national president Allan Meehan, he could be seen wearing large dark glasses, covering any potential eye injury. Following the attempted hit, police recovered a badly burnt handgun at the scene of a burnt-out luxury Audi Q7.

One gym-goer who witnessed the shooting said he believed more than 20 bullets were fired in the space of 20 to 30 seconds.

Zahed had been scheduled to face Burwood Local Court on Tuesday after being charged with three driving offences.

Just weeks before the attempted hit on his life, Zahed was warned by police to change his habits after a $1m bounty was put on his head. “They were informed … their lives were at risk, as they have been warned on countless other occasions,” State Crime Commander and Assistant NSW Police Commissioner ­Michael Fitzgerald said after the shooting.