A notorious kickboxer and bikie has been executed in a brazen daylight shooting, after having survived several previous attempts on his life – as his family vows revenge.
Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim was gunned down in a car park outside the Quest Hotel on High Street in the northern Melbourne suburb of Preston about 10am on Tuesday.
The former bikie-turned-boxer has been the target of three murder contracts, a prison bashing, three assaults, a dozen fire bombings and seven shootings.
In one attempted hit he was shot eight times and survived, and in another he escaped a barrage of bullets.
The 34-year-old former Mongol bikie had been living in hiding since two shootings at his former family home in Thomastown last year.
He had once been the partner of former Married at First Sight star Jessika Power. The couple enjoyed a short-lived romance two years before the incident.
Abdulrahim’s sister Ektimal took to social media just hours after his death with a message for his killer.
‘Whoever shot my brother to death, I’m after u mo**er f***er,’ she wrote.
2015: Abdulrahim makes headlines when he becomes involved in a wild brawl in the lobby of the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court
2015: Just four months later he crashes his Ferrari 360 Spider into oncoming traffic, killing great grandmother Muriel Hulett, 88, and injuring 10 others
2016: Abdulrahim continues to commit driving offences while on bail and is eventually be arrested for possessing 138 grams of ice
2016: Suspected of luring Kadir Ors to his death at the hands of feared criminal George Marrogi
2022: Abdulrahim is shot five times outside Fawkner Cemetery in June
2023: A northern suburbs gym linked to the 32-year-old was razed by fire in October
2024: Abdulrahim’s parents’ home is targeted with 17 shots fired at the kickboxer
2024: Suspected victim of other attempts on his life, with many of his businesses set on fire
‘I know it’s u dog. Never ends here.’
Abdulrahim’s many enemies are believed to have included Middle-Eastern organised crime bosses Kazem Hamad and Ahmed Al Hamza.
Friends and family of the feared gangster have converged on a crime scene outside the hotel, where he is believed to have been shot in the underground car park.
Police are managing anywhere up to 40 loved-ones, with some being allowed to enter the car park to see his body.
Abdulrahim’s murder came just days after a news report in The Age warned he had been marked for death by criminal rivals.
Abdulrahim reportedly went into hiding in May 2024 after narrowly escaping an ambush outside his northern suburbs home, where gunmen shot at him 17 times.
His Lalor home, shot up in another drive-by and then later firebombed, had been left abandoned and unlivable.
Abdulrahim’s Instagram account was littered with deliberate false trails.
One photo was supposedly posted from Lebanon with the caption: ‘Feels good to be in motherland.’ At the same time, he was seen drinking in a Melbourne bar.
In September, he appeared to be working as a bodyguard for Russian mixed martial arts star Khabib Nurmagomedov at an event in Kuala Lumpur, according to the newspaper.
It is understood Abdulrahim’s actions along with feared prison boss George Marrogi sealed his doom.
Abdulrahim was linked to the 2016 murder of northern suburbs drug trafficker Kadir Ors by Marrogi outside Campbellfield Plaza.
Allies of Ors believed Abdulrahim had arranged to meet the victim at the shopping centre, where he would be targeted for the brutal shooting carried out by Marrogi.
On Tuesday, Victoria Police’s Homicide Squad converged on the hotel where Abdulrahim was gunned down.
‘Emergency services were called to reports a man had been shot in a car park on High Street in Preston shortly after 10.30am on Tuesday, 28 January,’ a spokesperson said.
‘The man, who is yet to be formally identified, died at the scene. Police have cordoned off the area and a crime scene is in place.
‘At this early stage, police believe the incident was targeted.’
Detectives believe car fire in Reservoir just after 10.30am this morning near the intersection of Northernhay and Alexandra Streets is linked to the crime.
The white Porsche is suspected of being the getaway car used by the assassins.
Friends of the feared gangster were seen gathering behind police tape outside the hotel where he died just after midday.
Police are believed to have played close attention to Abdulrahim’s movements in the days and weeks before he was murdered.
One source told Daily Mail he had been warned by police that he was at risk of murder by The Punisher, arriving at his door to warn him.
Underworld sources say Abdulrahim had no shortage of enemies.
Among the others with a grudge against the notorious underworld figure were reportedly his former bikie club – the Mongols – as well as high-ranking members of the Comancheros and a host of Middle Eastern organised crime figures.
His family members and friends had also become caught in the crossfire from rivals.
Sources told The Age that Abdulrahim’s relatives and associates had become virtual social pariahs as a result of a recent wave of attacks, with many fearing they would put themselves at risk if they associated with them.
Late last year, the relative of a close associate of Abdulrahim was reportedly held at gunpoint in their home and released only in exchange for $150,000, the newspaper reported.
The demand for money was punishment for the associate’s continued support of Abdulrahim. The kidnapping was never reported to police.
Abdulrahim became a household name across the country when he survived a brazen assassination attempt after a funeral.
Gunmen shot him eight times as he left his cousin’s funeral in Fawkner in June 2022.
The alleged hitmen infiltrated the memorial and tracked Abdulrahim’s car as he left the cemetery before driving up alongside his Mercedes and opening fire.
In February last year a Thornbury venue set to hold a boxing match in Abdulrahim’s bid for a world title was burned down.
Then in May, two crews lured him out of his Thomastown home by setting his parents’ cars on fire outside their Brunswick home.
Meanwhile, a second group of shooters laid in wait outside the Thomastown property, firing at him 17 times, but missing the mark.
Just weeks later, gunmen returned to his vacant home and shot into the house again, but this time Abdulrahim was nowhere to be found.
In his last weeks alive, Abdulrahim was said to have become ‘something of a ghost’ as he moved between Melbourne, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
His luck finally ran out.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam/CCTV footage, or any information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersvic.com.au