A notorious kickboxer with a price on his head has been executed in a brazen daylight shooting.
Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim was gunned down in a car park outside the Quest Hotel in High Street, 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, including narrowly surviving one attempted hit when he was shot eight times, and another where 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.
Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim was reportedly gunned down in a car park outside the Quest Hotel in High Street, Preston, about 10am on Tuesday
Reality star Jessika Power had a brief relationship with Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim (pictured together)
For a time, he had been known as the partner of television reality star Jessika Power.
The couple enjoyed a short-lived romance two years before the incident.
Among Abdulrahim’s enemies are believed to be Middle-Eastern organised crime bosses Kazem Hamad and Ahmed Al Hamza.
His death 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 unliveable.
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.
Abdulrahim outside the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court following a wild brawl
Crime boss George Marrogi killed a man who had been with Abdulrahim. Some say his involvement made him a marked man
George Marrogi makes his getaway after gunning down drug trafficker Kadir Ors outside Campbellfield Plaza
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 antics with feared prison boss George Marrogi sealed his doom.
Abdulrahim was linked to the 2016 murder of northern suburbs drug trafficker Kadir Ors outside Campbellfield Plaza.
Allies of Ors believed Abdulrahim had arranged to meet the victim at the shopping centre so he would be in position for the brutal shooting carried out by Marrogi.
On Tuesday, Victoria Police’s Homicide Squad converged on the building 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.’
Friends of the feared gangster were seen gathering behind police tape at the scene just after midday.
Reality star Jessika Power and ‘The Punisher’ in happier times
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 Australia he had been warned by police that he was at risk of murder by The Punisher himself, scurrying to 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 Abdulrahim’s relatives and associates had become virtual social pariahs as a result of a recent wave of attacks over concerns that their proximity could put other people or their businesses at risk.
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.
Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim was shot dead on Tuesday in Melbourne
Abdulrahim was blasted with bullets outside a Melbourne cemetery
His parents car was destroyed in another attempt on his life
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 while they were parked 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
