Sunday in Sydney, heavily armed cops fired rubber bullets into the automobile of Comanchero bikie Tarek Zahed before removing him from the vehicle.
Officers in in tactical gear attacked a major route in Edgecliff, Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and arrested the national sergeant-at-arms of an illegal motorcycle organisation.
42-year-old Zahed was arrested for his alleged participation in a 2014 gangland murder, only three months after he was shot ten times in a gangland hit that killed his brother.
Several huge holes were seen in the partly broken rear windows of his black BMW after being struck by rubber bullets.
A spokesperson for the NSW Police said that Zahed was brought to the Surry Hills police station following his arrest.
It is believed that his arrest is connected to the death of Youssef Assoum, who was discovered bleeding to death 50 metres from a hospital in southwestern Sydney.
A doctor off-duty found Assoum, 29, with a gunshot wound to the right leg and several knife wounds to the skull.
The doctor attempted to rescue Assoum, but he succumbed to his injuries upon arrival at the hospital.
A spokeswoman for the NSW Police confirmed that a 42-year-old male was detained in Edgecliff shortly before 5 p.m. on Sunday.
‘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 (on Sunday),’ the spokesman said.
‘He’s been taken to Surry Hills Police Station.’
Zahed was shot alongside his brother Omar at a gym in western Sydney in May and miraculously survived.
Comanchero national president Allan Meehan last Sunday posted a photo alongside the underworld figure and two other associates, all decked out in designer clothes and jewellery at a Melbourne restaurant.
‘Welcome back Tarek ‘hard2kill’ Zahed,’ Meehan captioned the photo shared on Instagram.
In May, masked gunmen attacked the Bodyfit Gym in Auburn, Sydney, and fired more than 20 shots inside.
Zahed, also known as the ‘Balenciaga Bikie,’ was transported to the hospital in severe condition and operated on for gunshot wounds to the head and torso, including one that punctured his eyeball. 39-year-old Omar died at the scene.
After a protracted debate as to whether he would require limb amputations, the doctors were astounded by his quick recovery, which resulted in his departure from the hospital less than two months later.
Even though he had been shot 10 times, there were no apparent scars on the face of the thug in the photograph.
According to a source, he has lost all vision in his right eye, making him essentially blind since his eyesight in his left eye was already impaired.
‘He had an incident years ago that means vision in his left eye is only 20 to 30 per cent,’ the source said.
‘So with him likely being blind in his right eye now, he will be almost completely unable to see.’
Since leaving hospital in July, it’s believed Zahed had been laying low in Melbourne.
Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said at the time police were investigating possible motives for the assassination attempt, refusing to rule out an inside job.
‘We can’t discount an internal conflict,’ he told reporters.
‘There is opportunities for people to take their place and there’s a real power struggle within organised crime organisations.’