Inside the audacious daylight raid where police dragged a top bikie out of his car into a major Sydney street – while a ‘hard to kill’ Comanchero enforcer is charged with a historic murder after surviving a gangland attack.
Comanchero Tarek Zahed was detained in connection with a 2014 gangland murder.
In 2014, he was charged with the murder and kidnapping of Youssef Assoum.
In May, Zahed was shot ten times outside a gym in Sydney. Brother Omar died
The arrest occurs a week after his first public appearance following the shooting.
Tarek Zahed, a Comanchero gang enforcer who just evaded an assassination attempt at an Auburn gym, is depicted here.
Comanchero bikie Tarek Zahed was caught by heavily armed police in a daring daylight sting in Sydney on Sunday and charged with a 2014 gangland murder.
At 5 p.m., officers in tactical gear assaulted a major thoroughfare in the Edgecliff neighborhood in Sydney’s east.
The elite officers fired rubber bullets through the window of the black BMW that was transporting the national sergeant-at-arms of the criminal motorcycle organization.
On New South Head Road, he was taken from his vehicle and placed in handcuffs for his claimed involvement in the murder of Youssef Assoum.
On Monday, Zahed will appear in Downing Centre Local Court, where he has been accused with murder and kidnapping.
The arrest occurred just three months after Omar, Zahed’s younger brother, was fatally shot ten times during a hit.
Photos depict multiple huge holes in the luxury vehicle’s partially broken rear glass.
Later, NSW Police revealed the eight-year operation that led to Zahed’s dramatic arrest on Sunday, with a detective warning alleged offenders that they will ‘put an end to your opulent lifestyle when you least expect it.’
Several massive holes can be seen in the partially smashed back windows of Zahed’s black BMW, which was struck by rubber bullets.
Zahed has been charged with murder and kidnapping and will appear on Monday in Downing Centre Local Court.
Comanchero leader Tarek Zahed (left) was seen in public for the first time since he was shot ten times in the latest escalation of Sydney’s gangland war last week.
It occurred just days after he was spotted dining in fancy attire with pals, with bikie friends boasting on social media that Zahed was “difficult to kill.”
It was the first time he had been seen in public since surviving an assassination attempt at a gym in Auburn, in the city’s west, a week ago.
In December 2014, the police first learned of Assoum’s grisly demise.
In Sydney’s west, an off-duty physician discovered the 29-year-old with a gunshot wound to his right thigh and multiple stab wounds to the skull.
The doctor attempted to save Assoum prior to the arrival of paramedics, who took him in a serious condition to Liverpool Hospital, where he eventually died.
Since then, detectives from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad, operating as Strike Force Fairmount, have probed Assoum’s murder in depth.
This operation concluded with a daring tactical raid on Sunday that captured Zahed.
Danny Doherty, Detective Superintendent, stated that Zahed is one of a number of Taskforce Erebus suspects allegedly related to severe criminality.
The arrest was made just three months after Zahed’s younger brother was fatally shot ten times in a hit-and-run.
Officers in tactical gear attacked a busy road in Edgecliff, east of Sydney, and shot rubber bullets into a BMW’s window.
Officers checking Zahed’s BMW after his capture in Sunday’s daring operation.
Det. Supt. Doherty stated, “We will allege that this person is responsible for the 2014 murder of Mr. Assoum and that his prominent position in the Comanchero OMCG links him to a number of other police-related crimes.”
In accordance with Taskforce Erebus’ terms of reference, a large number of investigators and analysts are studying a variety of individuals and crimes, as well as any possible ties to ongoing criminal conflicts.
This man’s arrest should serve as a stark warning to others (supposedly) involved; the authorities are keeping a close eye on you and will destroy your opulent lifestyle without warning.
Zahed was arrested after he and his brother Omar were shot in a Sydney gym in May and amazingly survived.
A masked gunman opened fire inside the Bodyfit Gym in Auburn, Sydney, with more than 20 rounds.
Zahed, also known as the ‘Balenciaga Bikie,’ was rushed to the hospital in severe condition and operated on for bullet wounds to the head and torso, including one that punctured his eyeball. 39-year-old Omar died at the scene.
Sunday, the national president of the Comanchero gang, Allan Meehan, uploaded a photo with the underworld figure and two other associates, all wearing fancy clothing and jewelry, in a Melbourne restaurant.
A NSW Police spokeswoman reported that Tactical Operations Unit officers detained a 42-year-old man during a vehicle stop just before 5 p.m. (pictured, Edgecliff train station)
On Sunday evening, more than a dozen police cars were positioned in front of the Edgecliff train station as tactical officers attended the massive operation. The arrested man was a gang enforcer named Tarek Zahed (pictured, the scene)
In May, Takek Zahed (sitting) and his brother Omar (standing) were murdered in front of a gym in Sydney’s west. As a result of the incident, Omar perished.
Welcome back Tarek ‘hard2kill’ Zahed,’ Meehan wrote the Instagram shot.
After a protracted discussion as to whether he would need limb amputations, the doctors were astounded by his quick recovery, which resulted in his release from the hospital less than two months later.
Even though he had been shot ten times, there were no apparent scars on the face of the man in the photograph.
According to a source, he has lost all vision in his right eye, rendering him virtually blind as his eyesight in his left eye was already impaired.
The eyesight in his left eye is only 20% to 30% due to an incident that occurred years ago, according to a source.
As a result of him being blind in his right eye, he will be nearly completely blind.
In May, Zahed narrowly survived an assassination attempt when he was shot numerous times at Bodyfit Gym in Auburn, Sydney.
After the incident in May, police and paramedics are seen attempting to save the lives of two men in the gym’s lobby, where pools of blood are visible.
Last Monday, national president Allan Meehan (left) uploaded a photo with Zahed (right).
Since leaving the hospital in July, it is understood that Zahed has been keeping a low profile in Melbourne prior to his return to Sydney.
Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, commander of the Homicide Squad, stated at the time that police were examining various motives for the attempted assassination, refusing to rule out an inside job.
“An internal conflict cannot be ruled out,” he told reporters.
Within organized crime organizations, there are prospects for advancement, as well as a fierce competition for supremacy.
The Balenciaga Bikie’s criminal lifestyle
Tarek Zahed was found guilty of assault resulting in actual bodily harm, resisting arrest, and attacking police officers in 1995.
Zahed was arrested in 2001 for using a dog to assault a person. Eight months were spent in periodic detention.
In 2004, Zahed served five years in prison for stamping on a man’s head during a narcotics dispute. The victim’s brain was damaged.
In 2009, Zahed becomes a clubhouse for the Comanchero biker gang.
During a chaotic street battle in 2011, numerous guys were stabbed and Zahed’s buddy was wounded with a nail gun before the Balenciaga Bikers fired four shots from a moving vehicle, striking a man in the ear and shoulder.
He was sentenced to eight years in jail and five years without parole.
Zahed became a fully patched Comancheros member in 2012.
Police discover in 2020 that Zahed is now the national sergeant-at-arms of the unlawful motorcycle club.
Zahed is convicted of dealing in criminal earnings after removing thousands of dollars hidden in the bank accounts of family members.
2021: He gets captured on camera hitting a man at Barangaroo in Sydney.
Zahed departs for Lebanon from Australia.
arrested and charged with two counts of violating a serious criminal prevention order in 2022
Outside the Auburn gym, 10 shots were fired.
Zahed is arrested and accused for his suspected involvement in the 2014 murder of criminal Youssef Assoum.
Records of the NSW Supreme Court