News / Crime
Bike store fire linked to gangland war
Offender set fire to his arm in early morning ram raid and arson attack
Brunswick Voice
AN arson attack on a Brunswick East building in the early hours of Tuesday morning has been linked to an ongoing war between rival criminal gangs for control of Melbourne’s tobacco market.
A bike store at the corner of Lygon Street and Glenlyon Road was damaged when a car was deliberately rammed into a garage door at about 2.55am.
But it is believed the real target for the attack was not the Cargocycles bike store, but a recently-opened gymnasium above it that is linked to a prominent gangland figure.
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It is believed offenders used a stolen black BMW X5 to ram the door, then entered the store and set it alight.
Police have been told one of the male offenders also set fire to his arm in the process, forcing him to flee the scene on foot.
The group was last seen running towards Nicholson Street.
No one else was physically injured in the fire, but the building and stock inside the bike store sustained significant damage.
Later on Tuesday morning, detectives from Taskforce Lunar began investigating the attack, which is believed to have been deliberately targeted at the first floor gym which, according to The Age, is used by notorious ex-bikie and professional boxer Suleiman “Sam” Abdulrahim, known in the boxing ring as “The Punisher”.
Abdulrahim is linked to one side of the gang war between the Haddara and Hamad crime organisations for control of Melbourne’s lucrative tobacco market.
Tuesday’s attack is almost a year to the day since another gym linked to Abdulrahim in Holmes Street was torched, and is the latest in a string of arson incidents in Brunswick this year.
In February, a reception centre above the Brunswick Market in Sydney Road was significantly damaged after it was firebombed. That incident has also been investigated by Taskforce Lunar.
In May, a barber shop near Jewell Station was attacked; and then in August, a Scout hall in Brunswick East was gutted internally by arsonists.
Investigators believe the BMW used in Tuesday’s attack was stolen from a Heatherton address on October 3.
Anyone with information or dashcam/CCTV footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
Woman charged over Brunswick East death
Separately, Homicide Squad detectives on Tuesday charged a woman following the death of a man in Brunswick East earlier this year.
A 43-year-old Niddrie woman was arrested on Tuesday morning and has subsequently been charged with manslaughter. She was to appear in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later on Tuesday.
The charge follows the death of a 51-year-old Brunswick East man on January 23 this year.
Emergency services were called to an Edward Street property about 3.30am, where a man was found dead following what is believed to have been an adverse reaction to a drug of dependence. Police believe the man and woman were known to each other.
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