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A 53-year-old man who was shot dead while walking along a Melbourne street near a popular nightlife area was associated with organised crime, police have revealed.
The shooting on Almeida Crescent in South Yarra about 11.40pm yesterday was a “targeted attack” on notorious Mongol bikie Mohammed Akbar Keshtiar, who lived in the suburb.
Crime Command Detective Superintendent Geri Porter said the victim, known to associates as Afghan Ali, was with another man and had just been to the gym when a number of shots were fired at him.
He suffered life-threatening injuries and died on the way to hospital.
The area has been cordoned off by police as officers comb the crime scene for clues.
Porter said the man who was with victim at the time of the shooting had since been refusing to provide police with information.
Police also believe the shooting is linked to a car found torched in Rowville today, with discarded gloves found nearby.
She reassured Victorians that there were no general safety risks after the shooting and asked for anyone with information about the attack to contact police.
“This wasn’t a random attack,” Porter said.
“There are no concerns to the general community.”
However, there are fears of revenge attacks among rival gangs as the gunman remains on the run.
Keshtiar had a reputation as a powerful organised crime figure.
He was recruited to the Mongols when he was in prison for gunning down a security guard at a Prahran nightclub in 2000 and the attempted murder of a man and a woman in Burwood in 2003.
He survived a botched assassination attempted at his Narre Warren home in 2017, which ended in the death of a 26-year-old man in a case of mistaken identity.
His friends said he recently moved to the Capitol Grand building in South Yarra with his partner for a safer life.
