Comanchero bikie Tarek Zahed charged with Youssef Assoum murder after Sydney raid in Edgecliff

Comanchero bikie Tarek Zahed was charged over a 2014 gangland murder after he was dramatically arrested by heavily armed police in a daring daylight sting in Sydney on Sunday. 

Officers in tactical gear stormed a busy road in Edgecliff in Sydney’s east Just after 5pm.

The elite officers fired rubber bullets through the window of a black BMW that was carrying the outlaw motorcycle club’s national sergeant-at-arms.

He was dragged out of the car on New South Head Road before being slapped with cuffs for his alleged involvement in the underworld killing of Youssef Assoum.

Zahed was charged with murder and kidnap and will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday. 

The stunning arrest came just three months after Zahed was shot 10 times in a hit that claimed the life of his younger brother, Omar.

Photos show several large holes in the partially shattered back windows of Zahed’s luxury car.

NSW Police later unveiled the eight-year operation that led to Zahed’s dramatic Sunday arrest, with a detective warning alleged criminals they will ‘end your lavish lifestyle when you least expect it’.

A number of rubber bullets were fired into Zahed’s black BMW with several large holes seen in the partially shattered back windows

Zahed was charged with murder and kidnap and will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday

Comanchero boss Tarek Zahed (left) was spotted in public for the first time last week since he was shot 10 times in the latest escalation of Sydney’s gangland war

It came just days after he was seen enjoying a designer-clad dinner with associates, with bikie mates boasting on social media Zahed was ‘hard to kill’.

The outing last week was the first time he had been seen in public since he survived the assassination attempt at a gym in Auburn, in the city’s west.

In December 2014, police first received word of Assoum’s gruesome end. 

The 29-year-old was discovered by an off-duty doctor with a gunshot wound in his right thigh and several stab wounds to the head in Sydney’s west. 

The doctor tried to save Assoum before the arrival of paramedics, who rushed him to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition, where he later died.

Since then, detectives from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad, under Strike Force Fairmount, have extensively investigated the killing of Assoum. 

That operation ended with Sunday’s daring tactical raid that snared Zahed.   

Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, said Zahed is one of several Taskforce Erebus targets allegedly linked to serious crime.

The stunning arrest came just three months after Zahed was shot 10 times in a hit that claimed the life of his younger brother

Officers in tactical gear stormed a busy road in Edgecliff in Sydney ‘s east and fired rubber bullets into the window of a BMW

Pictured: Officers inspecting the BMW after apprehending Zahed in Sunday’s daring operation

‘We will be alleging this person is responsible for the killing of Mr Assoum in 2014 and that his senior position in the Comanchero OMCG links him to a number of other matters relevant to police,’ Det Supt Doherty said.

‘As part of Taskforce Erebus’ terms of reference, a significant number of investigators and analysts are examining an array of persons and crimes and any connections they may have to current criminal conflicts.

‘This man’s arrest should serve as a blunt warning to those (allegedly) involved; police are watching you closely and will abruptly end your lavish lifestyle when you least expect it.’

Zahed’s arrest comes after he was shot alongside his brother Omar at a gym in western Sydney in May and miraculously survived.

Masked gunman stormed the Bodyfit Gym in Sydney’s Auburn firing more than 20 bullets inside the health club. 

Zahed, also known as the ‘Balenciaga Bikie’, was rushed to hospital in critical condition and was taken into surgery with bullet wounds to his head and body, including one that pierced straight through his eyeball. Omar, 39, died at the scene.  

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. 

A NSW Police spokesman said a 42-year-old man had been arrested by Tactical Operations Unit officers during a vehicle stop just before 5pm (pictured, Edgecliff train station)

Over a dozen police cars were parked outside the Edgecliff train station on Sunday evening as tactical officers attended the major operation. The man arrested was bikie enforcer Tarek Zahed (pictured, the scene) 

Takek Zahed (seated) and his brother Omar (standing) were gunned down outside a gym in Sydney’s west in May. Omar died as a result of the shooting

‘Welcome back Tarek ‘hard2kill’ Zahed,’ Meehan captioned the photo shared on Instagram. 

Doctors were astonished by his rapid recovery that saw him released from hospital less than two months later following lengthy discussion about whether he would need limbs amputated. 

Despite being being shot ten times, there were no visible scars on the face of the bikie hard man in the photo. 

A source said he has completely lost sight in his right eye, rendering him virtually blind as he already had reduced vision in his left eye.    

‘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.’

In May, Zahed miraculously survived an assassination attempt at Bodyfit Gym in Sydney’s Auburn when he was shot multiple times

Police and paramedics are seen trying to save the two men at the gym in May after the shooting – with pools of blood seen across the foyer

National president Allan Meehan (left) posted a picture with Zahed (right) last week

Since leaving hospital in July, it’s believed Zahed had been laying low in Melbourne before his return to the Harbour City.

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.’