An ‘adrenaline junkie’ with ‘military experience in Iraq’ has been arrested over the assassination of a notorious bikie leader who was shot dead by a sniper.
Former Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin, 51, was shot in the back at the Outlaw Nitro Challenge drag racing event at the Perth Motorplex, Kwinana Beach at 8.30pm on Saturday, December 12.
He died at the scene in front of horrified families and children including his own wife and step-daughter.
Police raided a home in Waikiki and bushland in Warnbro, in Perth’s southern suburbs, on Monday before taking the man into custody.
He is currently being questioned by police. It is unclear whether charges have yet been made.
Nick Martin (pictured) was shot in the back at the Perth Motorplex on December 12 in front of horrified families who were trying to watch the nitro cars high-octane drag racing
Police pictured raiding a house in Warnbro over the sniper shooting of bikie Nick Martin
Forensics teams and detectives swarmed Shoalhaven Place, in Waikiki, on Monday, paying particular attention to a boat parked out the front, according to 9News.
Other investigators were seen scouring bushland surrounding the salt water flats in nearby Safety Bay Road, later loading evidence bags into vehicles.
The arrest comes three months after Martin’s death and following a $1million reward offer for information.
After being hit, Martin told his wife Amanda: ‘babe, I’ve been shot’ as she tried to give him CPR while he died in her arms.
WA Police had not recently revealed any new leads since the public execution despite several arrests and raids immediately following the shooting.
Police posted a $1 million reward for information but remained tight-lipped as to whether they had yet identified any suspects in the gangland killing.
They had reportedly been investigating a spot on the racecourse where the sniper may have laid in wait for Martin.
A photograph taken on the opposite side of the racing lanes from where Martin was sitting with his family, on the edge of a grandstand, shows a clear line of sight to the target.
A man (pictured) who has been described as an ‘adrenaline junkie’ with ‘military experience in Iraq’ is being questioned over the suspected murder
Forensics teams and detectives swarmed a home in Shoalhaven Place, in Waikiki, on Monday
Another man, convicted drug dealer Ricky Chapman, was injured in the shooting at the Kwinana raceway, south of Perth.
Police said the same bullet that killed Martin had passed through to hurt Chapman – and a bullet fragment was recovered from his arm.
Queensland University of Technology associate professor of criminology Mark Lauchs, an expert on outlaw motorcycle gangs said if the shot was taken from a distance then it was likely by a professional sniper as bikies don’t typically have great marksmanship skills.
‘If it’s from a long way away, I would assume it’s not bikie related as that’s not how bikies do things,’ he previously told Daily Mail Australia.
‘It may be associated with things other than a bikie war.’
Professor Lauchs said a deliberate execution of this type would be more likely to do with organised crime than an inter-club bikie war or an internal club dispute.
The chaos at the racetrack on December 12 in Perth after Martin was executed is pictured
One of the possible shooter locations previously identified at the Perth Motorplex. A long shot would indicate a sniper, experts say
Martin (pictured) died in the arms of his wife Amanda as she tried to give him CPR. His last words were: ‘babe, I’ve been shot’
WA Police had reportedly been trying to work out whether the sniper shot the bikie from an area close to bushland on the edge of the motor complex.
It is thought that surveillance cameras at the complex might yield some clues to the public killing that shocked the nation, with a toilet block 20 metres from where Martin was sitting thought to be the most valuable.
Media speculation has offered up many possible theories such as that a fly-in foreign professional might have been used for the hit, or that the killer may have used a spotter close to Nick Martin to keep him informed of his target’s movements.
Mr Lauchs told Daily Mail Australia that bikies were more direct, preferring brute force and open violence such as drive-by shootings and bashings to settle inter-club bikie war or internal club disputes.
He said a deliberate execution of this type would be more likely to do with organised crime.
Rebels bikie Nick Martin was riden in to Pinnaroo Cemetery in a coffin covered in pictures of $100 bills (pictured) at his extravagant bikie funeral on December 23
Pictured: Rebels bikies embrace at the funeral of Nick Martin in Perth on December 23
A $1 million reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of the shooter who killed Nick Martin, 51, (pictured with wife Amanda)
Big outlaw motorcycle clubs often had individuals within them involved with organised crime even when the club itself was not an organised criminal group, he said.
Hundreds of mourners gathered on December 23 to farewell the former Rebels president at his Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park funeral – the majority turning up in patched Rebels colours.
Martin’s coffin was covered in pictures of $100 bills and Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower played as bikies took turns to walk up and touch it as it was brought in under a marquee for the service.
The public execution sparked fears of an bikie war, and WA Police launched Taskforce Ravello to find the killer.
Bikie compounds and properties were raided across Perth in December but no leads have been made public.
A five-year-old child also suffered a minor injury in the shooting.
The public were shocked by the brazen execution which happened right in front of families. Pictured: the scene on the night of the shooting
WA Police Assistant Commissioner Brad Royce said in December there had been a ‘fantastic response’ to a Crime Stoppers appeal for information about the murder with anonymity guaranteed.
‘Whilst you might think at this stage you’re in the clear, there’s a lot of people who know what you’ve done,’ he said.
‘They’ll be close to you, they’ll be looking at the reward, they’ll be looking at the pressure on their lives, they’ll be looking at the threat to their families and what may happen, and it’s highly likely they will talk.’
Crowds meanwhile returned to the popular Perth Motorplex last month for the first time since the public shooting that shocked the nation.
More than 150 teams participated in the 2021 Nitro Slam including Nitro Funny Cars and Burning Dragsters, bringing high-octane excitement back to Kwinana Beach.
Security was tight with entrants randomly scanned with metal detectors.
Police and security guards patrolled the crowds but no violence was reported.
More than 200 bikies from the Rebels and other clubs attended Martin’s funeral