Police officers patrolled nearby streets but there was no visible police presence outside the venue.
About 10.30am, a hearse carrying a golden casket arrived and six men carried it inside the community centre during the ceremony.
Six men carried a golden casket into the funeral for Sam Abdulrahim.Credit: Marta Pascual Juanola
Soon after, a woman emerged holding a large photo of Abdulrahim for the cameras as they waited for the casket to be brought out.
The most-hunted man in Melbourne’s underworld was shot dead by an organised hit team of up to four assailants in the car park of the Quest hotel on High Street in Preston just after 10.30am on Tuesday.
Loading
Police believe they fled in a white Porsche Macan SUV, which was later found ablaze less than two kilometres away in the neighbouring suburb of Reservoir.
On Wednesday, police revealed they had found a second getaway car in Westmeadows.
Abdulrahim was an underworld figure-turned-boxer who lived under the shadow of death threats for years.
He was shot eight times in 2022, and then avoided a 17-bullet hail of gunfire in 2024. He had recently gone “underground” to escape a $1 million murder contract on his head.
His road to becoming a marked man started in 2016, when he backed the wrong side as mini-wars between rival crews erupted into regular shootings.
Later that year, rising underworld player Kazem Hamad’s friend Kadir “KD” Ors was murdered in Campbellfield.
Rival drug trafficker George Marrogi was convicted of the crime. Some believed Abdulrahim helped lure Ors to the scene, however Abdulrahim always denied it.
Hamad started a campaign against Abdulrahim, who soon lost protection from the Mongols Motorcycle Club as he brought too much heat.
Friends had warned Abdulrahim in the lead-up to his death to stay away from Melbourne, but he had returned to Australia after a stint overseas.
Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.
