Melbourne gangland figure Fadi Haddara has been rushed to hospital after being gunned down in a suspected ambush.
Haddara, 48, was shot while sitting in a car in the driveway of a home on Marigold Ave, Altona North shortly before 8pm on Sunday.
He was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said overnight.
Victoria Police say the incident is believed to be targeted.
Haddara is suspected of having been a major player in Victoria’s illicit tobacco trade and has previously been jailed for firearms trafficking.
According to the Herald Sun, Haddara became engaged in conflict with Victorian underworld kingpin Kazem Hamad, who is now languishing in an Iraqi jail, after Hamad decided to become involved in illicit tobacco.
Numerous firebomb attacks on businesses around Melbourne are believed to be linked to the feud between both men.
The incident marks the fourth shooting in Altona North this year.
On July 31, nine shots were fired into a home where a young family was sleeping on Seventh Ave, and a tobacconist on Millers Rd was shot at in April.
In March, a 49-year-old man was shot in the arm outside Cafe Squared in the Borrack Square shopping precinct in an incident police said was most likely linked to the illicit tobacco trade.
More than a dozen people had been sitting outside drinking coffee as a gunman opened fire from within a passing white HiLux.
Anybody who witnessed the incident has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
More to come
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