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April 27, 2026 \u2014 7:00pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Underworld figure Gavin Preston purportedly had a $5 million contract on his head after trying to steal the interred body of a rival\u2019s sister and spent the final months of his life allegedly seeking retribution for old friends while making new enemies, a court has heard.<\/p>\n Preston repeatedly came to the attention of police in the five months between being released from jail in April 2023 for murder and being shot dead outside a Keilor cafe in September 2023.<\/p>\n Defence barrister Paul Smallwood outlined on Monday a swath of Preston\u2019s potential enemies to a Supreme Court jury, as well as the accusations made in police intelligence files.<\/p>\n The list included feuds with significant crime figures Sam Abdulrahim, George Marrogi and Waleed Hadarra, and suggestions Kaz Hamad, a key player in the tobacco wars who the court heard was arrested in Iraq in February, had ordered his murder.<\/p>\n \u201cGavin dug up Meshilin Marrogi\u2019s grave. There is now a contract on Gavin\u2019s head of $5 million,\u201d an August 2023 information report read.<\/p>\n Related Article At the time, the credibility rating of that information was \u201cprobably true\u201d, the court heard.<\/p>\n Another tip read, \u201cKaz Hamad may have ordered the hit on Preston\u201d.<\/p>\n One report suggested Preston was seeking retribution on behalf of his friend Abbas \u201cAJ\u201d Maghnie, whose father, Nabil Maghnie \u2013 a close associate of Preston \u2013 was shot dead in January 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Maghnie family is known to hold disputes with Sam Abdulrahim. It\u2019s believed that on his release from prison, Preston may seek retribution for Maghnie,\u201d one tip read.<\/p>\n \u201cGavin Preston is running around cleaning up anyone who had something to do with Nabil or AJ.\u201d<\/p>\n Preston was released from prison on April 2, 2023, after serving time for shooting one man dead and seriously injuring another. Sources were advising police within weeks of his return to freedom that he was in disputes with people and seeking retribution.<\/p>\n Detective Senior Constable Dale Myers confirmed that one report related to Meshilin Marrogi, the sister of George Marrogi. Meshilin died of COVID-19 in 2021 before being interred in a mausoleum at Preston cemetery on July 30, 2023.<\/p>\n Another report regarded a tip about a feud with Abdulrahim, also known as the Punisher, with suggestions the underworld figure may have torched one of Abdulrahim\u2019s tobacco shops in the months before the Punisher himself was killed and laid to rest in a gold-coloured casket in January 2025.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cHe\u2019s [Abdulrahim] since been shot dead himself,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n The court heard on Monday that as information continued to roll in to the authorities during their investigation into Preston\u2019s Keilor cafe killing, sources claimed Preston had been attempting to get into the tobacco market and that he had stood over a man and stolen machinery belonging to a member of the Comancheros.<\/p>\n Following his killing, there were prison phone calls police listened in to, in which former Comancheros head Michael Murray spoke with another person in 2024 about claims Preston had raped men as a \u201cweapon\u201d.<\/p>\n Preston was fatally shot as he sat outside Sweet Lulu\u2019s cafe in Keilor on September 9, 2023. His breakfast partner, Abbas Maghnie, was also shot, but survived.<\/p>\n Jaeden Tito, 25, and Rabii Zahabe, 26, both from NSW, have pleaded not guilty to murdering Preston and not guilty to attempting to murder Maghnie.<\/p>\n The jury heard Maghnie suffered life-threatening injuries in the shooting including significant damage to his small bowel and urinary system which led to his being operated on three times during his almost month-long stay in the Royal Melbourne Hospital.<\/p>\n The revelations came during the third week of the trial over Preston\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n When questioned by Crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill, Myers said he had received more than 100 information reports during the investigation of this case, and agreed they came from all sorts of places and all sorts of people.<\/p>\n He said he was unable to say anything about the reliability and credibility of the information contained in them. However, during cross-examination Myers said claims that Preston was involved in desecrating a grave were investigated, with the allegations later discounted and considered unlikely to be true.<\/p>\n The trial continues.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/c4d07ad0625b50b958d7ca63c9774bf5b1f226866d37c1077d35eec531d5205b.jpeg\")
A composite image of Gavin Preston and the crypt of Meshilin Marrogi.Matthew Absalom-Wong<\/p>\n![\"Gavin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/14239d161bc87a10fc9fb66a2be25231e114a66a.jpeg\")
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Jaeden Tito and Rabii Zahabe are accused of killing Preston.Joe Armao, supplied<\/p>\n![\"Crime](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/e4d4beba7b3f336d0c00847c85282648d0b2d9f7.jpeg\")
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A crime scene photo following Preston\u2019s killing, released by the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n