Homicide detectives have uncovered a major breakthrough in the hunt for the killers behind a gangland assassination in Ascot Vale, with the discovery of a burnt-out Mercedes believed to be the getaway car.
Police located the torched vehicle on a rural road on the outskirts of Bacchus Marsh on Wednesday morning, following a tip-off from the public.
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The car was strategically placed and well-hidden to prevent anyone from seeing it burning.
Investigators are now working to establish exactly when the vehicle was dumped.
The discovery comes as family and friends farewelled 33-year-old Hussein Dehaini at Fawkner Cemetery on Wednesday afternoon.
The former boxer turned standover man was publicly ambushed and gunned down in Ascot Vale in the early hours of Sunday morning.
He managed to stagger to the front of his apartment building but died soon after.
The burnt-out car believed to be used for the getaway. Credit: 7NEWSFleeing hitmen almost struck a Melbourne pedestrian in the moments after Hussein Dehaini was gunned down. Credit: 7NEWS
Dehaini was no stranger to police and had a long list of criminal associations, from organised crime syndicates to outlaw motorcycle gangs.
It has also been revealed he was a foot soldier in Melbourne’s illicit tobacco turf war, tasked with extorting businesses. He recently used those tactics on a prominent Middle Eastern property developer.
Homicide detectives are still trying to determine the motive and who pulled the trigger.
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