A crime kingpin wounded in a drive-by shooting as he left a mosque in Melbourne last week had parted ways with a bikie gang just days earlier.
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Underworld sources say Mohammed Oueida, 41, left the Comancheros shortly before he was ambushed and shot in the stomach as he left lunchtime prayers at a mosque in Coburg.
Oueida - a major drug trafficker before his arrest in 2011 - was a senior member of the club.
Some sources said he left on good terms with national president Mick Murray, but others say he was kicked out because his wealth and influence had inflamed tensions with other members.
Oueida had been out of prison for four months when he was shot as he walked down Moore Street just before 1pm.
Police do not believe Oueida's exit from the club was behind the shooting. Instead, they believe an ongoing dispute with a northern suburbs crime family is more likely to be behind it.
The feud has been ongoing since the start of the year, after Oueida's release in December, and at least three other drive-by shootings may be connected with it.
Oueida, who has been spending time in Queensland since his release, served a minimum 5?? years after pleading guilty in 2012 to trafficking and manufacturing methamphetamines.
He has been described in court as "the new Tony Mokbel" and was one of Australia's most significant organised crime figures at the time of his arrest.
Police alleged he had $6 million in a Swiss bank account, a light plane, a $2.8 million mansion and suspected property and business interests across the globe.
Last Monday's incident was the second time Oueida had been shot in the stomach.
Both he and associates Nasser Kheir and Mahmoud Kheir were wounded in a shoot-out at Coolaroo in 2009 where the trio, along with Fadi Haddara, went to rescue a kidnap victim being tortured inside a house.
Police are calling for witnesses to last week's incident to come forward.
They said a silver BMW, stolen from Avondale Heights earlier that morning, pulled up alongside Oueida and two friends as they walked along Moore Street.
Four shots were fired from the front passenger seat before the X5 took off.
Oueida was taken to hospital in his LS400 Lexus by his associates and has since been discharged.
Anyone with information can phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report to www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
