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‘Balenciaga Bikie’ arrested at Airbnb

High-profile former bikie kingpin Tarek Zahed has been arrested at a Sydney property after spending weeks on the run following the revocation of his parole.

Zahed, the former Comanchero national sergeant-at-arms, was arrested at an Airbnb at Dundas Valley in Sydney’s northwest on Friday evening.

Police in NSW and Victoria earlier this month began a manhunt for Zahed, 45, after the NSW State Parole Authority revoked his parole over an alleged assault in Victoria.

During the search, police allege they located $12,800 in cash.

Zahed, dubbed the “Balenciaga Bikie”, was transferred into the custody of Corrective Services NSW.

A 38-year-old man was also arrested at the address but was later released without charge.

Zahed was last year jailed for a maximum of three years and six months for his role in the botched attempted destruction of evidence in the gangland killing of Youssef Assoum.

He was released after serving a two-year and four-month non-parole period.

Zahed was initially charged with murder and kidnapping but on the eve of his trial, the murder charge was dropped after striking a plea deal.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of hindering the discovery of evidence relating to the cleaning and ordering the destruction of a Mr Assoum’s car.

Read related topics:AirbnbSteve ZemekCourt reporter

Steve Zemek began his career in his native Queensland before moving to Sydney with Australian Associated Press in 2014. He worked as an NRL journalist for five seasons, covering the game all over Australia and in New Zealand before making a career pivot towards court reporting in 2019. He joined NCA NewsWire in mid 2020 as a Sydney-based court reporter where he has covered some of the state’s biggest cases.

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