Man accused of assisting killers of underworld figure Mitat Rasimi released on bail
A man accused of assisting the killers of underworld figure Mitat Rasimi has been released on bail.
Rasimi, 51, was ambushed and shot dead just metres from his home in Dandenong on March 3, 2019, allegedly because of a debt he owed the Comanchero bikie gang.
Mitat Rasimi.Credit:Nine News
Construction manager Albert Tangata’Olakepa, 34, is accused of getting rid of the murder weapon at a construction site he was working at in exchange for a wad of cash and a gold Rolex.
Tangata’Olakepa, who goes by the nickname “Piggy”, told police he earned the money working at a barbershop and cutting people’s hair in his garage, and used the funds to travel to China. He also claimed the watch was a replica given to him by his employer.
Prosecutor Pat Burke told the court Tangata’Olakepa received the gun from his cousin – a patched member and former Comanchero sergeant-at-arms – and got rid of it in the days after the shooting.
A police summary released to the media states the 34-year-old had unfettered access to a construction site in Brunswick at the time and was present as concrete was being poured on two occasions just days after the murder.
The prosecution will rely on a recorded conversation between Tangata’Olakepa and another person, where they allege he admitted to getting rid of the gun in exchange for the cash.
The 34-year-old was arrested by homicide squad detectives at his home in Carrum Downs on Tuesday morning and later charged with assisting Rasimi’s killers.
He appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where he was released on bail subject to strict conditions and a $10,000 surety.
He will be allowed to move freely in the community between the hours of 5am and 10pm, but will be barred from associating with patched members, prospects or nominees of outlaw motorcycle gangs.
In addition to that, he will be banned from owning more than one mobile phone and required to provide his number and PIN code to Victoria Police upon request.
Homicide squad Detective Acting Sergeant Thomas Asciak opposed Tangata’Olakepa’s bid for bail, arguing the New Zealand national could flee Australia if released.
He told the court Tangata’Olakepa had connections with high-ranking Comanchero members, who were suspected of organising for people to be smuggled out of Australia by boat.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski said the prosecution had a strong case against Tangata’Olakepa, telling the court: “I’m not saying it’s a slam dunk, but it’s not a weak case.”
However, he said there was no evidence to suggest he would breach his conditions of bail.
“You’d be pretty foolish to go out and not comply with those conditions,” he told the court.
Rasimi, a known underworld figure, was sprayed with bullets as he was driving near his home in Dandenong over an alleged $216,000 debt his brother owed an investor for a failed property deal that Comanchero members were collecting.
The court heard Rasimi had met with slain underworld boss Nabil Maghnie and members of the bikie gang several times in the lead-up to his death and had refused to repay the money, telling them to “f— off”. On one occasion, he showed up at a meeting with 50 of his associates and denied he owed a debt.
Rasimi had attended a meeting at a coffee shop frequented by members of the Albanian community in Dandenong in the hours before being gunned down.
His alleged killers stalked him over the course of several days in a stolen orange Ford Ranger ute that they later attempted to torch in Bangholme.
Comanchero president Mick Murray was arrested at his Lysterfield South home in April and charged with murdering Rasimi.
Two other men, Laiseni Kakato and Richard Ene, are also charged with murder. They have both been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court next year.
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