A man has been arrested after two Australian underworld figures were shot in a suspected gangland hit in Bali.
Zivan ‘Stipe’ Radmanovic, 35, and Sanar Ghanim, 34, from Melbourne, were shot just after midnight on Saturday at a villa in Munggu, in Badung Regency in Bali’s south.
Radmanovic died at the scene after he was shot twice in the chest and once in the foot, while Ghanim was left fighting for life in Kuta’s BIMC Hospital after he was shot seven times and beaten.
A man believed to be a hitman is being interrogated at Badung Police Station following the fatal shooting.
‘We have arrested one alleged perpetrator at 3am and he is being interrogated at Badung Police Station now,’ a police source told Daily Mail Australia.
A second gunman remains on the run.
Radmanovic’s father Brian was stunned by the news his son had been murdered.
‘I’ve lost my son, I’ve lost my only son,’ Mr Radmanovic said at his Melbourne home on Sunday.
Sanar Ghanim was seen leaving Kuta’s BIMC Hospital in a wheelchair (pictured) on Sunday
Ghanim (pictured) was shot and beaten in the attack which saw Zivan ‘Stipe’ Radmanovic killed in Bali on Saturday
Bali police spokesperson Senior Commander Ariasandy said airport and regional police who are in charge of the entry and exit points in Bali, were given descriptions of the suspect.
He said they were ‘paying close attention to ensure the suspect doesn’t escape the island’.
The killers – one was said by a witness to have had a ‘thick Australian accent’ – were seen fleeing the villa on scooters.
On Sunday afternoon, Ghanim was released from hospital and was seen being pushed out in a wheelchair surrounded by several staff before he was helped into the back of a car, his leg heavily bandaged.
Ghanim and his partner have been living in Bali for some time. Radmanovic and his wife – the pair have six children – are understood to have gone there in the past two months to celebrate Radmanovic’s wife’s 30th birthday.
Police found 17 bullet casings and 55 bullet fragments at the scene.
Former homicide detective Charlie Bezzina said while the attack was brazen, it was also very calculated.
‘They’re not concerned about witnesses, (with) the fact that she’s remained alive,’ he said.
‘You can imagine a situation as this, is highly volatile. They run in, they’re highly obtained with their adrenaline and they’re rushing out.
‘The fact they’ve had access to a firearm, it appears they’re well-connected. They have information of where they were living, in their villa, so they’ve certainly done their homework.’
There are concerns the gunmen could have gone straight to the nearby airport and immediately flown out of the country as police were still rushing to the scene.
Ghanim, who served time in prison after being linked to a 2015 shooting, is the former partner of Danielle Stephens – stepdaughter of slain Underbelly drug kingpin Carl Williams. The couple had a daughter together.
Radmanovic was a career criminal with a lengthy list of 175 court appearances, and was at the villa with his partner Jazmyn Gourdeas who witnessed the ruthless attack.
Her sister, Daniella Gourdeas, is linked on social media to assassinated Melbourne gangster Sam ‘The Punisher’ Abdulrahim.
Ghanim is said to have been in the villa with his wife, identified only by local police as Daniella, when the gunmen struck.
The Gourdeas family link to Abdulrahim comes five months after the notorious gangster was also gunned down in an underworld hit in a hotel car park in Melbourne’s north.
Police found 17 bullet casings (one pictured) and 55 bullet fragments around the villa where the men were shot
Ghanim and Radmanovic (pictured) and were in Bali celebrating Radmanovic’s wife’s 30th birthday
The bikie-turned-boxer had previously been the target of three murder contracts, a prison bashing, three assaults, a dozen fire bombings and seven shootings.
Radmanovic appeared to be a devoted dad who loved his mum, but a touching family picture of him in October 2020 revealed he was wearing an electronic ankle monitor on his left leg.
In Victoria, ankle monitors are most commonly worn by suspected major drug dealers who can afford the expensive self-funded devices worn while on bail.
Radmanovic shared a close bond with his stepchildren, particularly Ms Gourdeas’ daughter Olympia, now aged five.
He began dating Ms Gourdeas when Olympia was eight months old and described becoming a stepdad as the ‘biggest blessing’ in an emotional tribute for the youngster’s first birthday.
‘I can’t wait to watch you grow and become the amazing and gorgeous girl that I know you will become,’ Radmanovic wrote to his stepdaughter on Facebook.
‘You, your siblings and your mum Jazmyn Gourdeas are the biggest blessing in my life and I’m so grateful for you all coming into my life!! I love you Olympia and I hope you have a beautiful day princess!!’
Radmanovic’s social media is littered with family pictures of his wife, stepchildren, mother and grandmother.
Bali Police fear the gunmen fled the island while officers rushed to the scene (pictured)
Bali detectives fear the gunmen went straight to the nearby airport and fled overseas (pictured, officers at the scene)
In one picture, where he embraced his grandmother, who he affectionately called ‘Baba’, he thanked her for making ‘me the man I am today’.
‘I love you with all my heart baba, words can’t describe how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me,’ he wrote.
In another picture, Radmanovic posed with his mother and wrote: ‘I love you with all my heart and soul.’
On the night of the brutal shooting, The Bali Tribune reported Radmanovic’s wife was asleep when she heard her husband screaming at 12.15am.
Peeking out from behind a blanket, she saw a man wearing an orange jacket and a second man gunning down her husband in the toilet.
Images from the villa show a man, believed to be Radmanovic, lying motionless next to a toilet. Moments later, Ms Gourdeas heard more gunfire before Ghanim screamed.
It’s understood Ghanim suffered seven gunshot wounds in his bed before Ms Gourdeas tried to stop the bleeding as they waited for emergency services to arrive.
‘[She] ran out of the room and shouted when she saw Sanar was bleeding and went back to the toilet to check her husband’s condition by checking his pulse,’ an unnamed Bali Police officer told local media.
It’s believed Ghanim was shot seven times during the attack (pictured, bullet holes at the scene)
‘After seeing the perpetrator escape outside the villa, this witness helped the victim of Sanar stop the bleeding.’
A fourth person in the villa – believed to be another family member – told police she saw a gunman in a green jacket wearing a mask and a helmet burst into their room.
She heard more gunshots and a window being smashed before the hit squad ran from room to room in the villa as she fled for her life.
‘The witness ran out the villa before she saw two motorcycles [or scooters] parked outside while she heard more gunshots,’ added the police officer.
‘[She ran to] the main road where she asked for help.’
By the time bystanders had calmed the down and taken her back to the villa, police were already on the scene.
The gangland connection has fuelled speculation the shooting was a targeted attack.
Bali Police Chief Inspector Daniel Adityajaya said on Sunday they were liaising with Australian Federal Police on the investigation.
‘Our team are still working on it,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We have coordinate with the Immigration, the Australian Federal Police, the forensic team, and many other institution to uncover this case.’
Badung Police chief Arif Batubara added: ‘We are currently still in the investigation phase.
‘The forensic lab team is also still conducting a comprehensive investigation in the field.
‘The investigation also involving Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (INAFIS team), mobile brigade (Brimob), the forensic lab, K9 unit (dog unit), and rapid response unit (Sabhara).
‘The National Police Headquarters (Mabes) is also assisting.
From the crime scene investigation conducted yesterday, several bullet holes were found at the scene.’
Photos taken at the scene showed the area taped off, while a trail of blood stained the step at the doorway to the villa.
Radmanovic (right) was a career criminal with a lengthy list of 175 court appearances
Radmanovic’s body was taken to Prof. Ngoerah Hospital in Bali for an autopsy.
The Bali attack comes after exiled Melbourne tobacco overlord Kazem ‘Kaz’ Hamad is suspected by Australian underworld figures of ordering the hit on Abdulrahim.
Abdulrahim reportedly went into hiding in May 2024 after narrowly escaping an ambush outside his northern suburbs home, where gunmen shot at him 17 times.
In his last weeks alive, Abdulrahim was said to have become ‘something of a ghost’ as he moved between Melbourne, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
It’s understood Abdulrahim flew into Melbourne the day before his as-yet unsolved murder.
Hamad rules his criminal empire from the Middle East with violence and extortion and underworld sources say the ruthless kingpin has the means to order an offshore hit.
Abdulrahim’s dwindling allies were believed to have gone into hiding themselves after his murder.
