An Australian man has been shot dead and another seriously injured in a suspected gangland-style attack at a villa in Bali, with three suspects now facing the death penalty.
Zivan ‘Stipe’ Radmanovic, 35, and Sanar Ghanim, 34, were shot just after midnight on Saturday at a villa in Munggu – in Badung Regency in Bali’s south – in an attack believed to be linked to Melbourne’s feuding Middle Eastern crime syndicates.
Mr Radmanovic died in front of his wife at the scene, while Mr Ghanim was rushed to BIMC Hospital with multiple injuries.
He was discharged from hospital on Sunday, using a wheelchair and nursing a bandaged leg, and has refused to co-operate with local authorities.
Mr Ghanim is also the former partner of Danielle Stephens, daughter of notorious Australian drug trafficker Carl Williams, with the connection sparking speculation that the shooting was a targeted hit.
Indonesian police have since arrested three Australians after a days-long manhunt, the Bali Police Chief, Inspector General Daniel Adityajaya, said.
The trio could face the death penalty if they are charged, the maximum sentence for premeditated murder.
One of the suspected gunmen, Darcy Francesco Jenson, 27, was arrested in Jakarta, about 18 hours’ drive west from the scene of the shooting.
Another alleged gunman, Mevlut Coskun, 23, was arrested in Singapore. Coskun was serving a two-year conditional release order after being found guilty of drug supply in Australia in 2023.
A third man who allegedly helped to plan the attack, Midolmore Tupou, 37, was arrested in Melbourne.
Mr Adityajaya added that the suspects had changed vehicles multiple times in a desperate bid to flee Indonesia.
Footage from Bali Airport on Tuesday night showed one of the suspects walking in handcuffs with two police officers holding him by the arms.
He wore a black T-shirt and shorts, and covered his face with a jumper.
Police had earlier confirmed two people have been arrested, one in Jakarta and one overseas, over the alleged shooting, with both set to be extradited to Bali.
Mr Radmanovic’s wife, 30-year-old Gourdeas Jazmyn, was reportedly asleep at the villa when she awoke to the sound of her husband screaming at around 12.15am.
From behind a blanket, the mother-of-six said she witnessed the man in the orange jacket and another man open fire on her husband while he was in the bathroom.
Shortly afterwards, she heard further gunshots and Mr Ghanim screaming from a separate room – he was reportedly shot seven times.
With her husband already dead, Mr Radmanovic’s wife tried to stem Mr Ghanim’s bleeding until emergency services arrived.
A fourth person in the villa – believed to be a family member – managed to flee the property while gunshots rang out.
Police found 17 bullet casings and 55 bullet fragments at the scene.
Mr Ghanim and Mr Radmonovic’s family are currently being kept on the island ‘under close police watch’, authorities said.
Mr Radmanovic and Ms Jazmyn are understood to have arrived last Thursday to celebrate her 30th birthday in Bali – where Mr Ghanim and his partner had been living for some time.
But it was the father of his previous partner who was a Melbourne-based underworld figure who played a central role in the bloody gangland wars of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Initially a low-level dealer, Williams rose to power by manufacturing and distributing huge quantities of amphetamines and later became embroiled in a violent power struggle with rival crime families and former allies.
Convicted in 2007 of ordering multiple killings, Williams was serving a life sentence when he was bludgeoned to death in prison in 2010 by a fellow inmate.
His life and the wider gangland conflict were later dramatised in the hit Australian TV series Underbelly.
Mr Ghanim’s long-standing association with Melbourne’s criminal underworld goes deeper than just family ties.
In 2014, he was jailed following the shooting of fellow associate Serkan Kala after a dispute at a gym escalated. He and a co-accused pleaded guilty.
Meanwhile, Ms Stephens, who was also present during the confrontation, was charged but later cleared of any wrongdoing.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Adityajaya confirmed: ‘One suspect was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta Airport while attempting to leave Indonesia. The other two had already left the country but were successfully brought back to Indonesia thanks to cooperation with Interpol.’
He said the suspects had changed vehicles multiple times in a desperate bid to flee Indonesia.
‘First, they used a motorbike, then switched to a white Toyota Fortuner, which was later found in the Tabanan area,’ he said.
‘After that, they changed vehicles again, this time to an XL7, and traveled to Surabaya.
‘They then attempted to leave the country via [Jakarta’s] Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
‘However, with the joint efforts of Metro Jaya Police and the National Police Crime Unit, we were able to prevent [one of them] from leaving Indonesia.’
Mr Adityajaya said they now faced the death penalty if they are charged over the attack.
‘They may be charged under Article 340 of the Criminal Code for premeditated murder, which carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty,’ he said.
Badung Police Chief Arif Batubara confirmed the shooting on Saturday, telling reporters: ‘Yes, it’s true that a shooting incident happened.
‘There are two victims, Australian nationals. The victims are Zivan Radmanovic and Sanar Ghanim.’
Eyewitnesses at the time reported seeing two men fleeing the scene on motorbikes, both with strong Australian accents, according to the Bali Tribune.
One was said to be wearing a bright orange jacket and a black helmet, while the other wore a green jacket, dark helmet and face covering.
Police have appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.
Photos from the scene show the villa cordoned off, with a trail of blood leading to the doorway.
Forensic officers were at the property on Saturday collecting evidence.
Mr Radmanovic’s body has been taken to Prof. Ngoerah Hospital in Bali, where the Radmanovic family have now signed the paperwork for an autopsy to be carried out, after earlier delaying the process.
An examination of Radmanovic by a forensic doctor indicated he had been shot several times and also beaten.
