Ex-bikie boss Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi has been farewelled at a funeral at a Sydney mosque where club patches, colours and motorbikes were conspicuous by their absence.
But even without their colours, the bikie presence was heavy, with hundreds of mourners, most dressed in black, and many tattooed and muscle-bound, gathered at Arncliffe's Al-Zahra mosque on Thursday to see off the former Comanchero national president.
Many wore black T-shirts with Hawi's photograph printed on the back along with his date of birth and death, while online messages talked of a man who always observed the criminal bikie gang code of silence.
Hawi, 37, himself a convicted killer, died last Thursday about five hours after he was gunned down outside a gym in Rockdale in Sydney's south.
There was little bikie paraphernalia at the funeral but gold chains and iron cross tattoos could be seen poking out from collars and sleeves - indelible reminders of Hawi's past.
One friend lauded the man who "was staunch to the code" and "never quit on his club or his family".
"He kept his mouth shut, no matter what," the friend wrote on Facebook in the hours before the funeral.
"No club secrets are revealed, he never snitched on a friend or brother even if he must take the fall."
One stony-faced mourner held a framed picture of Hawi against his chest as he led a silent entourage of men into the mosque after they emerged from three white limousines.
The casket bearing the Beirut-born migrant - who rose to command one of Australia's most feared clubs - was draped in dark cloth covered in coloured Arabic writing.
It was visible only briefly as his flower-laden hearse rolled onto the street following lunchtime prayers.
It was followed by a convoy of white Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars bound for Rookwood Cemetery, with one pulled over by police on the way.
Police say the vehicle stop was actioned by Strike Force Raptor, a unit set up to target organised crime, after allegations of consorting were made against several people in the car.
Vision of the incident, published by Fairfax Media, shows a police officer draw his taser after being pushed by one of the men.
Hundreds gathered around the grave site in the cemetery's Islamic section, many sharing hugs and kisses, while others raised their phones to film the moment.
Flowers were placed on top of the grave as the mourners chanted in prayer and helicopters hovered above.
As national president of the Comanchero motorcycle club, Hawi was imprisoned over the 2009 bashing death of Hell's Angels associate Anthony Zervas in a wild brawl at Sydney Airport.
He was released in 2015 and mainly flew under the radar until he was murdered a week ago.
It's been revealed his widow, Carolina Gonzales, made an urgent application in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday for a "posthumous sperm retrieval" which was authorised by a judge.
Justice Peter Johnson, in a judgment made public on Wednesday afternoon, noted that Ms Gonzales "desired, and still desires, to have a child from the deceased in the near future".
Hawi married his high school girlfriend in 2002. They have two sons together.
Police are still hunting for Hawi's killers.
Australian Associated Press
