Gavin Preston, Keilor shooting: How a member of the public made an eye-popping find just metres away from a burned out getaway car – but now cops admit ‘clue’ was their dangerous blunder

A member of the public found a magazine still loaded with bullets near the getaway car of the shooters who murdered gangster Gavin “Capable” Preston.

Preston was brazenly executed by a hitman last Saturday while having breakfast with the son of his former partner Nabil “Mad Lebo” Maghnie at the Sweet Lulus cafe in Keilor, in Melbourne’s northwest.

The clip was located by a Melbourne resident in a park between Blair Court and Solomon Drive, approximately 1km from the filming scene.

It was discovered after police and their sniffer dogs scoured the area, sparking excitement that it could be a decisive clue in the case.

But on Friday, a Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the clip was accidentally dropped by one of its own officers.

“The magazine was identified as police work and was accidentally left behind while a search was underway in that area,” the spokesperson said.

“The magazine is back in the possession of Victoria Police.”

It remains unclear how the magazine, accessible only through a secret process, was thrown away by the officer.

Police did not say whether any action was taken by force command following the dangerous error.

Gavin “Capable” Preston earned his nickname for being capable of anything. Last Saturday he was shot while sipping orange juice

Police rushed to the area where the shooters threw the black Audi Q5 used in the shooting.

The shooters had set the Audi on fire moments earlier before rushing into the park where the magazine was found.

Reports emerged earlier this week that one of the hitmen actually set himself on fire while trying to burn the getaway car, which was quickly extinguished by a good Samaritan within seconds after it was set on fire.

Police continue to investigate allegations that Preston was set up by someone he trusted.

Abbas Maghnie Jr, known as AJ, was shot in the stomach as he fled from Preston’s executioner.

Injured Abbas Maghnie Jr, known as AJ, was filmed on CCTV shortly after Preston’s murder. He fled as his breakfast companion was shot

Preston and Maghnie Jnr were sat just outside Sweet Lulus (pictured)

Police escort Preston’s distressed partner Lauren Howe seen following shooting

Chilling CCTV footage showed Preston never knew what hit him as he sat opposite Maghnie Jnr sipping orange juice when death greeted him.

The two men were sitting outside the cafe, just by the side of the road.

Preston’s burly associate, who shares a close physical resemblance to his also deceased father, managed to escape while Preston was peppered with bullets.

Maghnie Jr remains in hospital and Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting it was he who lured Preston to his death.

“We have to remember that he was almost killed too,” a source close to his criminal associates told Daily Mail Australia this week.

Bullet holes were lodged in a wall behind where Preston and Maghnie Jnr were sitting. Maghnie was shot in the stomach. Preston has one in his head

An employee who worked near Sweet Lulus said The Australian the assassins seemed to know exactly where Preston would be.

“The black Audi they were in entered the parking lot at 7 a.m. So they waited more than three hours before moving,” the worker said.

“They were parked at the end of this parking lot. They made a loop. Then they left again and that’s when the shooting happened.

The Audi was seen fleeing just seconds after the shooting and was abandoned on Blair Court, a residential street about 1 km from the scene.

The decision to dump the getaway car in a densely populated area on a busy Saturday morning will likely come back to haunt the arrogant killers..

Just like their panicked haste to flee the area after the precise hit on Preston moments earlier.

The black Audi Q5 was caught on CCTV driving away from the filming. A hitman tried to destroy it with fire, but only succeeded in burning himself.

Police also found a Volkswagen Polo suspected of being linked to the killers.

George Marrogi is serving a 32-year sentence for a public execution. Gavin Preston had threatened to harm his brother Jesse.

The clumsy arsonist is also likely to continue to suffer telltale injuries to his face and arms.

A black Volkswagen Polo, abandoned in Cadiz Square, just three kilometers away, is believed to be the vehicle used by the men to flee the Audi.

These errors share similarities with those made by imprisoned Melbourne gangster George Marrogi, who was a person of interest in Preston’s public execution.

Kadir Ors, a known drug trafficker, was also lured to a location where Marrogi could shoot him on September 24, 2016.

As with Preston’s execution, Marrogi was filmed on CCTV dressed in black as he repeatedly shot his target.

Marrogi fired so many bullets that he had to reload, leaving behind a box of ammunition in a red Commodore he used in the assassination.

Marrogi’s DNA was on the box, helping detectives put him behind bars in December 2021 for 32 years.

Jesse Marrogi – George’s brother – allegedly made Preston so angry that he threatened not only to beat him, but also to rape him when he got out of prison.

Although the motive for Preston’s murder remains unknown, it appears detectives are keen to know if he had anything to do with last month’s attempt to steal the body of Meshilin Marrogi, George’s late sister, from the family crypt from Preston General Cemetery.

The case is still ongoing.