Perth former soldier charged with bikie boss assassination joined ‘world’s most fearless charity’ in Iraq

“We’ve broken through active war zones to get medicine to rebels, inserted reporters into front lines, and crossed forbidden areas for human rights investigations,” its website reads.

“We believe in what’s kind more than what is right. If people need help, they need help.”

In an interview with military news site Sofrep in 2016, Mr Hoey claimed Shadows of Hope covered more than 300 kilometres of the frontline in Iraq, where more than a dozen volunteers, including soldiers and doctors, worked out of a hospital in Sulaymaniyah.

The organisation is made up of volunteers and a handful of permanent staff, many of whom are retired military personnel from Australia.

Among those was the man charged with Mr Martin’s fatal shooting in December 2020.

Images shared on social media show the man BASE jumping from skyscrapers in Hong Kong, wingsuit flying in Turkey, rock climbing in Margaret River and wakeboarding in Perth.

On Monday, officers involved in Operation Ravello stormed the man’s house in Perth’s south before he was escorted in handcuffs into a police car, his face covered by a hood.

Police seized several evidence bags from the property and towed away cars and a boat before scouring bushland near the salt lakes in Warnbro.

The man was taken into custody on Monday amid a heavy security operation to be questioned by police. He was charged on Wednesday morning.

In a statement, Mr Hoey said Shadows of Hope had no knowledge of the alleged killing of Mr Martin and had not been involved in the event in any way.

“All members are currently on leave while the world recovers from the coronavirus and we do not inquire about the activities of our members while off duty. Our members have earned their right to privacy and their actions off-duty do not reflect our organization,” he said.

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Mr Hoey said the former soldier had been working in medical clinics in Kurdistan and in anti-poaching operations in the jungles of Myanmar.

“He has suffered and bled for those who were most vulnerable and abandoned by all others. He is one of us, and we do not abandon our members when it becomes inconvenient or dangerous. He will forever remain a brother to us, no matter what happens,” he said.

Mr Martin was watching the Outlaw Nitro Challenge at the Perth Motorplex with Kwinana with his wife and stepdaughter in December when he was gunned down about 8.40pm.

The partner of Mr Martin’s stepdaughter, former Bandidos bikie Ricky Chapman, was hit in the arm by the bullet, and a five-year-old sitting on Mr Martin’s wife’s lap was also injured.

In the days after the arrest, police issued a $1 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of the shooter.

The homes of Hells Angel sergeant-in-arms, Dayne Brajkovich, and a Mongols bikie have since been targeted in suburban drive-by shootings suspected to be linked to rising tensions within Perth’s outlaw motorcycle gangs.