Killing in the normally peaceful Australian shopping district thought to be a gangland hit.

Police established a cordon near a car park in the Bondi Junction shopping district, a few minutes’ drive from the Australian city’s famed beach, after the killing on Tuesday morning.

“The male driver died at the scene. He has not been formally identified but is believed to be aged in his 40s,” police said.

Authorities did not name the suspect but the Sydney Morning Herald, citing police sources, said the “heavily tattooed” victim was linked to organised crime.

A grey Porsche was found burned out nearby and was believed to be linked to the shooting, police said.

Olivia Scanlan, a 27-year-old local actress and dancer, told the AFP news agency she was “shocked” by the shooting in the normally peaceful neighbourhood.

“I have friends that come here to visit and they think, ‘Wow, Australia is a dream’,” she said. “They think it is so safe and this is so different to home.”

“You can walk around at night time and feel like nothing is going to happen.”

Despite having a population of just 26 million people, Australia is one of the world’s most lucrative markets for recreational drugs, with prices well above those on the streets of Europe or North America.

In 2019-2020, the last period for which data is available, some 39 tonnes of drugs were seized by police.

Local motorcycle gangs have increasingly made contact with Mexican and other cartels to bring drugs into the country, according to Australian authorities.