Prisoners of War gang investigated over Toby Mitchell shooting

The feared jail gang leader and an associate led police on a short chase in the city on Thursday before being arrested with a pistol.

The gun was found under the front seat of a luxury car that was being driven the wrong way up tram tracks on Collins St.

The gun was not the same firearm used to blast up to six bullets at Mitchell - the Bandidos sergeant-at-arms - near a supermarket carpark in Brunswick three days earlier.

Police also found what they believe to be a gym floor plan in the car.

Mitchell was shot outside Doherty's Gym while talking to owner Tony Doherty.

Following the city arrests, police conducted further raids in Skye and Mill Park.

Detectives initially denied there was a link between the city arrests and the Mitchell shooting.

Mitchell has refused to make a statement to police from his hospital bed and investigators have chosen not to release CCTV footage from Bandidos security cameras outside their Weston St clubhouse, next to the gym.

Mitchell was repeatedly shot as he ran from his attackers and has had surgery to remove a kidney.

It is believed he was placed in an induced coma at the weekend and has also lost part of his liver.

Sources have told the Herald Sun that Mitchell was shot up to five times.

The daylight shooting in front of schoolchildren and shoppers has the potential to escalate into a deadly war between organised crime figures and outlaw bikies.

It is believed the Mitchell shooting is related to a planned hit on his predecessor as Bandidos sergeant-at-arms, Lee Undy.

Undy was jailed for 22 months last month over firearm offences, leaving Mitchell to take over his enforcer position at the club.

A feud, which has led to heavy-handed treatment of underworld figures by Undy and Mitchell over drugs, is believed to be at the centre of the conflict.

Undy, who drives a Ferrari and has a tattoo "FTW" (f--- the world), on his face, was a regular visitor to Thailand and Dubai.

The court heard last month Undy was arming himself after police warned him of the threat to his life.

One of the theories to emerge about the Mitchell hit was that it was ordered by a player in Melbourne's drug trade.

Another is that an underworld figure's arms were broken by Bandidos.

It was also claimed that Roberta Williams' fiance Rob Carpenter had been bashed by club members.

In other developments:

POLICE know where the Ford Territory used by the gunmen was stolen from.

A GANGLAND figure photographed at the funeral of Williams' henchman Benji Veniamin, who is a King St regular, had his arms broken by members of a bikie gang.

LEADING bikie figures have been to Asia helping set up new chapters.