Gangland boss George Marrogi plotted wild helicopter escape from prison

Gangland boss George Marrogi was caught planning a prison escape in 2022 that involved being airlifted out of Victoria’s most secure prison, then smuggled out of the country on a luxury yacht.

The scheme was foiled after prison intelligence officers intercepted phone calls about the plot and raided Marrogi’s cell. The plan had advanced as far as obtaining aerial images of the prison, along with design drawings and a tax invoice for a yacht.

“These documents, together with intelligence information collected by CV [Corrections Victoria], indicated that the plaintiff had been conspiring via unmonitored legal calls to escape prison using a helicopter,” according to an affidavit by prison authorities.

“The options discussed by the plaintiff included having associates extract him by force during an escort, using a helicopter, and bribing a CV staff member to have him released from custody through an ‘administrative error’.”

A later police operation seized a 28-metre yacht, Bahama, as the proceeds of crime from Marrogi’s gang, Notorious Crime Family.

The search also uncovered “documents containing private information about Barwon prison staff, their families and a judge”.

The material has been publicly released as part of Marrogi’s attempt to have his prison conditions declared inhumane, which hit a hurdle in the Supreme Court on Thursday because of accusations of new misbehaviour.

The court heard that there was a “significant event” in mid-September where a mobile phone and charger, three screwdrivers and suspected drugs were found in Marrogi’s cell.

The crime boss has been arguing that he should be given relaxed security conditions because he had been “incident free” for five or six months.

Corrections Victoria has sought to reopen the trial to introduce fresh evidence to demonstrate Marrogi is a continuing major security risk.

Marrogi’s lawyer has opposed the move. “Your honour, [Marrogi] did not give evidence that he is an angel or that he will not ever breach another prison rule. The events are highly contested,” barrister Sarala Fitzgerald said.

The court heard there had been allegations the contraband could have been given to him by a guard.

Justice Claire Harris granted the application to reopen the trial with hearings scheduled for a later date.

Meanwhile, the affidavits by prison staff that detail Marrogi’s time in prison, since 2016, contain a list of dozens of prison violations and acts of violence, including multiple assaults, “shit bombings” (throwing or spraying faeces), fires and hunger strikes.

During intercepted phone calls in October 2023, Marrogi threatened to “kill or attack” the guards for refusing him privileges.

“I am f---ing dirty and if I didn’t have a contact visit tomorrow, I swear on Mish I was going to stab one of them today,” he was recorded saying.

“Mish” is Marrogi’s beloved sister Meshilin, the brains behind the Notorious Crime Family whose death in 2021 precipitated the gang’s downfall. Only months before these phone calls, Marrogi’s enemies had attempted to steal and desecrate her body in a gruesome revenge plot.

The loss of one of her earrings, gifted to Marrogi during a scuffle with guards, precipitated a major conflict with his jailers.

Marrogi was also caught using prison-issued computers and smuggled internet dongles and USBs to communicate secretly on encrypted chat system Wickr and to view pornography.

“On 13 August 2020, during a targeted search of the plaintiff’s cell, the plaintiff was observed in the act of inserting an object into his rectum. He was directed to stop but was non-compliant.” A dongle was later found among his possessions.

“On 14 October 2023, prison staff observed the plaintiff engaging in a sexual act with a visitor during a contact visit. Prison staff terminated the visit and subsequently discovered that the overalls worn by the plaintiff were damaged,” according to an incident detailed in an affidavit.

Brewing homemade liquor in empty sauce bottles and amassing weapons, including a 19cm metal spike, are also among his list of violations.

For many of these transgressions, Marrogi’s punishment was to have his prison canteen account fined between $10 and $192. For more serious offences, he would be sentenced to one to six months’ jail to be served concurrently with what is now a nearly 50-year sentence for drug trafficking and murder.

The affidavits show that Marrogi’s associates allegedly aided his behaviour, with some banned from contact privileges after secretly permitting communications with unauthorised people.

The records show that Marrogi also applied for permission to mix with other prisoners, including Tony Mokbel in 2024. His request was approved, then denied.

“The reason they gave me for the refusal was they told me it would ‘not be a good look’ if the media knew Mr Mokbel and I were mixing in prison because we are both well known. From this I understood that it was fear of criticism from the media which lead to the refusal,” Marrogi wrote in his own affidavit.

In his lawsuit, Marrogi has compared his alleged maltreatment in prison to that of late South African leader Nelson Mandela. He is seeking more freedoms, including a potential return to general population in the prison.

Marrogi asked Harris to make a declaration that his conditions violate his human rights – a precursor to forcing Corrections Victoria to change his placement in solitary confinement and the use of strip searches and limited access to open air.

Corrections Victoria, in turn, has classified Marrogi as a threat to the good order of the prison system.

“In my opinion, the arrangements suggested by Mr Marrogi would not be feasible or consistent with maintaining the good order or security of the prison. Mr Marrogi has the highest security rating, is classified as a major offender, and has been assessed as a high-level security and/or escape risk. The mainstream yard is uncovered and so does not have sufficient mitigations in place to address the risk of Mr Marrogi escaping,” Dale Slater, general manager of Barwon Prison, wrote in an affidavit in August 2025.

“There would also be an increased risk of the introduction of contraband, either from someone throwing contraband in or another prisoner leaving contraband in the yard for Mr Marrogi to collect.”

Marrogi’s position is diametrically different.

“There is no place for a prisoner to flee if they somehow ‘escaped’ their cell, as the prisoner would be trapped in another internal part of the prison with no exit,” Marrogi wrote in response.

His affidavit didn’t mention the previous scheme involving the helicopter.

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