Jailed crime boss George Marrogi pleads guilty to wilful damage at Barwon prison
A crime boss serving time for murder and drug trafficking has appeared in a Geelong court after lashing out when his mother was banned from visiting him.
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A crime boss serving time for murder and drug trafficking has appeared in a Geelong court after lashing out when his mother was banned from visiting him.
George Marrogi, 35, appeared in Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday via videolink from Barwon Prison, where he is incarcerated in the high security Acacia Unit.
Police prosecutor Acting Sergeant Alex Turner told the court Marrogi was having a meeting in the supervisor’s office of the Acacia Unit, discussing why his mother had been banned from visiting him.
When told why, Marrogi “disagreed with the reasoning” the court heard.
“The accused became agitated and punched the computer screen, breaking it off the stand, causing it to fall on the ground,” Sgt Turner said.
The conversation continued, and although Marrogi “began to de-escalate” a “code blue” was called, bringing other prison officers to the scene.
Marrogi was asked to hold out his hands so they could be cuffed, the court heard, but he refused and became “aggressive”, arguing that he “wasn’t on a handcuff regime”.
More prison officers arrived and attempted to restrain Marrogi – including the use of pepper spray.
Marrogi was restrained, before being “taken away and decontaminated”.
The convicted killer pleaded guilty to wilful damage over the incident, while a charge of assaulting an emergency worker on duty was struck out on his plea.
His mother attended the hearing remotely.
Magistrate Simon Guthrie convicted Marrogi and fined him $500, plus court costs of $93.10.
Marrogi is serving a decades-long sentence for the September 2016 murder of rival Kadir Ors.
His lawyer told the court his client was living in “the most restrictive prison conditions imaginable”.
Marrogi spends most of his time confined to his cell, with no access to prison courses or other prisoners in the yard and limited opportunities for exercise, the court heard.
The conditions were so “dire”, his lawyer said, he had launched a civil suit, with a trial listed in the Supreme Court in July.
The “one bright spot” for Marrogi is that he has been able to interact with his family, his lawyer said, “and on this occasion he disputed the merits of his mother being banned”.
“He lost his cool, he acted in a way that was less than desirable,” the lawyer said.
It’s not the first time the 35-year-old, who reportedly founded the Notorious Crime Family (NCF) gang in 2019, has faced court over incidents in prison.
In 2023, he pleaded guilty after being charged with masterminding major drug smuggling operations from his cell.
The trafficking was foiled following a police sting, in which Marrogi’s girlfriend’s phone was tapped.
Marrogi’s brother Jesse and mother, Madlin Enwiya, pleaded guilty to money laundering.
Last year, Marrogi faced court after setting fire to his cell and spraying faeces on a prison guard in 2023.
He was sentence to six months jail – to be served concurrently – for that offending.
Marrogi will be 60 before he is eligible for parole.
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Originally published as Jailed crime boss George Marrogi pleads guilty to wilful damage at Barwon prison
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