Prison cell ‘fight club’ erupts at Silverwater jail as bikies brawl and man is left in coma

Inmates at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre in Silverwater have resorted to settling their differences with a prison style “fight club”.

Inmates at the state’s most volatile prison have resorted to settling their differences with a prison style “fight club” - that has seen a bikie go toe-to-toe with a rival and another man left in a coma in recent weeks.

Pod 12 in the Goldsmith area of the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (MRRC) at Silverwater Prison has been nicknamed the “octagon” by inmates because of the use of its cells as a place for fights out of sight of correctives guards.

Last month The Daily Telegraph reported on a brawl involving alleged Comanchero bikie heavyweight George Lergou.

Now it can be revealed that last week, a man was allegedly beaten unconscious by three other inmates and taken to hospital in a coma, however has now recovered enough to return to the prison population.

Corrective Services officers raid cells at Silverwater Jail looking for contraband. The officers now wear body cams that record the raids. Picture: Richard Dobson

Sources said those two incidents had occurred in neighbouring cells - 375 and 376 - and were part of the jailhouse fight club.

It is understood that the brawl that left an inmate fighting for life in hospital occurred on Sunday, November 24, with NSW Police made aware of the incident and Corrective Services NSW investigating.

“About 2.20pm on Monday, 25 November 2024 officers initiated a medical response after finding an injured inmate in a cell at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre at Silverwater,” a Corrective Services NSW spokesperson said.

“It appeared the 33-year-old had been victim of a serious assault.

“The inmate was taken to Westmead Hospital for treatment and returned to the centre on Friday, 29 November.

“Three inmates were identified as possible attackers and were placed into segregation while NSW Police and Corrective Services NSW investigate.”

Comanchero bikie George Lergou (right, with associates Tarek Zahed and Allan Meehan) was involved in a recent brawl at the MRRC. Picture: Instagram

The unofficial “fight club” was used to pit Lergou against a young inmate, after jailhouse mediators stepped in to stop an attempt to stab the alleged bikie.

Prison insiders said the plot to “shiv” Lergou was launched soon after he arrived in the MRRC, by an antagonist who is on remand for an attempted murder linked to the underworld.

“George and the kid went to a big cell belonging to a guy called Dean Contos in Pod 12 where George was knocked down a couple of times before being slammed and it was all over,” the source said.

“They are using those cells because they are the biggest, and better for a fight.”

There is no suggestion that Contos was involved in the fight or that Lergou instigated the altercation.

The incidents both occurred in Pod 12 of the Goldsmith wing at the Silverwater Prison. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

Underworld sources say a relative of Lergou’s opponent in the fight was shot at weeks ago and may have been targeted as part of a long running conflict with some in the Comanchero.

This is also believed to have inspired the brawl involving him and Lergou

Correctives Services NSW has no record of the fight involving Lergou despite it being the talk of the underworld and NSW Police.