How alleged Sydney gangster Cosmo Commisso betrayed Australian Border Force official upon arrest: police

“Meeting you is gonna be the downfall of me,” a corrupt Border Force official told the alleged Sydney gangland figure accused of grooming her. The words proved prophetic when he flipped on her, police allege.

An alleged Sydney gangland figure accused of grooming a corrupt Australian Border Force official to smuggle drugs into Australia flipped on her when he was arrested, telling investigators the supervisor had told him she could “get anything cleared” through the border, police allege.

According to police allegations in court documents ABF official Rita Gargiulo, who was working in the agency’s Mascot base, grew increasingly paranoid in the final weeks of her alleged ruse with Cosmo Commisso, saying in an intercepted phone call: “Meeting you is gonna be the downfall of me … it’s true, it’s true … they’ll just start watching what I do more carefully”.

The pair were arrested in a nationwide sting on Tuesday, with police claiming Gargiulo started “working for the bad guys” and allegedly took bribes from Commisso to ensure an airfreight parcel containing 6.9kg of cocaine bypassed ABF examination this month.

It all unravelled when Australian Federal Police seized the consignment first, finding the cocaine concealed in chocolate bar wrappers in a shipment described as containing kitchen wear, including oven mitts, mugs and a whisk.

The court documents allege Commisso tried to calm Gargiulo’s nerves in the months leading up to police seizing the drugs, telling her she needed some “tender love and care”, but The Daily Telegraph can reveal he later allegedly confessed to working with her and providing cash and gifts such as “face cream” in exchange for border protection information.

Alleged crime figure Cosmo Commisso, 67.

Gargiulo was arrested on Tuesday at work but refused to speak with police about her alleged role as a “double-agent”.

However, when Commisso was arrested the same day, he did not refuse to speak and told police exactly when he met Gargiulo and that she had informed him she could “get anything cleared”, police allege in court documents.

He recounted several alleged meetings with Gargiulo at truck stop servos and McDonalds carparks in Sydney but stressed drugs were “never discussed”.

Gargiulo (right) being arrested on the job this week.

In the court documents, Commisso said his alleged role in the cocaine importation was to be “the messenger” and that he would pass border information from Gargiulo to “other people” he did not know.

In the months leading up to their arrests, police were listening to their pair’s conversations, which revealed that Gargiulo was repeatedly worried about getting caught.

In one text, she allegedly told Commisso: “We shouldn’t talk here”, to which he replied: “Aw, if there’s anything wrong with this here, we’ll both be in f***ing hand cuffs. In jail … f***ing doing life.”

In another call, Gagiulo told Commisso: “Meeting you is gonna be the downfall of me”.

He told her not to be “f***ing stupid”, before she replied: “It’s true it’s true … you don’t have control over it … they’ll put two and two together”.

Their recorded conversations, which are detailed in court documents, also revealed Commisso gave her several gifts, including a “highly decorated” diamond ring and a pair of earrings – both of which were allegedly seized during raids on her home.

High-profile Sydney solicitor Ahmed Dib, pictured at a separate court matter, is defending the pair.

Commisso and Gargiulo, who are being represented by high-profile Sydney solicitor Ahmed Dib, were both charged with bribery and drug importation and yet to enter pleas.