Melbourne underworld identity Rami Margus ‘fears for safety’ after alleged drug syndicate arrest
A Melbourne underworld figure and a glam girl were swept up in an alleged “complicated drug importation trafficking syndicate”.
North West
Don't miss out on the headlines from North West. Followed categories will be added to My News.
An underworld figure allegedly entangled in an international meth, cigarette and gun-smuggling operation has “safety concerns” after he was remanded for serious drug charges.
Rami Margus, 32, fronted Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with offences including drug trafficking and attempting to import tobacco.
Margus – previously revealed as an associate of exiled crime kingpin Kazem Hamad – was charged after an eight-month investigation into a suspected crime syndicate.
Margus, of Tullamarine, was one of 12 people arrested since May over the sprawling inquiry, in which 11.8kg of meth, 2.8 million illegal cigarettes and 14 guns were allegedly seized.
Police allege methamphetamine was being shipped from Spain and cigarettes out of Dubai through international freight.
The drugs and smokes were allegedly then sent to factories in Epping and Craigieburn and a storage facility in Flemington.
Australian Border Force officers detected the shipments allegedly linked to the ring at the border in April and reported what they had found to Victoria Police.
North West Metro Regional Crime Squad detectives had already allegedly been investigating the suspected syndicate for firearms and drug trafficking.
Margus’ relation David Margus, 27, of Wollert, and Melbourne glam girl Montana Angwin, 26, also fronted court charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of meth.
The pair were also charged with dealing with $981,319 being the proceeds of crime.
Angwin, of Brunswick East, was also charged with gun possession.
Family clan member Samantha Margus, 23, of Hadfield, also fronted court charged with trafficking a commercial quantity of meth and dealing with $53,176 being the proceeds of crime.
Other co-accused Vicki Vagianakis and Yasmin Bondy also fronted court on various criminal charges.
The suspected crime syndicate players were charged in May this year.
Lawyers for Rami Margus sought an adjournment of releasing charge sheets to the media after a family member informed the defence Margus opposed release of court material due to a “safety concern”, the court was told.
A defence lawyer acting for other accused told the court the matter is “complicated”.
“The brief is 8000 pages, it’s a complicated drug importation trafficking syndicate or allegations of a drug importation trafficking syndicate over a vast date range..,” the lawyer submitted.
According to police reports several other people charged since the initial arrests include:
A Sunbury man, 39, who faces 14 counts of being a prohibited person possessing a firearm, possessing a trafficable quantity of firearms and tobacco and electronic cigarette offences
A Brunswick West woman, 25, who is charged with knowingly dealing in the proceeds of crime and dealing with property reasonable suspected of being the proceeds of crime.
A Wollert woman, 27, who is expected to be charged on summons with the destruction of evidence.
An Essendon man, 18, who faces counts of possessing methylamphetamine, possessing buprenorphine and three counts of failing to comply with an order.
A stolen car, a boat, luxury jewellery and designer clothes have also been seized as part of the ongoing investigation.
Detective Inspector Geoff Owen of North West Metro Regional Crime Squad said police were determined to make Victoria a hostile place for organised crime figures involved in drug and gun trafficking.
“We can only imagine the harm caused if these drugs and firearms made their way into the community,” Inspector Owen said.
“Our work does not stop here. In fact, those involved in the illicit drug and firearm trade should know that police have you in our sights.”
Margus and his brother, who both appeared via remand from Port Phillip Prison and Angwin, who appeared from Dame Phyllis Frost will face court at a later date.
Samantha Margus, Bondy and Vagianakis all had their bail extended to front court alongside the other co-accused.
Keilor man who drove through Israeli protesters ‘not anti-Semitic’
A Keilor man who drove through a crowd of Israeli protesters at a Palestine-Israel protest in Caulfield has said the attack “was not religiously motivated”.
Alleged bottle-throwing Carlton fan likely to remain banned from footy
A lifetime ban against a Carlton fan who had been accused of throwing a water bottle and injuring an AFL umpire will likely remain in place, despite all criminal charges being dropped.