Drug lord’s plot to escape Port Phillip Prison in rubbish bin
An international drug smuggler who is facing the next 24 years in jail has been revealed as one of three men allegedly involved in a rubbish truck breakout conspiracy at Port Phillip Prison.
Law & Order
Don't miss out on the headlines from Law & Order. Followed categories will be added to My News.
An international drug smuggler has emerged as a key player in a rubbish-truck plot to break out of a maximum-security prison.
Wedi Bembo — who is facing the next 24 years in jail — was one of three men allegedly involved in the breakout conspiracy at Port Phillip Prison.
The Herald Sun has been told authorities are also investigating indications of a $20,000 payment for playing a role in the escape bid.
Details of the plot have been circulating through the prison system this week.
Particular attention has been paid to where bricks had been removed from a cell wall — close to rubbish bins sitting on the other side.
A strong theory is that the prisoners conspired to hijack or sneak aboard the prison’s rubbish truck when it came to empty the bins.
Three large Besser block-style bricks had been removed by the time officers worked out what was happening.
The unsecured gap would have been big enough for prisoners to crawl through.
It is believed spoons, forks and a screwdriver — probably smuggled through an administrative area by a plotter — were used for the digging.
The overnight digs were covered up by stolen paint and tissues stuffed into gaps to replace the carved-out mortar.
The three large bricks had been removed from a cell’s internal wall. Work was under way to carve through the reinforced outer wall.
The marathon night-time excavation sessions were in a cell that was not Bembo’s.
It is believed the man doing the digging was working at the behest of Bembo and another prisoner. All three have now been transferred to Barwon Prison, near Geelong.
A .303 rifle bolt was also uncovered when officers swooped last Saturday. The bolt could have easily been fashioned into a functioning firearm with the addition of a hollow pipe, possibly from a chair leg.
One of the plotters worked in the jail reception area, and authorities are investigating whether that was where he was able to smuggle in the gun bolt and kitchen utensils.
MORE NEWS
PASSENGER PLANE PLOT TERRORIST REVEALED
BOTTLE BASHER LOSES ON RACISM CARD
Bembo has been linked to two major drug importations and was recently convicted over a scheme to bring in methamphetamine valued at up to $80 million hidden in a shipment of logs which arrived in Melbourne from Nigeria.
The Congo-born criminal has a long record of offences across Australia stretching back almost two decades.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said: “Police are investigating an alleged attempted escape from a correctional facility in Truganina on September 14. Two prisoners will be interviewed.”