Accused crime kingpin and girlfriend plead guilty to drug charge

Accused crime kingpin George Marrogi has reunited with his lover as they came face-to-face in online court so they could plead guilty to a drug charge.

Antionetta Mannella has pleaded guilty to drug charges with her boyfriend George Marrogi.

Jailed murderer and accused crime kingpin George Marrogi has reunited with his lover as they came face to face in online court so they could plead guilty to a drug charge.

Marrogi, serving a 32-year sentence for the gun slaying of drug dealer Kadir Ors, was beamed into Melbourne Magistrates’ Court via video link from Barwon Prison alongside his girlfriend Antonietta Mannella, also in lockup.

Marrogi is allegedly the boss of the powerful Notorious Crime family gang, based in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

From their respective jails, Marrogi and Mannella both entered pleas of guilty to a single charge each of attempting to traffick a large commercial quantity of a drug of dependance.

The pair originally faced two charges from anti-organised crime taskforce Echo, the other being trafficking a large commercial quantity of a drug of dependence.

But in a plea deal, they confessed to the attempted trafficking charge, with the other count withdrawn by prosecutors.

George Marrogi is allegedly the boss of the powerful Notorious Crime family gang.

They will now be sent up to the County Court for a one-day plea hearing on January 24 next year.

Marrogi and Mannella were charged in May over a massive haul of the industrial solvent 1,4 butanediol, which was uncovered by investigators in a truck travelling on the Western Highway, near Horsham.

Police said that on board were 356 litres of the chemical, which is broken down into tiny doses and sold as the drug GHB.

Two other men, Scott Alexander Edwards and Kurt Opray, have also been charged over the alleged drug haul.

The case was separate to a major drug probe by the Australian Federal Police, where Marrogi and Mannella were charged in connection to the importation of 56kg of methamphetamine and 13kg of heroin.

After their arrests in April, the sale of a multi-million dollar luxury home at Mickleham in the northern suburbs fell through.

The lovers will return to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on September 27 over the other charges.

Marrogi is also facing a rarely used AFP charge of directing a criminal organisation.

It will be alleged he was running the internationally connected NCF from inside the maximum-security Barwon, by issuing coded instructions to Mannella on the outside.