Horrific act prisoners must perform in G-Fam gang initiation

An initiation to get into an ultra-violent prison gang could be behind a savage act that left an officer with serious facial injuries.

A jail ambush at Port Phillip Prison could have been part of a prisoner initiation.

A jail ambush that left a prison officer with serious facial wounds may have been motivated by the attacker wanting to join a notorious gang.

The Herald Sun has been told one theory for the brutal onslaught inside Port Phillip Prison is that the perpetrator was trying to join the G-Fam gang.

G-Fam is an ultra-violent outfit that is regarded as an emerging force in the prison system.

New members are required to attack a prison guard to join.

Police are investigating the bloodshed at maximum security Port Phillip but are yet to lay any charges.

The victim was taken to hospital by ambulance after his throat, neck and eye were slashed in the July 20 ambush.

G-Fam members have previously been responsible for random attacks on officers.

Many of those involved served time together in youth justice centres before again coming into contact in the adult prison system.

G-Fam members were responsible for the near-fatal stabbing and bashing of drug boss Tony Mokbel at Barwon Prison in 2019.

Teira Bennett was part of the attack on Tony Mokbel.

Eldea Teuira was also involved.

Teira Bennett and Eldea Teuira were sentenced to more than nine years in jail over that incident, which left Mokbel severely injured.

In 2020, a prison officer at Port Phillip was stabbed 10 times by a young inmate suspected of trying to earn his stripes with G-Fam.

Though reputedly disorganised and less than a decade old, G-Fam is regarded as one of the strongest gangs in the state’s prison system.

Members have in the past been involved in violent conflict with criminals from the rival Prisoners of War crew, headed by Matthew Charles Johnson.

A spokeswoman for Port Phillip’s operator, G4S, said the motive for last month’s attack was unclear and the company could not comment.

Port Phillip, at Truganina in Melbourne’s western suburbs, is regarded as one of Victoria’s toughest jails.

G-Fam founder David Odeba told the Felon Show podcast that members were mostly from Pacific Islander and Maori backgrounds.

“You’ve got people that go in there from all over the state, so I guess you sort of flock towards people that you have something in common with, which often is nationality,” he said.

“A lot of the boys spent most of their lives in and out of institutions.”