Man caught in AN0M drug sting allegedly trafficked from jail

A Melbourne man arrested over a $1 billion drug import plot was allegedly caught on the phone asking his girlfriend to sell drugs while he was behind bars.

A Melbourne dad arrested over a $1 billion drug importation plot as part of the AN0M encrypted app sting has allegedly tried to continue drug trafficking from behind bars.

Detectives listening in on telephone calls Sebastian Bezborodoff was making to his girlfriend from prison since his arrest on June 7 allege he asked her to continue selling more drugs in his absence.

The revelations emerged as Mr Bezborodoff made a bid for bail in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

In one conversation, the court heard he directed his partner to “get the bowl from Adrian”, referring to drugs placed in a bowl at a neighbour’s home.

He also requested she move hydroponic equipment from one address to another.

On June 25, another recorded phone call captured Mr Bezborodoff telling her who she should “get the stuff from”.

“You have to make it happen,” he said. “I will have to plan ... but I will need to get bail.”

The court heard Mr Bezborodoff suggested his partner get a forged letter from a physio to help him get bail.

“I don’t think the letter from the physio is a good idea,” she said.

He replied: “When are they going to check?”

Mr Bezborodoff, 46, is accused of conspiring with suspected drug syndicate ringleader Danny Zayneh and others on the encrypted AN0M app to import about 1.6 tonnes of ice and cocaine between April and June this year.

An earlier court heard his friend and co-accused Mark Joannou was an “investor” in the syndicate and got Mr Bezborodoff and another associate, Joe Scordo, involved.

Mr Scordo, 51, from Deer Park, runs International Motor Cars at 41 Enterprise Way, Sunshine West, which was to be “the main door” for the importation.

International Motor Cars at 41 Enterprise Way, Sunshine West, was allegedly intended to be the destination for a $1.6 billion drug import plot. Picture: Mark Stewart

They had allegedly planned to use the dealership as a front to conceal the drugs in tyre rims, with Mr Bezborodoff involved in a “dry run” using the car parts.

The court heard Mr Zayneh had links to the cartel and had organised about 1.6 tonnes of ice and cocaine to be imported from Los Angeles and India.

Magistrate Bernard Fitzgerald was forced to warn Mr Bezborodoff, who was appearing via video link from the Metropolitan Remand Centre, to stay quiet or be booted from the hearing after he kept interjecting with remarks including “what a joke” and “lying through his teeth” when an AFP officer detailed some of the allegations against him.

“Sorry for interrupting,” Mr Bezborodoff said. “It is just hard to hear people lying about you. But I won’t interrupt again.”

His barrister Theo Kassimatis QC pushed for bail, citing delays in the case going to trial due to the global pandemic and his limited prior criminal history,

He also offered a surety and said his client’s parents, who he lived with, relied on him for support and care.

Prosecutor Gavin Silbert SC opposed bail, saying it was a “premature” application with delays only speculation.

He highlighted that co-accused Mr Joannou was refused bail last month.

The pair were among dozens who were arrested as part of the Federal Police’s Operation Ironside, in which the AN0M app, designed by authorities, was used to listen in on unsuspecting organised criminals chats without them knowing.

Mr Fitzgerald will hand down his decision on Friday.

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