Mum-in-law’s generous gesture to accused drug importer Robin Reffo

A Melbourne tradie facing charges over a major drug plot has had his mother-in-law offer a $1m surety to help his bid for bail.

The mother-in-law of a Melbourne tradie facing life behind bars over an alleged drug importation plot exposed in the groundbreaking AN0M sting has offered a $1m surety to secure his freedom.

Robin Reffo, 36, was among dozens of people arrested across the globe in June as part of the Australian Federal Police’s bust involving the use of the encrypted chat app, AN0M.

At the time, the Herald Sun exclusively revealed the details of AFP’s crime-busting Operation Ironside, which saw them design the app to trick organised criminals into thinking their conversations were secreted from authorities.

Mr Reffo, 36, from Werribee, has been behind bars since.

Robin Reffo.

The AFP allege he was part of a syndicate who was using the app to organise a shipment of methamphetamine and cocaine from LA between March 31 and June 7 this year.

In a bail application before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday, Mr Reffo’s mother-in-law Minira Sefa vouched for the husband of her daughter, Linda Reffo.

Offering up everything she had in equity in her two properties, Ms Sefa said she knew her son-in-law “would never do anything to hurt his family”.

“I would not under any circumstances put what I have on the line if I wasn’t 1000 per cent sure that Robin wouldn’t do anything wrong (on bail),” she told the court.

Barrister Dermot Dann, QC, for Mr Reffo, cited the surety, combined with his client’s lack of criminal history, family support and employment as a carpenter at his grandfather’s company, Reffo Constructions, as reasons he should be granted bail.

He also said Mr Reffo was now “surrounded by Covid” in the Melbourne Remand Centre, which had 63 positive cases as of October 23.

“That’s an extremely concerning situation and ranks highly in this combination of circumstances,” Mr Dann said.

But prosecutor Brett Stevens opposed bail, saying it was serious offending and that Mr Reffo was a flight risk, with evidence he had ties in Turkey.

He did concede Mr Reffo was “lower in the hierarchy” of the syndicate, but intercepted AN0M messages showed he was a willing participant who would benefit financially.

Court documents claim Mr Reffo, whose user ID on the app was “magicwould”, wrote to the syndicate’s accused ringleader, Danny Zayneh: “I’m all in brother can’t wait. Hahahaha, we will all get a good earn.”

Mr Zayneh replied: “F--- yeh brother, lol. Love your enthusiasm.”

The AFP allege Mr Reffo used a dead man’s identity and purported to be the recipient of tyre rims under the name of “George” for a dry run of their plot.

The drugs were to be concealed in the rims and delivered to co-accused Joe Scordo’s International Motor Cars business in Sunshine West.

Mr Reffo is also accused of trafficking and storing drugs for the syndicate, with $45,000 found in a safe in the laundry of his Werribee home, another $5000 in his car, and 3.5kg of drugs in the garage.

Mr Reffo is suspected of becoming

embroiled in the syndicate through his gym buddy and co-accused Omar Dib, a kickboxer who acted as a “lieutenant” to Mr Zayneh.

He is charged with conspiring to import a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs, trafficking a commercial quantity of ice and dealing in proceeds of crime.

On Friday, magistrate Timothy Bourke granted bail, setting “stringent” conditions including a 9pm-6am curfew and a ban on leaving Victoria, associating with co-accused and using encrypted messaging apps.

Mr Bourke cited significant delays in the justice system due to the pandemic as the main reason for granting bail, with any trial unlikely until 2024.