Angelo Pandeli met with Canadian Hells Angels Marty Robert on cocaine trade before his arrest

More details have emerged of how Hells Angels boss Angelo Pandeli planned to expand his network before being detained, as a new underworld race is on to find his insider on Sydney’s docks.

Australian Hells Angels kingpin Angelo Pandeli had a secret meeting with his Canadian counterpart to discuss closer cooperation on drug shipments before he was detained in Dubai.

Pandeli’s meeting with Marty Robert, the boss of the Hells Angels in Montreal, Canada has taken on added significance since he was picked up.

Police suspect the link was likely to allow a continuation of their alleged international multi-billion dollar cocaine and ice distribution network despite his arrest.

An underworld race was now on to secure the services of Pandeli’s “door”, or insider, on Sydney’s docks who had allegedly allowed him to move tons of drugs into Australia, sources claim.

Any attempts to bring Pandeli to Australia would require an Interpol red notice, an international law enforcement request to provisionally arrest a person wanted for extradition.

The Australian Federal Police have declined to comment.

Pandeli, 52, who grew up in Whyalla, South Australia, has become an increasingly significant global drug player following the arrest of Sydney kingpin Hakan Ayik in Turkey last year.

Pandeli had been expected to attend a Hells Angels run in Mexico, running from September 21-25 in the holiday hotspot of Cancun.

Angelo Pandeli, president of Hells Angles Motorcycle Club. Picture: News Corp Australia

Robert organised the Mexican meeting, after also visiting Moscow, Dublin and Colombia on his global tour this year.

Hells Angels from charters across the world were expected to attend the Cancun event, including Australians, or people representing them.

Sources claim that Robert, 50, allegedly wanted to expand the reach of the drug network linked to the Hells Angels, exploiting the gap created by the weakened Comanchero bikie gang following the arrests in Turkey.

The Hells Angels bikies had a meeting in Bulgaria this year. Picture: Supplied.

The Hells Angels bikies had a meeting in Russia in August. Picture: Supplied.

But another source with knowledge of the Hells Angels claimed that most of the club members were not involved in drug dealing, which was separate from the club.

“The Hells Angels are charters, they are not formal chapters and don’t have the position of national president,” the source said.

Angelo Pandeli with his family in Dubai. Picture: Supplied / Nine

“You don’t get your patch, become a member with full rights and privileges and then become a drug dealer.”

The “81s” was set up in a franchise model, rather than a set hierarchy, which meant they operated independently.

“This allows those who do stray into drug dealing to meet and discuss business with external groups,” the source said.

Pandeli moved to Dubai in 2018 after he was cleared of charges relating to unfiled tax returns.

He has built a considerable network there and has been working with the Kinahan clan, a group of Irish gangsters whose leaders each have a $7m bounty on their heads.

A $10m villa bought in Angelo Pandeli wife's name in Dubai. Picture: Supplied / Nine

The United States Drug Enforcement Agency has accused the Kinahans, run by father Christy, and sons Daniel and Christopher Jnr, of trafficking “Colombian cocaine, money laundering, firearms trafficking, and murder.”

Pandeli’s links to the Kinahans were first reported in the Cocaine Inc. podcast, a joint investigation from News Corp Australia and The Times and The Sunday Times.

Listen to the podcast below.

The Australian and Irish groups were linked to shipments of tons of drugs across the world, including 300kg of “high grade” cocaine seized in Limerick, Ireland, on December 19 last year.

Angelo Pandeli with the Kinahan brothers. Picture: News Corp Australia

Robert, whose links with Pandeli were first reported by the Gangster Report’s Scott Burnstein but corroborated by other sources, has been one of Canada’s most high profile bikies.

He was pictured wearing black tie to his wedding in 2018 and his house was raided by Canadian police in March.

The bridesmaids wore flowing cream coloured dresses matched with black leather jackets emblazoned with the phrase “ride or die” at Montreal’s Windsor Ballrooms, with some describing the wedding as a red carpet affair.

The Hells Angels have also had runs in Russia and Bulgaria this year.

[e-mail]

Originally published as Angelo Pandeli met with Canadian Hells Angels Marty Robert on cocaine trade before his arrest