We found Australia’s most wanted man living in a luxury Sydney hotel

Deported from Dubai just a fortnight ago, Hells Angels bikie boss Angelo Pandeli is free to come and go from his luxury digs, despite being wanted as a “serious and organised” crime target.

One of Australia’s most wanted men is living in a five-star hotel in the heart of Sydney, just walking distance from Federal Police headquarters — and is free to come and go as he pleases.

Angelo Pandeli, the boss of one of the most feared bikie gangs in the country, checked into the CBD luxury accommodation when he arrived in Australia after being deported by authorities in Dubai two weeks ago.

The 53-year-old Hells Angels National President has been travelling the world since leaving Australia in 2018 — including stays in the United Arab Emirates, parts of Asia and Greece.

Although wanted by Australian authorities while living overseas over alleged links to large scale drug supply, and two Federal Police officers scrambling to come back with Pandeli on the flight from Dubai, the AFP were caught off guard when he was deported to Sydney, and had no warrant ready for his arrest on arrival at Sydney Airport.

This is despite Pandeli being declared an Australian Prioritised Organisation Target (APOT) by the Crime Intelligence Commission (ACIC).

Hells Angels bikie boss and alleged drug kingpin Angelo Pandeli snapped at a hotel in Sydney’s CBD this week, where he is staying after being deported from Dubai. Picture: Supplied: Supplied

The APOT declaration officially makes Pandeli one of the country’s most wanted men, reserved for “serious and organised crime targets that pose the greatest threat to Australia’s interests”, according to the ACIC.

Despite being named an APOT — Pandeli is in Sydney and currently a free man, living in a CBD hotel, with his location known to the Federal Police.

It’s understood both the AFP and NSW Police have visited the Hells Angels boss at the hotel, with the AFP claiming in a statement they maintain “coverage” of Pandeli.

The Saturday Telegraph rang the hotel on Friday, and was put through to Pandeli’s room — but the call was not answered.

An exclusive picture taken of the 53-year-old at the hotel this week shows the bikie boss walking casually in white sneakers, grey shorts and a white T-shirt — seemingly unfazed by his status as a wanted man.

In recent years authorities investigated links between Pandeli and the “Aussie Cartel”, a group of wanted criminals allegedly earning billions by smuggling drugs into Australia from overseas.

It’s believed Pandeli’s influence in the Aussie Cartel has grown following the arrest of Comanchero Hakan Ayik in Turkey, and the death of Lone Wolf boss Erkan “Eric the Wolf” Keskin and the arrest of other major players in the underworld.

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

Former international Comanchero boss Mark Buddle is currently in a Melbourne jail to face trial over the alleged importation of more than 160kg of cocaine into Australia, with an estimated street value of $40m.

“It’s been no secret the AFP considered him (Pandeli) a very major player and were working on him,’’ said a recently retired law enforcement officer.

“The AFP appears to have been taken by surprise and were not ready for him, and now to have him back and have nothing on him after supposedly working on him is amazing.”

“No one is happy, I suspect in how quick the deportation happened, not Pandeli, not the AFP and not the NSW Police,” they said.

After moving from Adelaide to Sydney in the 90s Pandeli rose through the ranks of the Hells Angels and took over the City Crew Chapter in Sydney in the early 2000s before becoming National President.

His former home in Pyrmont was raided in 2018 by the AFP as part of an investigation into a failed plot to import $250m worth of ice from Los Angeles to Australia in a modified light plane.

He has never been charged in relation to the seized drugs.

The Saturday Telegraph understands an alert would be sent to authorities if Pandeli attempted to leave the country.

Originally published as We found Australia’s most wanted man living in a luxury Sydney hotel