‘Stay violent, remain silent’: Inside George Marrogi’s Notorious Crime Family

The rise and fall of former criminal powerhouse George Marrogi’s family centred drug importation syndicate.

It’s February 3, 2019, and George Marrogi is sitting in his prison cell setting up what would become one of the city’s most powerful organised crime gangs.

Marrogi had big dreams for his Notorious Crime Family outfit but one of the first priorities was working out a good motto.

Confined to a super-secure unit of Barwon Prison, Marrogi had plenty of time for running through the options.

A letter copied by jail officers and provided to the police who later dismantled his empire showed what he came up with.

Under consideration were “Stay violent - remain silent”, “Guard your mouth - preserve your life”, “Staunch through life - faith through death” and “God Forgives - the family won’t”.

It was through this period that Marrogi was somehow able to put together a series of huge drug importations worth billions and which rapidly gave his organisation enormous weight.

Department of Home Affairs records show 15 importations of trolleys over a 22-month period, the first three without drugs and likely dummy cargoes.

56 kilograms of methamphetamine and 13 kilograms of heroin were identified in a consignment of green tea and magnets sent from Thailand in March 2022. Picture: AFP

In 2025, the huge drug runs and the power they brought have been relegated to distant memories by police work and fierce rivals, among them underworld wrecking ball Kazem Hamad and feared young organised crime boss Ahmed Al Hamza.

Both are now based in the Middle-east but no one is in any doubt that they have seen off NCF.

“It (NCF) is finished. Dead, in jail or hiding from Kaz. No one left,” was one gangland source’s assessment.

But for a few years, Marrogi’s ambition was realised.

Members were identifiable by their NCF tattoos with accompanying AK47 assault rifle motif.

He may have been in prison but George’s word was law and members were expected to abide by every instruction relayed to the outside world.

“NCF rules include for members to always remain mute upon arrest, to only use approved lawyers in legal matters, to only use approved devices for all communication and to send a percentage of all profits to an offshore account to support families of incarcerated members. Failure to abide by the rules results in expulsion from the group,” an AFP document on the gang stated.

Tattoos of Jesse Marrogi, brother of accused crime boss George Marrogi. Picture: TikTok

From his cell, George would orchestrate colossal drug importations and order violent crimes against his foes on the outside.

His lover, Antonietta Mannella, was the outside world conduit for the shipments, organised in coded phone conversations which Marrogi was puzzlingly able to make by the dozen from a maximum security cell.

Evidence would later be uncovered of Mannella monitoring consignments as they winged their way out of Malaysia towards Australia.

A fluid operation - largely the work of Marrogi’s savvy sister Meshilin - would clean proceeds from huge methamphetamine and heroin shipments through shonky business acquisitions.

The purchase of dozens of homes, luxury cars and high-priced artwork turned the money into hard assets.

Antonietta Mannella was the outside world conduit for the shipments. Picture: Facebook

When things were humming, there were ostentatious displays of wealth, particularly by George’s younger brother, Jesse.

Social media accounts showed him speeding through town in prestige cars of unknown origin and taking holidays in exotic locations like Italy’s Amalfi Coast with girlfriend Sabrine Maghnie.

A rap video was filmed at the family’s home where performer BBG Smokey did his thing surrounded by luxury cars, some with NCF vanity plates.

Jesse turned up masked in the clip but was easily recognisable by the “F**k the Law” tattoo adorning his chest.

Jesse Marrogi in rapper BBG Smokey's music video at the Marrogi house. Picture: Supplied

It would later be revealed that there was a $300,000 price on his head and his online presence had severely diminished in the past two years.

The Herald Sun has been told he badly damaged an NCF yacht when he crashed it during a wild party on the Bay at the height of the gang’s ascent.

Meanwhile, George Marrogi sits in a Barwon Prison cell with decades ahead of him, a shadow of the criminal powerhouse he once was.

Originally published as ‘Stay violent, remain silent’: Inside George Marrogi’s Notorious Crime Family