Anthony Phillip Sitar’s ‘secret surgery’ to avoid facial recognition while on the run in Mexico
An Australian fugitive on the run for a decade in Mexico, who is a key drug broker for bikie gangs, is suspected of taking a dramatic step to avoid capture.
Narcos on the Front Line
Don't miss out on the headlines from Narcos on the Front Line. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Exclusive: A fugitive on the run for a decade is suspected of having plastic surgery to avoid capture.
Anthony Phillip Sitar is hiding out in Mexico in a region controlled by the ruthless CJNG cartel, who have been linked to mutilated bodies and car bombings targeting police.
Retired veteran detective Charlie Bezzina said it was likely Sitar had gone under the knife. “Given the facial recognition software available overseas now a person like him would be looking to change his appearance,” he said.
“It’s not so much changing fingerprints because that can be a sign of a consciousness of guilt.”
Sitar is now one of Australia’s most wanted criminals after becoming a key drug broker in Mexico.
The former kickboxer fled Melbourne in 2011 as his associates were being arrested over a $300 million ice and heroin shipment hidden in bottles of Mexican Cucapa beer.
Sitar has been accused of turning himself from a low level player into a kingpin brokering billion dollar drug deals.
He has been off the radar for years, but an investigation by Narcos: On the frontline, revealed that Sitar had been staying at the Palmar Hotel Tropical in San Pancho.
The region is known as the Nayarit Riviera, famous for top class dining and a relaxed atmosphere.
The Palmar Tropical Hotel is one of the most luxurious venues on that coast, with self-contained apartments overlooking a pool.
The hotel is just a few minutes walk from the beach and the perfect destination for families.
Sitar sent a photograph to friends of two children (below), believed to be his who were born after he fled Australia, from the hotel.
The area is also known for its good quality schools and has become a haven for criminals linked to the CJNG, which is now a major rival to the notorious Sinaloa cartel.
The group, formally known as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, have been using drones to drop explosives on police vehicles in Mexico and has been accused of executing politicians.
Mexico has been increasingly using facial recognition software, while the technology was widespread at airports in the United States.
In London, police have been using live facial recognition software to track people to prevent terrorism and arrest criminals.
The software has been continually improving, with even iPhones now opening on facial recognition tech.
Dr Ekrim Keskin, a leading plastic surgeon based in Istanbul, Turkey, where another Australian fugitive Hakan Ayik has been hiding out, said it was possible to change facial structures.
“Criminals can of course undergo surgeries to change their faces,” he said.
“We do not have a chance to examine whether the patients are guilty when deciding on the surgery. If someone from Australia comes to Turkey and tells us (they) want to have face replacement surgery we can perform these operations.”
Dr Keskin said he would not perform the surgery if he knew a patient was a criminal, but added they were unlikely to disclose that information.
Mr Bezzina was a key detective in the investigation of murder Alphonse Gangitano, who was killed as part of Melbourne’s gangland wars made famous in Channel 9’s Underbelly series.
He said that criminals like Sitar always had sophisticated escape plans.
“He would have had a plan in place and fake passports,” Mr Bezzina said.
Sitar’s disappearance echoed the escape of one of Australia’s biggest drug lord’s Tony Mokbel, who fled to Greece in 2006 to avoid drug charges.
“Mokbel hid out in Bonnie Doon (a country town) for six months before he got on a yacht to Greece,” Mr Bezzina said.
He may have had a false passport, or could have used a passport that had a similar photograph to him, he added.
stephen.drill@news.com.au
Originally published as Anthony Phillip Sitar’s ‘secret surgery’ to avoid facial recognition while on the run in Mexico
AN0M app bust: What’s next after 62 convictions
Criminals using the “secret” AN0M app have been sentenced to three centuries of jail time, with dozens of cases still to hit court. See some of them who’ve been convicted.
Read more
Hells Angels’ cunning move to take Comanchero drug trade
The Hells Angels are preparing to take over Australia’s wholesale international drug trade after the arrest of Comanchero kingpin Hakan Ayik in Turkey. This is what’s afoot.
Read more