Police say thieves wanted to steal sister of underworld figure’s body in disturbing cemetery act

Detectives, hunting for two men captured breaking into a mausoleum and desecrating the grave of the sister of an underworld figure believe the thieves wanted to steal her remains. Meshlin Marrogi, who died in 2021 from Covid-19 at the age of 30, is the sister of convicted murderer and drug importer George Marrogi, Victoria Police Detective Inspector Graham Banks said on Friday that police believed the brazen July 30 crime was orchestrated by someone overseas who was seeking to “cause friction and hurt” to Ms Marrogi’s brother. “Ordinarily, we wouldn’t name a person in these circumstances, but I think there’s a public interest in doing so,” Inspector Banks said. The men were seen on CCTV breaking into the Preston General Cemetery in Bundoora shortly before 5am on July 30. They broke into Ms Marrogi’s casket and removed a diamond ring from her body. Police have released images of two men wearing gas masks and dark tracksuits leaving the cemetery in the hope someone can identify them or provide further information. Police allege the two men broke the window of a mausoleum before smashing open the casket and accessing Ms Marrogi’s body. “Police do not believe the theft (of the ring) was the motivating reason for their attendance that day,” Inspector Brooks said. “The reason we believe now is for the removal of the body from the mausoleum, to take it away. We don’t have clarity around what purpose taking it away was for, but certainly it was to, we believe, cause friction and hurt to the brother of Meshlin, George Marrogi. “We’ve received consistent information since this incident occurred that a male who is overseas has directed this incident. He’s a person of substantial criminal background, he’s no longer a resident of Australia … we believe that he’s leading a significant criminal enterprise that’s impacting not just Victoria but other states.” Inspector Brooks wouldn't identify the man but did confirm his syndicate’s link to the illicit tobacco trade. He’s urging those in the criminal underworld who are outraged by the event to pass any relevant information on to detectives. “There’s instances, reprisals in the criminal community, serious assaults, there have been things such as arson attacks … I’ve never seen anything of this nature, it’s a new low, that’s for sure,” he said, conceding he is concerned about potential reprisals from the cemetery incident. Police have consulted a spokesman for the family of the deceased in order to determine what items may have potentially been stolen from the crypt. Family members, including Ms Marrogi’s mother Madlin Enwiya, were at the scene early on July 31, telling the Herald Sun that what had happened to their daughter was “sick.” Investigators were originally looking into whether the daring break-in was a possible strike against George Marrogi, according to reports back in August. Police are treating the incident as targeted, as there was no damage to any other crypts within the mausoleum. Mr Marrogi has been behind bars since 2016 and is serving a 32-year sentence for the murder of Kadir Ors in an Officeworks car park. He is credited with founding the Notorious Crime Family from prison in 2019 and is alleged to be behind the importation of about $1bn worth of drugs into the country. Investigators are also keen to speak to anyone who may have information about the incident, who was responsible and what the potential motive was. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.