Australia's Most Wanted Drug Trafficker Arrested in Dubai, Days Ahead of Large Hells Angels Summit in Cancun

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Australia’s most wanted man, senior Hells Angel Angelo Pandeli, has reportedly been detained in Dubai. The drug kingpin was nabbed this past week, but it remains unclear whether he will be charged, according to Daily Mail Australia.

The 52-year-old is considered to be one of Australia’s biggest cocaine and methamphetamine importers and was recently identified as an ally of the Kinahan cartel. Pandeli left Australia in 2018 and is one of a number of criminals who have chosen to settle down in the UAE. Pandeli is also credited with bringing leaders of different gangs together for drug dealings using Dubai as their base. This comes just before he was expected to travel to Mexico for a major Hells Angels meeting.

Pandeli was due to travel to Cancun, Mexico for a major Hells Angels meeting set up by Canadian Hells Angels figure Marty Robert. He was due to meet with senior members of the biker group based internationally, which is expected to attract leaders from other motorcycle gangs interested in working with Hells Angels and to discuss drug importations into Australia.

UPDATE: On Sept. 6. 2024, Angelo was deported from Dubai back to Australia.

Who is Angelo Pandeli?

Angelo Pandeli joined the Hells Angels MC in Australia in the early 2000s.

He continues to be featured on Australia's most wanted list and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) have been monitoring him for more than a decade. Reports from 2012 note that Pandeli had an "extensive criminal history" while President of the Sydney Hells Angels chapter.

His movements were on the radar of the AFP and local police units in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and South Australia.

The Australian Tax Office previously took the 52-year-old to court for failing to file a tax return in 2014/15, although this charge was thrown out at Syndey’s Downing Centre Local Court in 2017 after Pandeli’s accountant took the blame for paperwork error.

Pandeli’s tax fraud charges were part of Operation Morpheus, a nationwide effort to combat organized crime, including outlaw motorcycle gangs. Pandeli's sprawling home was raided in 2018 over suspicions of a plot to import $250 million worth of ice (meth) to Australia in a light plane.

Pandeli with his family in front of the Burj hotel in Dubai.

 
Pandeli relocated to Dubai in 2018 and is believed to have met the Kinahans shortly afterwards, selling his Sydney harbour apartment for $8.6 million.

Pandeli holds a significant role in the international drug trade, being one of Australia’s primary importers of cocaine and methamphetamine. In 2021, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission identified him as part of the "Aussie Cartel" responsible for bringing $1.5 billion worth of drugs into Australia annually.

Cocaine sells for more than $350 a gram in Australia and the country’s profit margins give Pandeli major influence in the global supply chain.

He’s been named by the ACIC as part of the ‘Aussie Cartel’, Australians, dual nationals or foreign nationals with links to Australia who operate mostly offshore and coordinate large drug shipments to Australia. This Aussie Cartel worked with Tse Chi Lop or the Sam Gor Syndicate and other Drug Trafficking organisations. Most named by the ACIC have been arrested and are either in Australian Custody or being extradited to Australia.

He was first linked publicly to the Kinahan Cartel in June this year following a joint investigation by True Crime Australia, The Times, and The Sunday Times. 

It alleged that Pandeli and the Kinahans are under investigation for attempting to smuggle tens of millions of Euros worth of cocaine from Colombia to Europe via Ireland. Alleging that Pandeli has formed an alliance with the Kinahans to distribute cocaine globally.

Hells Angels Summit in Cancun

Pandeli was due to be joined by Hells Angels bikies based in Thailand, Canada, the Netherlands, Russia and eastern Europe. Senior members are expected to discuss drug importations into Australia and celebrate links with the Nomads, another Australian bikie group.

It is unclear whether he will attend the gathering, if he is able to make bond, which will most likely be held at the Hells Angels multi-story clubhouse in Cancun and kick off on September 5.

The Hells Angels, the world's largest biker gang with almost 5,000 members across an estimated 475 chapters in more than 60 countries, are known to operate on an international scale. Each chapter is considered autonomous within the larger organization. This has made it difficult for authorities to go after the organization as a whole. In many places like Australia where bikers are known as bikies, many Hells Angels members have not even been motorcycle riders, using the organization and reputation for criminal activity.

It is believed that the first international chapter of the club was founded in Auckland, New Zealand in 1961 for the main purpose of importing amphetamine precursor chemicals as they were not restricted in that country until decades later.

Montreal Hells Angels leader Martin Robert.

Considered and behind the murders of several organized crime figures in Quebec and the killing of a drug trafficker based in Cancun Mexico last year; Martin Robert, better known as Marty has become a powerhouse in the Montreal biker and organized crime scene.

Robert's ultimate goal may be to have Canadian HA, his Montreal group along with the Hamilton group lead by Walter Stadnick, a legend in Canadian biker lore, become the global seat of power for the Hells Angels and to further 'trans-nationalize' the group particularly into regions where they have had less influence in the past. Recent world travels of Robert to several countries including the United States, as part of these trans-nationalization efforts

Hells Angels leaders Marty Robert and Angelo Pandeli got together this summer in June in Dubai to discuss operations & business, all as part of Robert’s efforts over the past half year to grow Canadian HAs influence on the world stage.

It is believed that Robert ordered the slaying of Samy Tamouro, the Hells Angels drug trafficker who fled to Cancun Mexico. The hitmen, captured on video and arrested shortly afterwards are believed to have worked for the CJNG Cartel.

Decades ago, alliances with the Montreal Mafia, namely the Rizzuto Family, saw Hells Angels and support club members handling local distribution and and drug dealing as well as acting as muscle and hitmen for the Canadian Mafia. Irish West End Gang members controlled the ports, the Mafia imported heroin and cocaine and with the country wide network of Hells Angels members the Alliance contributed to Canada's drug problems.

In recent years, the Montreal Hells Angels have started to take a larger role in controlling all aspects drug importation and distribution across Canada. Infighting between Italian factions have left the Rizzutos largely decimated and with the murder of Gregory Woolley last year, allegedly also ordered by Marty Robert, the ties between the Mafia and the motorcycle club in Canada have been largely severed.

In April, 2024 high-ranking Hells Angels member Jason "Ace" Fahey (center) was arrested during a raid on his waterfront home in Five Dock in Sydney's inner west.

He was formerly the Aussie National President of the Bandidos but patched over to the Hells Angels last year. Photos of the two clubs meeting for lunch following his patch over suggests a strong alliance between the two clubs in Australian.

Sources Sunday World, Daily Mail, Gangster Report, Gangster Report, Daily Morning Herald