Fears of all-out gang war after grave of Meshlin Marrogi desecrated

There are fears of all-out Middle Eastern gang warfare in Melbourne after the grave of the sister of a major crime gang boss was desecrated over the weekend.

Vandals broke into the Preston General Cemetery in Melbourne on Sunday night and smashed the grave of Meshlin Marrogi, the sister of jailed underworld figure George Marrogi.

Horrifyingly, Ms Marrogi’s coffin was dragged a short distance before it too was opened and abandoned.

The low act is been treated as a warning shot against her brother, the Herald Sun reports.

Police regarded Ms Marrogi as key to the rise of her brother’s crime family empire.

Mr Marrogi was jailed for a maximum of 32 years in April last year after a jury found him guilty of the shooting murder of Kadir Ors in September 2016.

Mourners immediately began visiting the cordoned-off section of the mausoleum.

The cries of women could be heard echoing throughout the mausoleum.

One of the women was Ms Marrogi’s mother Maldin Enwiya, who told the Herald Sun she regularly visited her daughter’s grave, sometimes more than once a day.

Another loved one described what happened as “sick”, urging police to act swiftly.

Ms Marrogi was a well-known businesswoman in the community. She tragically died aged 30 in 2021 after being struck down with Covid.
Her business started innocuously as a fundraiser for children in the family’s Syrian village of origin but allegedly became a money laundering scheme for her family.

Tensions simmering for months

Conflict has simmered in recent months in Melbourne, some of it involving figures previously opposed to or aligned with Mr Marrogi.

There have been a series of connected firebombings on businesses and homes related to Middle Eastern organised crime figures in recent months.

A wave of arson attacks had been carried out on tobacco stores in the period before the spate of torchings.

But police hoped the arrests of two men suspected of links to the firebombing friction would defuse the situation.

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In a statement Victoria Police said they were “investigating damage to a grave at Preston’s General Cemetery in Bundoora overnight on July 30”.

“It’s believed unknown offender/s have broken into the mausoleum and damaged the coffin,” police said.

A forensic examination has been made of the mausoleum and it is expected police will look for CCTV footage.

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