A pro boxer who represented Australia at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 has been charged over his alleged role in a massive meth manufacturing operation.
Eleftherios ‘Terry’ Nickolas, 29, who lives in Sydney but travels to and from Adelaide, was arrested and charged on Tuesday by detectives who worked in Operation Ironside.
He previously finished fifth in the 69kg welterweight division at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Just two weeks ago, he was on the undercard of the blockbuster World Lightweight Championship bout between George Kambosos and Devin Haney.
Police claim Nickolas is a member of the Comancheros Motorcycle Gang and helped other members to source material used in methamphetamine production.
On Wednesday, a court heard that he is facing the possibility of further charges in Adelaide and Sydney after millions of intercepted messages from the encrypted AN0M app are analysed. He will appear in court again next week.
Operation Ironside was Australia’s biggest ever organised crime bust, which led to hundreds of arrests through AN0M, a Trojan horse app the underworld was tricked into using.
Eleftherios ‘Terry’ Nickolas previously finished fifth in the 69kg welterweight division at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, while representing Australia
Nickolas was arrested and charged on Tuesday by detectives who worked in Operation Ironside. Operation Ironside was Australia’s biggest ever organised crime bust, which led to hundreds of arrests through AN0M, a Trojan horse app the underworld was tricked into using
Of the more than 1,000 arrests worldwide, 383 were in Australia and ranged from alleged mafia bosses and senior bikies to airport workers and other insiders.
They were charged with 2,340 offences in Australia while more than 6.3 tonnes of illicit drugs, 147 weapons and firearms and $55 million in cash were seized.
Of the arrests, 42 offenders charged under Operation Ironside have already pleaded guilty or have been sentenced.
Nickolas is the 10th person charged after the discovery of an industrial lab hidden in a house in the Adelaide suburb of Morphett Vale on August 18, 2020.
Police found 11kg of ephedrine, 16kg of cutting agent, 8kg of iodine, 238g of methamphetamine and 5kg of methamphetamine in an oil form at the house.
Members of the alleged syndicate include Apostle Broikos, an 18-year-old baby-faced teen with a private education who is facing life in prison.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Trojan horse app used by cops to infiltrate some of the world’s most dangerous criminal gangs has led to police identifying more than 5,000 members of the notorious Italian mafia, who are all living in Australia to conduct their illegal business.
The Australian Federal Police is investigating 51 Italian organised crime clans, including 14 from the infamous ‘Ndrangheta mafia, a year after their secret app AN0M helped them launch one of the biggest and most significant crackdowns on organised crime in history.
Apostle Broikos, 18, one of the youngest arrested in Operation Ironside, was claimed to be part of Nickolas’ gang
Up to 5000 members of the Italian mafia are operating across Australia, according to Australian Federal Police
The AFP has an extensive file on mafia members living Down Under as part of Operation Ironside (pictured, one of the raid during the operation)
The AFP now has an extensive file on mafia members living Down Under after last year’s Operation Ironside, which was largely built on data taken from the encrypted app AN0M.
NSW is home to highest number of Italian crime clans with three found in Sydney and 14 allegedly conducting their business in regional NSW.
There are 14 in Victoria, nine in South Australia, five in the ACT, four in Western Australia and two in Queensland.
The clans operate nationwide and work closely with a wide range of organised crime groups including outlaw bikies, Middle Eastern gangs, Asian triads and South American cartels.
Police are now working with Colombian, US and Italian law enforcement authorities in a desperate bid to disrupt Italian organised crimes’ global networks.
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