EXCLUSIVE
Confronting footage has emerged of a man accused of conspiring to import 6.9kg of cocaine and meth into Australia removing a man’s tooth with a set of pliers.
Cosmo Commisso, 67, from Mount Pritchard in Sydney’s south-west was arrested on Tuesday accused of grooming corrupt Australian Border Force official Rita Gargiulo, 50, to smuggle drugs into Australia.
Commisso allegedly bribed Gargiulo with luxury items including handbags, high heels and gourmet groceries in return for ‘the safe passage of the parcel’.
The pair, who who met in late 2024, allegedly exchanged flirtatious messages in the months leading up to the alleged drug smuggling, in texts seen by the Daily Telegraph.
In her role as supervisor at the ABF base adjacent to Sydney Airport at Mascot, it’s alleged that Gargiulo would search cargo and trawl through internal systems to see if packages had been flagged.
The pair were arrested on Tuesday and charged with bribery and smuggling offences including aiding and abetting the importation of border-controlled drugs – which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Videos unearthed from Commisso’s various social media accounts show him wearing latex gloves and removing another man’s back molar with a set of pliers.
Cosmo Commisso (pictured with his wife Tracy) is accused of conspiring to import 6.9kg of cocaine and methamphetamine into Australia
Cosmo Commisso pictured with his wife Tracy and sons Ricky (centre) and Emilio (right)
ABF officer Rita Gargiulo is pictured after being arrested on Tuesday
The video is titled ‘one more happy customer’.
In another video he can be seen removing the same man’s front tooth.
‘That’s very ugly too mate, that’s gotta go,’ Commisso can be heard telling the man before extracting the tooth.
Friends in the background can be heard calling him ‘Dentist Cosmo’.
The man whose tooth is removed can be heard saying he would recommend his dental services to ‘anyone in Mount Pritchard’.
On Thursday, Ricky Commisso, Cosmo’s youngest son, broke his silence with Daily Mail Australia, confirming his father had not applied for bail.
‘He’s doing fine (in custody),’ he said before hooning away in his gunmetal grey Ford Raptor.
The ABF will allege Commisso paid Gargiulo to provide information about a ‘dummy’ shipment of cosmetics which arrived in Australia from Malaysia on February 21.
Disturbing footage shows Cosmo Commisso removing a man’s back molar with a set of pliers
Gargiulo then allegedly provided advice on how the airfreighted 6.9kg cocaine package – with an estimated street value of $1.6million – could get through customs.
It’s alleged that detectives from a newly established task force targeting ‘double agents’ had been listening to the pair talk via intercepted calls.
Their recorded conversations, which are detailed by police in court documents, also revealed Commisso gave Gargiulo several gifts, including a ‘highly decorated’ diamond ring and a pair of earrings – both of which were allegedly seized during raids on her Oran Park home.
Friends in the background can be heard calling him ‘Dentist Cosmo’ as Cosmo Commisso removes a man’s tooth with pliers
Commisso and Gargiulo are both being represented by high-profile Sydney solicitor Ahmed Dib.
They were both charged with bribery and drug importation and yet to enter pleas.
In 2018 Commisso was at home with his wife Tracy and son when their Mount Pritchard home was sprayed with bullets.
When asked by Nine News at the time of who could be responsible, the couple’s other son Emilio offered a one-word reply: ‘Cowards.’
