Warren, better known as "The Fibber" or "The Liar", was an associate of the Kangaroo Gang - a team of spectacularly successful shoplifters who plundered stores in England and Europe in the 1970s.

He was later linked with the Grandfather Mob, a team of mature-age criminals who operated on the east coast of Australia during the '90s.

Warren's first arrest, in 1938, was for riding on the footboard of a tram.

His last - in 1994, at the age of 70 - was for his involvement with what was then Australia's biggest cannabis seizure.

The haul, reportedly worth $100 million, was seized when police and Customs officers intercepted a trawler near Hervey Bay, 150km north of Brisbane, in a dawn raid.

Warren was finally found guilty in 1998 of conspiracy to import drugs, after two mistrials.

He was sentenced to four years' jail with a minimum of only one year after a judge took account of his age and ill health.

Police believed Warren also organised a $1.2 million cannabis shipment that arrived in Australia in late 1986.

His history included offences in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Germany, France and England.

Warren first came to the notice of police in NSW at the age of 15.

They said he later specialised in shoplifting and fraud before becoming involved in the drug trade.

He was arrested dozens of times in Melbourne in the 1940s and '50s for playing two-up.