Latest news with #Mokbel
Perth Now
16-05-2025
- Perth Now
Date locked in for drug kingpin's appeal hearing
Drug kingpin Tony Mokbel's long-awaited appeal hearing has been set down for four days in September. Mokbel, who was bailed in April, grabbed a coffee with his lawyers and then smiled and joked with them inside the Victorian Court of Appeal ahead of his case on Friday morning. During the 15-minute directions hearing, Judicial Registrar Deirdre McCann set down the four-day appeal to start on September 2. Mokbel did not speak during the brief hearing but he was free to sit in the body of the courtroom, rather than in the dock. The gangland figure is seeking his drug trafficking and importation convictions to be overturned because he was represented by barrister-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo. Ms Gobbo, a registered Victoria Police informer from 2005 to 2009, was acting as Mokbel's lawyer for four years before he fled to Greece in 2006 and continued to advise him when he was extradited in 2008. Mokbel pleaded guilty to two counts of trafficking a drug of dependence for trafficking MDMA and methamphetamine in April 2011, after striking a deal with prosecutors. He did not find out about Ms Gobbo's status as an informer until the High Court lifted gag orders in 2018. NSW Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Fullerton in November found police had perverted the course of justice in a "joint criminal enterprise" with Ms Gobbo to take down Mokbel. She handed down the damning findings against the police and prosecutors as she ruled on legal questions relating to Mokbel's appeal. Those findings spurred Mokbel into applying for bail in April, after serving 18 years of his 26-year jail term. Two appeal judges and a Supreme Court judge determined the strength of his appeal was one of the reasons why he should be released back into the community. Mokbel has been following 30 bail conditions since his release on April 4, including daily police reporting, an 8pm to 6am curfew and wearing a GPS monitoring device. His bail was also secured by a $1 million surety put up by his sister Gawy Saad. The judicial registrar on Friday extended Mokbel's bail to his September appeal hearing and also made orders for the parties to provide all material to the court by July 4. The composition of the Court of Appeal bench that will hear the appeal is yet to be decided. Mokbel ignored questions from reporters as he left court on Friday with his barrister Julie Condon KC.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
Gangland boss spotted after release
Infamous organised crime figure Tony Mokbel has been spotted on his first day of freedom for two decades, out and about in suburban Melbourne. Mokbel, 59, was sensationally bailed by the Court of Appeal on Friday, as an impending appeal over his convictions, tainted by his police informant lawyer, draws closer. After 18 years behind bars, the courts have found Mokbel's appeal has a reasonable chance of success. His sister has put up a $1m surety on Mokbel adhering to 30 bail conditions. On Saturday morning, Mokbel was spotted going for a walk with family, and then hopping in a vehicle destined for the police station a few hours later. 'You know I have proceedings on foot, and I can't talk to anyone, so thank you,' he told reporters who had staked out his sister's house. 'That's the instruction from all my lawyers.' More than a dozen members of the media were on hand at first light as Mokbel emerged from the house and went for a walk. A few hours later, he got into a black Volkswagen Golf and went to the Heidelberg Police Station to make his daily check in, driven by a younger female. After a year on the run in Greece and then 18 years in prison, on Friday Mokbel spent time with his children and saw his mother's grave for the first time. On Saturday, a 75 inch TV and flatpack furniture were delivered to his sister's house. The notorious figure has made no attempt to dodge the media upon release, with no decoy cars or disguises used. The typically dapper figure has been dressed in black gym gear. Mokbel, is fighting to overturn his convictions in the wake of the Lawyer-X scandal which saw his longtime legal confidant, Nicola Gobbo, unmasked as a police informer in 2019. Mokbel was a central figure in Melbourne's gangland wars of the 1990s and 2000s, and after being arrested in Greece, pleaded guilty to a host of drugs charges. But the actions of Victoria Police and Ms Gobbo have either nullified or cast serious doubt on the convictions of multiple men, and Mokbel's appeal case is 'very strong', one of the Court of Appeal justices said on Friday.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Corrupt cops flag new fight to hide identities
Two former Victoria Police officers found to have engaged in corrupt conduct have flagged they plan to launch a High Court bid to keep their identities secret. In a bombshell ruling late last year, NSW Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Fullerton found four police officers formed a 'joint criminal enterprise' with gangland barrister Nicola Gobbo to take down drug kingpin Tony Mokbel. Mokbel is appealing his 2012 conviction on drug offences following the revelation that Ms Gobbo, his longtime lawyer, was a police informant. Justice Fullerton was brought down from Sydney to avoid conflict of interest concerns and tasked with making findings on a series of 24 reference questions initiated by the Court of Appeal for Mokbel's appeal. In her judgment, Justice Fullerton found that, on the balance of probabilities, the four officers engaged in corrupt conduct during a meeting with Ms Gobbo and a client, known as Mr Cooper, who had been a drug cook. Ms Gobbo was used to help 'roll' Mr Cooper, who was convinced to provide evidence against Mokbel. Following the ruling, two of the officers sought a suppression order on their identities until their deaths, which was rejected by Justice David Beach. The officers raised 'deep concern' about the public disclosure of the court's finding, suggesting it could affect their mental health, reputation, broader lives and employment prospects. Justice Beach found the redactions sought would likely undermine confidence in the administration of justice. 'Any redactions to any judgment makes the judgment less transparent, potentially causing questions to be asked as to what else about the Lawyer X scandal is now being hidden from public view,' he said. The two officers then appealed the decision in the Court of Appeal which, on Thursday, was rejected by Chief Justice Richard Niall, Justice Karin Emerton and Justice John Forrest. But the officers were given a reprieve after their barrister, Renée Enbom KC, was granted an continuation of an interim suppression order pending filing of, or determination of, a High Court challenge. She argued to not extend the order, which prevents publishing anything that could identify the officers, would render any appeal or subsequent application for a suppression order on new grounds 'nugatory'. The two officers have 28 days to file an application for leave to appeal the decision in the High Court. Last year, Ms Gobbo sued Victoria Police alleging they breached a duty of care to her.
