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Tony Mokbelâs appeal against drug trafficking convictions could be held within six months and will be spearheaded by the same barrister whose success in the High Court led to George Pellâs acquittal and release from prison.
Mokbel is serving a 30-year prison term but argues his convictions are tainted because his case was corrupted by the involvement of Nicola Gobbo, who acted as a barrister for the crime boss while also snitching on clients as a registered police informer.
Nicola Gobbo with Tony Mokbel.
Credit:ninevms
Mokbelâs case was one of eight appeals connected to the Gobbo legal scandal to go before Victoriaâs Court of Appeal this week for administrative hearings so court president Chris Maxwell could be updated on how the challenges were progressing.
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19:03 EDT, 19 December 2020
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Melbourne underworld drug lord Tony Mokbel could be eligible a huge payout for seized assets after charges were overturned.
A legal loophole could allow the drug kingin, 55 to apply for compensation for more than $20million in property, luxury cars and cash seized by police almost two decades ago.
It follows the Court of Appeal s decision last week to quash Mokbel s 2006 drug trafficking conviction after accepting he did not get a fair trial due to meddling by his then lawyer Nicola Gobbo - the long-time police informant known as Lawyer X.
The ruling may have removed legal grounds used to seize assets police alleged were proceeds of crime.
Lawyer X | The Australian theaustralian.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theaustralian.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
And so the fallout from the Lawyer X scandal continues.
Drug kingpin Tony Mokbel has had his conviction for the importation of cocaine quashed by
Victoria s Court of Appeal as a result of the Lawyer X scandal,
on the basis that Nicola Gobbo (also known as Lawyer X )
had been a registered informant with Victorian Police while
representing him.
Mr Mokbel will remain in prison, serving time for other
offences, but Commonwealth prosecutors have confirmed they will not
pursue a retrial for the charges relating to the importation of a
commercial quantity of cocaine in the year 2000.
Duplicity and deceit