Drug kingpin Tony Mokbel is a step closer to quashing his remaining convictions, with his long-awaited appeal hearing set to start.
The former gangland figure is expected to appear in person at the Victorian Court of Appeal this morning, after being released on bail in April.
He is seeking to have drug trafficking and importation convictions overturned, claiming they were tainted because he was represented by barrister-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo.
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.
She continued to advise him when he was extradited to Melbourne 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 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 Gobbo to take down Mokbel.
She handed down the damning findings against 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.
This week’s hearing will also concern an appeal filed on behalf of Victoria’s Director of Public Prosecutions over Justice Fullerton’s judgment.
Two appeal judges and a Supreme Court judge cited the strength of Mokbel’s appeal as one of the reasons as to why he was released back into the community earlier this year.
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.
Mokbel’s appeal hearing is expected to run for four days from today.
However, it could be weeks or months before he finds out if he is successful.
