While hiding out in Bonnie Doon in March 2006 before his infamous fugitive stint in Greece, Tony Mokbel was convicted over the import of two kilograms of cocaine from Mexico.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He was sentenced to 12 years behind bars over the commercial drug import, and ordered to serve at least nine - a sentence that began after the bewigged Mokbel was captured at an Athens coffee shop a year later.
But perhaps the most famous of the drug kingpin's convictions has been quashed on appeal because of the Lawyer X scandal that has embroiled Victoria's legal system.
The Court of Appeal is yet to decide if Mokbel will be ordered to face a fresh trial on the single charge.
But commonwealth prosecutor Rowena Orr said because Mokbel had already served that sentence, even if a fresh trial were to be ordered they would not pursue the case.
Mokbel, dressed in a dark suit and tie, appeared by video from Barwon Prison on Tuesday.
The prosecutors' decision means Mokbel will need to be re-sentenced and could have a significant portion of his current three-decade long sentence slashed.
He remains behind bars, still serving lengthy sentences on multiple other drug convictions - prosecuted by state authorities - which he is also appealing.
Tuesday's decision came after commonwealth prosecutors conceded that while challenging the cocaine charge between September 2005 and March 2006, Mokbel was represented by Nicola Gobbo.
As well as being a popular gangland barrister - and a go-to for the Mokbel family - she was also a registered Victoria Police informer.
She was suggesting to Victoria Police ways the force could investigate him, feeding police information about his ongoing offending and that of his criminal associates, and sharing her views about his trial prospects.
Prosecutors conceded there was compelling evidence he suffered a substantial miscarriage of justice in his trial.
A royal commission found her dual role could have affected more than 1000 convictions.
Appeal court president Justice Chris Maxwell on Tuesday described the conduct of Ms Gobbo and those who facilitated her wrongdoing as "disgraceful".
"These are matters of profound importance," he said.
Mokbel is the third person to have a conviction quashed over the Lawyer X saga - following the overturning of a murder conviction against Faruk Orman in 2018 and last month's successful appeal by Zlate Cvetanovski.
Another convicted drug trafficker, Jan Visser, is waiting for the appeal court to hand down its decision in his case after a hearing in July.
Half a dozen others are appealing convictions over the major import of ecstasy in tomato tins in 2007, including masterminds Pasquale Barbaro and Rob Karam.
Australian Associated Press
