Notorious crime figure Tony Mokbel has left court after being granted bail following almost two decades in a Victorian jail for drug trafficking.
A large media pack and heavy police presence could be seen outside Victoria’s Court of Appeal on Friday afternoon, waiting for Mokbel to emerge from the front doors.
Mokbel, wearing a striped suit and tie, did not make a statement to journalists as he walked out the building and into a waiting black car.
The sound of car horns and cheers from supporters could be heard as the black vehicle drove away from the courthouse and down the street.
Mokbel is appealing his 26-year sentence, with barrister Julie Condon KC this week telling the court that Mokbel had suffered a miscarriage of justice from actions of his former lawyer.
Nicola Gobbo, also known as Lawyer X, snitched on Mokbel while representing him and handed police information at the peak of Melbourne’s gangland war in the mid 2000s.
Mokbel has said he would have pleaded guilty if he knew what was happening.
During a hearing before three judges in Victoria’s Court of Appeal on Friday, Mokbel was granted bail under strict conditions.
The more than 30 bail conditions include Mokbel being fitted with an electronic ankle monitoring device, an 8pm to 6am curfew, and reporting to a police station each day.
The court previously heard, if Mokbel was successfully given bail, he would live with his sister Gawy Saad inside her apartment in Viewbank, north-east of Melbourne.
Ms Saad has offered an $850,000 surety for her brother’s bail.
Earlier in the morning, Mokbel was taken from maximum Barwon prison, south-west of Melbourne, and driven to the city for his bail application hearing.
Video and photos showed him being transported in a Bearcat armoured vehicle.
Ms Condon had told the court earlier this week his poor health and the strength of his appeal, which has been delayed, as reasons for his freedom.
Mokbel was arrested in Greece in 2007 after an international manhunt following his skipping of bail while facing court for drug trafficking a year earlier.
He is waiting an upcoming appeal to his drug convictions later this year.
