Updated ,first published
On the steps of the courthouse, Tony Mokbel declared going to jail for drug matters was the “biggest mistake” of his life.
Missing the death of his mother and other major life events, the underworld figure said he was now looking forward to getting on a plane, perhaps even to Greece, after the Director of Public Prosecutions abandoned its pending 2005 case against him more than 20 years after the alleged crimes were said to have been committed.
The 60-year-old is now a free man, walking away from court without any pending criminal matters and without the shadow of bail, flagging that a wedding may now be on the cards.
When asked what the relief felt like, he replied: “It’s beautiful, it feels really nice, and life goes on.”
Thanking his legal team, friends and family who supported him along the way, he said he wasn’t sure how to feel right now, but an overseas holiday was on the cards.
“That would be great to get on a plane. I always dreamed of getting on a plane when I was in jail,” Mokbel said while looking up at the Melbourne sky.
Being absent for family matters, including the death of his mother though, he said, were his biggest life regrets.
“That’s probably the biggest mistake of my life, being in jail, I don’t recommend it for anyone,” he said.
Minutes earlier, inside courtroom four at the Supreme Court, Crown prosecutor David Glynn, SC, told judicial registrar Timothy Freeman that the director (DPP) would not pursue a retrial on matters the Court of Appeal ruled on in October due to the potential impacts of supergrass barrister Nicola Gobbo on his defence.
“On behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions, I file a discontinuance in relation to one remaining charge,” Glynn said.
Freeman noted there were now no pending matters before the court regarding Mokbel and discharged his bail.
Mokbel then nodded in agreement; his red-soled Christian Louboutin shoes obstructed from view by the wooden dock wall.
“Thank you very much, your honour,” Mokbel replied.
With his bail removed, he is also now free to move around the country, and internationally, without restriction.
In a statement, the DPP said: “This decision was reached after careful consideration of all aspects of the matter relevant to the prospects of conviction and the public interest in a retrial. Issues of particular significance included likely ongoing delays, the age of the alleged offending, the fact that there was no actual importation, and the likely sentence to be imposed upon conviction given Mr Mokbel’s age, health and the lengthy term of imprisonment already served.”
Mokbel launched an appeal against drug convictions for three matters – known as Orbital, Magnum and Quills – following revelations his one-time lawyer, Gobbo, had been informing on him to police while also providing him with legal advice at times.
In October, three Court of Appeal justices partially sided with Mokbel, acquitting him of some convictions, upholding others, while ordering a retrial on a third case.
The court earlier heard that Mokbel’s legal team, led by Julie Condon, KC, immediately wrote to the DPP asking for the case to be dropped.
Mokbel was on bail at the time, but had earlier served almost 19 years in jail since his arrest in Greece, while on the run from the authorities in 2005.
The case had centred on a charge of conspiracy to import drugs stemming from two meetings with undercover police operatives on June 29 and 30, 2005, where police had previously alleged Mokbel commissioned the importation of 100 kilograms of MDMA powder at a cost of $1.2 million in what was known as the Orbital case.
In April, after almost two decades behind bars, Mokbel was released on bail with strict conditions pending the outcome of his appeal hearings in April 2025.
He was in 2012 jailed for 30 years, with a non-parole period of 22 years, after pleading guilty to masterminding an elaborate drug syndicate. But in October, the Court of Appeal threw out one of Mokbel’s major drug convictions, ordered a retrial on a second and upheld a third.
His 30-year sentence was then reduced to 13 years, seven months and 15 days, which the court said he had already served in jail following his arrest in Greece while on the run from authorities.
In its judgment, the Court of Appeal found Gobbo’s involvement as a supergrass corrupted one case against Mokbel – known as Operation Quills – to a degree that his conviction should be quashed. Gobbo had served as Mokbel’s defence lawyer in the early 2000s while also informing on him to police.
The Magnum conviction, which still stands, related to Mokbel trafficking a commercial quantity of methylamphetamine via a large-scale criminal enterprise while he was overseas.
Since his release on bail, Mokbel has been supported in court each day by his girlfriend, who has remained staunchly by his side after meeting while he was in jail.
When asked by the masthead outside court if a wedding could be on the cards, he replied: “I’d say yes.”
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