Gangland figure Tony Mokbel leaves Royal Melbourne Hospital

Drug lord Tony Mokbel is believed to have undergone painstaking facial reconstruction surgery before he was discharged and moved to a prison ward this week.

Drug lord Tony Mokbel is believed to have undergone painstaking facial reconstruction surgery before he was moved to the prison ward of St Vincent’s Hospital on Tuesday.

Mokbel is now recovering in the secure St Augustine’s section of the hospital after he was moved from Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he had the surgery earlier this week.

The Herald Sun has been told Mokbel is not believed to be well enough to be shifted to a prison medical facility.

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The Royal Melbourne Hospital this morning confirmed the 53-year-old had left the hospital, but would not say when or what condition he was in.

Corrections Victoria refused to disclose Mr Mokbel’s new location.

“Corrections Victoria is unable to comment on the placement of individual prisoners,” a spokesman said.

Tony Mokbel has been discharged after an attempt on his life.

Meanwhile, twin inquiries are being run to work out who bashed Mokbel and why he was not separated from other inmates after it became known he had intervened to stop standover tactics being used on a young inmate.

There are suspicions that the two men accused of attacking him were encouraged to do so, possibly by powerful prison figures linked to the standover activity.

The Herald Sun has been told an internal Corrections Victoria inquiry will examine why senior officers did not transfer Mokbel for his own protection.

Although Mokbel declined to be moved, questions have been raised about why his wishes were not overruled.

The government review of the Mokbel attack will be led by New South Wales Court of Appeal Judge Justice David Ipp AO QC, a former Commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption, and former Commissioner of Queensland Corrective Services Dr Mark Rallings.

The gangland kingpin was allegedly beaten and stabbed with a shiv.

The pair will provide their final report to the government by the end of April.

Teira Bennett and Eldea Teuira, both aged 21, have been charged with attempted murder, intentionally causing serious injury and causing serious injury intentionally in circumstances of gross violence.

Mokbel was left fighting for life after being beaten and stabbed with a shiv as the daily 4pm lockdown loomed on February 11.

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His health improved on Wednesday last week, with his condition changing from critical to serious at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Mokbel was confronted by a group of inmates who had been hosting a 21st birthday bash with pavlova and fizzy drinks. He was repeatedly stabbed and stomped on.

Mokbel, who has been housed in the mainstream Diosma unit at Barwon, is understood to have shrugged off recent concerns about his safety, with jail bosses deciding not to move him away from the general prison population after a security review the day before the attack.