Tony Mokbel a powerful enforcer at Barwon Prison
Gangland drug lord Tony Mokbel has transformed from street boss to powerful enforcer at Barwon Prison, with fears he could be continuing to call the shots beyond the prison walls.
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Exclusive: Gangland drug lord Tony Mokbel has emerged as a feared voice inside Victoria’s highest-security jail.
After more than a decade behind bars, Mokbel has transformed from a street boss to a powerful enforcer and unlikely peacekeeper at Barwon Prison.
The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal Mokbel most recently intervened in a prison standover scheme, disrupting an extortion racket being run by Pacific Islander inmates.
The men were demanding $50 a month from a young prisoner, in custody for the first time on assault charges stemming from a love spat.
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It is understood the 19-year-old spoke to some people for protection and word made it to Mokbel that the teen was in trouble.
Mokbel, once Victoria’s biggest drug distributor, arranged for the Islanders to be spoken to and they immediately stopped approaching the youth.
The Sunday Herald Sun was told Mokbel has been found with a mobile phone inside the jail, with fears he could be continuing to call the shots beyond the prison walls.
“He’s lost none of his power since being locked up,” one legal source said.
“All he has to do is say the word, and people listen.”
Sources say it is no surprise that Mokbel, who built a $100 million speed syndicate, has gone from the top of Melbourne’s organised crime tree to a respected inmate.
While he is regarded by authorities as a model and personable prisoner who keeps out of trouble, Mokbel still holds sway among the prisoner population.
The avid racing enthusiast has been locked up since his arrest in Greece in 2007, spending most of that time in maximum security.
The Sunday Herald Sun revealed the first photo of Mokbel since his capture, posing behind bars in prison issue attire in 2017.
He spent more than a year on the run after skipping bail during a trial for cocaine importation.
He had learned police were investigating his possible involvement in several gangland murders.
Mokbel hid out in Bonnie Doon before crossing the Nullarbor, posing as a mute named Wes, before boarding the yacht Edwena — complete with a purpose-built hidey hole and separate toilet for the fugitive — for a voyage to Greece.
He continued to run his drug empire from overseas. He was captured after 15 months on the run and ultimately jailed in 2012 for 30 years, with a 22-year minimum.
But the drug lord has long suspected that his convictions were compromised by the Lawyer X informer scandal.
It is understood he has been watching developments closely and has plans to appeal, on the basis that his convictions were tainted by systemic police misconduct.
Mokbel was charged with two murders, but was acquitted of one, and the other case was dropped.