Rob Karam: Drug kingpin’s appeal dismissed amid Lawyer-X fallout

An underworld figure jailed for more than three decades on drug conspiracy charges has had his appeal knocked back in Victoria’s highest court.

A drug “consultant” convicted over the world’s largest ecstasy bust has had his long-awaited bid for freedom rejected by Victoria’s highest court.

Rob Karam was one of 32 people jailed after more than 15 million ecstasy tablets were found concealed inside tomato tins at the Port of Melbourne in 2007.

At trial, the court was told he took on a “consultant” role in the international syndicate, using his contacts and expertise in the freight industry to secure and track the shipment.

Known as the “tomato-tins” case, Karam was jailed for 19 years in 2012 that was extended to 37 years two years later on more drug trafficking charges.

These related to a shipment of 151kg of cocaine packaged as Colombian coffee and a planned shipment of 100kg of pseudoephedrine from India where Karam again served a “key role”, providing advice to other syndicate members.

He was also a “wholesale” customer of the syndicate, purchasing and onselling “at least” 335,000 ecstasy tablets.

Rob Karam was jailed in the mid-2010s for 37 years. Picture: Supplied

Earlier this year, Karam appealed both convictions in the Court of Appeal, arguing that his trials had been tainted by lawyer-turned-police informer Nicola Gobbo, who had at times acted for Karam.

She also tipped police off to the $122m “tomato-tins” shipment by handing police an import document provided by Karam.

Previously, the court was told he considered Ms Gobbo a friend and legal confidant from 2007 until 2015.

More than 15 million ecstasy tablets were found in a consignment coming from Italy. Picture: ABF.

The drugs were found inside tomato tins. Picture: ABF.

The 2019 revelation that the gangland barrister was secretly passing information to police has led a series of convicted criminals to launch appeals against their convictions.

But on Thursday, a panel of three judges, Justices David Beach, Stephen McLeish and Maree Kennedy, dismissed Karam’s appeals.

In published reasons, they found Karam had not shown Ms Gobbo’s legal work had deprived him of independent counsel or could have affected the outcome of either trial.

Noting that Ms Gobbo had represented him in the early stages of the cases, they said she was “in effect” acting as an adviser to Karam but did not appear for him in his trials.

“We accept that the ordinary fair-minded citizen would be rightly appalled by the ethical failures exhibited by Ms Gobbo as revealed in this case,” they said.

“But we do not think that the putative citizen, once made aware of the facts as we have outlined them in these reasons, could entertain any lingering suspicion that Ms Gobbo’s conduct might have had any effect on either trial.”

Originally published as Rob Karam: Drug kingpin’s appeal dismissed amid Lawyer-X fallout