Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo tells of AFP’s fury at Victoria Police

Australian Federal Police accused Victoria Police of treachery in an inter-agency brawl that had the potential to wreck a major ecstasy smuggling investigation, the Lawyer X Royal Commission has heard.

Australian Federal Police believed Victoria Police was acting in a “treacherous and ­deceitful” way when the two agencies were part of a joint operation that would lead to a world record ecstasy bust, the Lawyer X royal commission has heard.

The inter-agency brawling began when Victoria Police asked for a notorious bikie and underworld figure to be a key target of the 2007 drug importation investigation.

The AFP, as the primary agency, rejected the ­request to target Commanchero Mohammed Oueida as part of Operation Agamas.

And it accused Victoria Police of treachery when the state-based agency went ­“behind its back” and started investigating Oueida over ­another smuggling matter, the hearing was told on Tuesday.

Melbourne gangland barrister Nicola Gobbo.

The inter-agency brawl had the potential to derail an ­investigation into 15 million ecstasy pills smuggled here.

A Victoria Police drug task force officer told the commission the AFP wanted to wipe “them off the map” and the relations were like a “closed door”.

The tensions began months before gangland ­barrister turned police snitch Nicola Gobbo provided her handlers with a bill of lading that revealed the location of the world record ecstasy shipment.

Her information led to police finding the 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy pills worth $440 million stashed in tomato tins.

Oueida, a notorious underworld figure, was not charged over tomato tins plot, but during a surveillance operation he was seen meeting one of the ringleaders, John Higgs.

Officer Green, one of Gobbo’s handlers transferred to the drug task force about the time the tomato tin plot was uncovered in 2007, said the spat had put relations between the two police forces “at an all-time low”.

An Australian Customs officer displays some of the seized 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy (MDMA) tablets.

He said the AFP had targeted Higgs, Rob Karam, Pasquale Barbaro and Saverio Zirilli over a series of large-scale drug smuggling operations.

Officer Green said Victoria Police notified the AFP they were investigating Oueida’s links to ­another shipping container suspected of holding drugs.

He said AFP officers saw them inspecting the container and it was interpreted as Victoria Police going “behind their back”.

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Officer Green was assigned back to the source development unit, which handled Gobbo. He later created a list of Gobbo’s greatest busts, titled “38 great hits”. Her informer number was 3838.

The list, which included Karam’s $200 million ecstasy smuggling operation and a $2 million tax fraud, was to be used to help quantify how much her information was worth to Victoria Police and the reward potential.

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