Tony Mokbel, Craig Minogue go on hunger strike in protest of harsh lockdown conditions

Drug lord Tony Mokbel and Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue have gone on an extended hunger strike over gruelling prison conditions.

Underbelly drug kingpin Tony Mokbel and Russell St bomber Craig Minogue have gone on an extended hunger strike over what they claim are gruelling prison conditions.

The pair have refused meals at Barwon Prison for the past five days in protest against the harsh lockdown conditions.

A source said the pair had been locked in their cells for periods longer than 24 hours without access to a telephone or Zoom calls.

“They are still being denied their mandated one hour of exercise per day and spending 24 hours per day confined to their cells,” the source said.

“They were only allowed to make one call to their legal representatives as at October 12.”

There are no ­active Covid-19 cases at Barwon Prison.

However, restrictions have been imposed broadly across the justice system as it battles a growing outbreak of 66 cases across six prisons.

It’s understood Barwon has been in lockdown for nine days during the past month.

Russell Street bomber Craig Minogue.

Drug lord Tony Mokbel.

A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokeswoman said necessary measures were being undertaken to protect prisoners from Covid-19.

“The health, safety, and wellbeing of prisoners and staff is our highest priority,” the spokeswoman said.

Mokbel has been in prison on high-level drug trafficking charges since June 2007.

The gangland bigwig was sentenced in absentia to jail after he infamously fled overseas while on bail during a 2006 trial, sparking Australia’s biggest international manhunt.

He was later tracked down and arrested in an Athens cafe in 2007 while wearing a wig as a disguise, and extradited from Greece a year later.

Last year one of his convictions was quashed due to ­ involvement by notorious police informer Nicola Gobbo.

Minogue is serving a life sentence over the March 27, 1986 Russell St bombing which killed Constable Angela Taylor and injured 22 others.

Constable Taylor, 21, died three weeks after the Russell St bombing after she was hit by the massive ­explosion outside the Russell St police headquarters.