Two police officers who worked with Lawyer X could be named this week

Two police officers who a judge found took part in a “joint criminal enterprise” with Lawyer X to bring down Tony Mokbel could be named this week, after they lost their bid to keep their identities secret.

Two police officers who a judge found took part in a “joint criminal enterprise” with Lawyer X have lost a bid to keep their identities secret.

Barrister Renee Enbom KC last week sought the suppression order, arguing her clients were denied procedural fairness as allegations of criminal wrongdoing were not put to them when they gave evidence at a preliminary appeal hearing for jailed drug boss Tony Mokbel.

But Supreme Court Justice David Beach on Wednesday ruled against her after the Herald Sun and other media outlets fought against the gag order.

Tony Mokbel arrives at the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne. Picture: Joel Carrett

The media argued it was in the public interest for the officers, known as police member one and police member two and who have not faced criminal charges, to be named.

An interim suppression order prohibiting publication of the officers’ identities was extended to Friday afternoon to allow time for Ms Enbom to speak to her clients, flagging an appeal may be filed.

The names of the officers, which have not been disclosed, are contained in a judgment by NSW Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Fullerton which will be published on Thursday.

Their names will be redacted pending the filing of an appeal.

In her submissions, Ms Enbom said her clients, who requested indemnity certificates to protect them from prosecution, were never given a chance to respond to allegations of criminal conduct as they were never put to them in the witness box.

Psychiatric evidence was also relied upon amid concerns about how their mental health would be affected if they were identified.

But Justice Beach rejected the submissions, saying the non-publication order would “undermine confidence in the administration of justice”.

“Any redactions to any judgment makes the judgment less transparent, potentially causing questions to be asked as to what else about the Lawyer X scandal is now being hidden from public view,” he said in his written reasons.

Justice Fullerton last month handed down a summary of her ruling which made scathing findings against police and former Director of Public Prosecutions John Champion.

She found police took part in a “joint criminal enterprise” to pervert the course of justice when they used barrister-turned-informer, Nicola Gobbo, to bring down her client, Mokbel.

The finding related to a meeting between Ms Gobbo, four police officers and a man, known in proceedings as Mr Cooper, who was a drug cook for Mokbel.

The court heard Ms Gobbo advised Mr Cooper, who was also her client, to plead guilty and give evidence against Mokbel.

Tony Mokbel with ‘Lawyer X’ Nicola Gobbo in 2004.

Justice Fullerton, who was brought in from NSW due to conflict-of-interest concerns, also found Justice Champion, now a Victorian Supreme Court judge, breached his duties as DPP for failing to disclose Ms Gobbo’s registration as an informant to her clients.

“I was unable to comfortably reach a conclusion as to why the director breached his duty of disclosure, other than it being a result of an error of judgement,” she said.

The judgment, which runs for more than 600 pages, was a preliminary ruling in Mokbel’s appeal against his drug convictions over the Lawyer X scandal which was first revealed by the Herald Sun.

Nearly 40 witnesses, including current and serving police and Mokbel himself, were called to give evidence over 61 days of hearings earlier this year.

More than 250 exhibits and hundreds of hours of recordings between Ms Gobbo and her handlers were also tendered as part of the case.

The ruling was not immediately made public to allow time for Victoria Police or lawyers acting for former police to seek redactions.

The case will now head to the Court of Appeal, which will ultimately decide to overturn or uphold Mokbel’s convictions.