Tony Mokbel: Melbourne underworld figure to appeal drug trafficking conviction after Lawyer X scandal

A notorious gangland figure’s appeal against his conviction for drug trafficking will go ahead after this new development.

Tony Mokbel will get a chance to appeal his conviction for drug trafficking after a lawyer representing the notorious gangland figure confirmed that Legal Aid would help fund the appeal.

Christopher Wareham, for Mokbel, told the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday that funding for the appeal had been agreed, adding Mokbel’s team were “very anxious to get the matter moving”.

Mokbel, who is serving 30 years in jail for drug trafficking, is appealing his conviction on the grounds that his former barrister Nicola Gobbo was secretly acting as a police mole while representing him.

Lawyer Nicola Gobbo acted as a police informant.

But his appeal ran out of steam in June when Mokbel ran into difficulties funding his previous legal team, headed by Ruth Shann SC.

From September 2005 to March 2006, Ms Gobbo was simultaneously representing Mokbel and acting for Victoria Police.

In December 2020, Mokbel had one drug trafficking conviction overturned by the Victorian Court of Appeal.

Tony Mokbel and Ms Gobbo outside court in 2004.

So far, two convictions have been overturned due to what has become known as the Lawyer X scandal.

In 2019, Faruk Orman’s murder conviction was overturned, with Mr Orman pursuing costs against Ms Gobbo in the Supreme Court.

Zlate Cvetanovski was also successful in having his drug trafficking conviction overturned in 2020.

Six other appeals based on the Lawyer X scandal remain on foot.

Mokbel’s matter is scheduled to return to the Supreme Court on August 19.