Lawyer X: Nicola Gobbo ‘instrumental’ tomato tin ecstasy bust

The Lawyer-X royal commission has identified 38 cases potentially affected by the conduct of Nicola Gobbo and Victoria Police.

The Lawyer-X royal commission has identified 38 cases potentially affected by the conduct of Nicola Gobbo and Victoria Police. Picture: ABC

Convictions secured over the world record tomato tin ecstasy bust are in jeopardy after counsel assisting the Lawyer-X royal commission identified 38 cases potentially affected by the conduct of Nicola Gobbo and Victoria Police.

As well, counsel assisting Chris Winneke QC in his submissions to the royal commission into the management of police informants said there were 32 individuals potentially impacted by Ms Gobbo’s double life as criminal lawyer and police snitch.

“Material before the Commission indicates that the prosecution of 32 of those individuals resulted in 38 cases which may have been affected by the conduct of Ms Gobbo as a human sources,” he said in submissions to the royal commission released on Tuesday night.

Noting Ms Gobbo acted for at least 10 of the accused after they were arrested over the record drug bust, Mr Winneke said evidence indicated that the supergrass’ “prolific informing” had “assisted in the surveillance and obtaining of incriminating evidence in relation to all Operations and all accused.”

In June 2007, Victoria Police in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police made the world’s largest ecstasy haul when they uncovered 15 million pills inside tomato paste tins shipped from Italy.

The multimillion-dollar drug bust saw career criminals including Rob Karam, Frank Madafferi, Jan Visser and Saverio Zirilli convicted over the importation.

The multimillion-dollar drug bust saw career criminals including Jan Visser, pictured, convicted over the importation. Picture: AFP.

Mr Winneke submitted that there “were four pivotal aspects” of Ms Gobbo’s conduct in relation to the investigation that led to the tomato tin drug bust.

He said these were shipment details for the purpose of interception, the presence of certain accused for the purposes of installing listening devices, telephone numbers of the accused for the purpose of telephone intercepts and detectives tasking Ms Gobbo to actively and passively source intelligence.

Mr Winneke said police records show that on June 5 2007, Ms Gobbo photocopied documents given to her by Rob Karam for safekeeping before returning the originals and giving detectives copies.

“She informed police that they ‘relate to shipping containers being imported by [an associate of Mr Karam]’.”

Mr Winneke said Ms Gobbo was aware she was “likely instrumental” to the ecstasy bust, pointing to a letter the supergrass sent to Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana in June 2015 where she lists “the first of her ‘most significant crimes and/or arrests’ as ‘“‘Karam, Higgs, Barbaro and 33 co-accused for the largest ever seizure of ecstasy in the world’,”

“In addition, on 8 August 2008, the day on which most of the arrests in relation to the Operations were made, Ms Gobbo is recoded [sic] as having asked her handler, Mr Wolf, why she had not been given any credit for the arrests.”

Visser and Zirilli are appealing their convictions because of Lawyer X.

Mr Winneke submitted that it was before the commission to find that 38 cases “may have been affected by the conduct of Ms Gobbo as a human source, as well as the conduct of members of Victoria Police in their disclosures about and recruitment, management, and handling of Ms Gobbo as a human source.”

He further said that the evidence relied up to prosecute the case “may have been obtained in consequence of illegality or impropriety in connection with the use of Ms Gobbo as a human source by Victoria Police.”

“Further, it is submitted that there was a failure by members of Victoria Police to make appropriate disclosure to all 32 related accused and/or their legal representatives.”