Lawyer X: Rob Karam appeal to turn on ‘final detail’ of Nicola Gobbo’s conduct

Whether a Melbourne drug trafficker’s conviction is a miscarriage of justice depends on the ‘fine details’ of Nicola Gobbo’s conduct.

Nicola Gobbo. Picture: ABC

Whether a Melbourne drug trafficker’s conviction is a miscarriage of justice depends on the “fine details” of Nicola Gobbo’s conduct as she snitched to police while representing the kingpins of the underworld, a court has heard.

During a mention hearing on Thursday, the president of the Victorian Court of Appeal, Christopher Maxwell, fore­­shadowed there would be “disputes of characterisation” in the upcoming appeal of Rob Karam.

“The disagreement won’t be disagreement on the facts … the dispute will be how that characterises her relationship with him (Karam),” he said.

Rob Karam after he was arrested in 2009.

Karam is preparing to appeal his 35-year-sentence for drug trafficking over the shipping of 15 million pills hidden inside tomato paste tins shipped from Italy in 2007, in what was then the world’s biggest ecstasy bust.

The royal commission into the police management of informants established Karam gave Ms Gobbo a receipt ­detailing the shipment, which the criminal barrister then photocopied and handed over to her handlers.

The tip-off led to the arrest of Karam and 33 others after a joint operation by Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police.

On Thursday, his lawyer Theo Alexander said Ms Gobbo, also known as Lawyer X, was at all times acting for Karam, and her role as police informant gave rise to a “miscarriage of justice”.

He said one potential dispute between his team and Victoria’s Office of Police Prosecutions was a telephone call to Karam, which had been marked as “friend” instead of legal advice.

“One can see scope for dispute,” he said.

Cvetanovski after he was acquitted. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Justice Maxwell said he ­assumed the matter would turn on the “fine detail” of Ms Gobbo’s conduct, and the court heard Karam’s appeal would likely be ready to be heard by the middle of the year.

Other former clients of Ms Gobbo who appeared before the Supreme Court on Thursday ­included mafia boss Frank ­Madafferi, who is seeking to overturn his tomato tin conviction, and Zlate Cvetanovski, who is appealing a charge of financial ­deception.