Melbourne drug lord Rob Karam’s appeal dismissed

Underworld kingpin Rob Karam, who claims his case was tainted by Nicola Gobbo, will remain behind bars after his appeal was rejected.

Purana task force officers arrest Rob Karam.

Underworld kingpin Rob Karam will remain behind bars after losing his appeal to overturn a 35-year drug trafficking sentence.

The Melbourne drug lord has been fighting his conviction since 2017, claiming his case was tainted by Nicola Gobbo, also known as Lawyer X, who at times acted as his lawyer.

Karam was convicted for ­attempting to import 15 million ­ecstasy pills in tomato tins from Italy in 2007, with a jury finding him guilty in 2012. His sentence was extended following further drug-trafficking charges.

The Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants found Ms Gobbo took advantage of her relationship with Karam, who was her client at the time, and tipped off police to the impending shipment of MDMA in tomato tins.

Judges David Beach, Stephen McLeish and Maree Kennedy handed down the long-awaited verdict on Karam at the Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal on Thursday morning.

The panel found his appeals over the Tomato Tins and Inca trials should be dismissed.

Purana task force officers arrest Rob Karam

In its judgment, the panel noted Ms Gobbo did not appear for Karam in the trials but did ­appear for him in the initial stages of proceedings and was involved in the preparation of the application’s defence. The lawyer turned police informant began acting for Karam in 2005.

“Ms Gobbo in effect acted as an adviser to the applicant, notwithstanding that she was providing information to police during the relevant period,” the judges said. “Between August 2007 and August 2008, Ms Gobbo continued to provide extensive information to Victoria Police about, or derived from, the applicant while he was a current or former client.”

The judgment said Ms Gobbo continued to act for Karam by appearing, providing legal advice or performing legal work from 2008 until 2015. “Ms Gobbo was aware of the conflicts of interest arising from her dual role as ­adviser and informer.”

At the time, the drug seizure was considered the world’s biggest ecstasy bust, valued at $122m. In the joint Victoria Police-federal police operation, 33 other people were arrested over the failed importation.

Lawyer Nicola Gobbo is suing Victoria Police.

Karam’s barrister, Julie Condon KC, told the court in October her client’s Tomato Tins and Inca trials suffered from “an abuse of process”.

The judges said while the ­“ordinary fair-minded citizen would be rightly appalled by the ethical failures exhibited by Ms Gobbo” they did not believe “the putative citizen, once made aware of the facts … could entertain any lingering suspicion that Ms Gobbo’s conduct might have had any effect on either trial”.