Daily London
Gangland kingpin Tony Mokbel will not be sent back to jail after he was re-sentenced for trafficking more than 41kg of methylamphetamine.
Mokbel, 60, had sought to have his conviction for the 2006 offending quashed, claiming barrister-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo tainted his case.
But the Victorian Court of Appeal in October refused his appeal on the drug-trafficking charge, known under the police operation name Magnum.
His conviction was instead upheld and justices Stephen McLeish, Maree Kennedy and Stephen Kaye today re-sentenced him to 13 years, seven months and 15 days in jail, a term he has already served.
Mokbel looked down in relief as he learnt he would not be returned to prison.
The 60-year-old had also appealed another two of his other convictions, dubbed Quills and Orbital.
The court found Gobbo, who was a registered Victoria Police informer, encouraged two of her clients to “roll” against Mokbel and give statements to police.
At the same time, she was representing Mokbel in court or providing him with legal advice.
Police relied on the evidence from one of her clients, known under the pseudonym Mr Bickley, to prosecute the underworld figure on the Quills drug trafficking charge.
The court determined there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice and Mokbel’s conviction in that matter should be quashed.
The Orbital drug importation conviction was also set aside, but the justices determined Mokbel should face a retrial.
The Victorian Director of Public Prosecution is considering whether to retry Mokbel but a decision has not yet been made, a spokeswoman told AAP.
