Underworld Kingpin Mokbel Avoids Return to Prison
Drug kingpin Tony Mokbel has been sentenced to time already served after losing a bid to overturn one of his convictions. Mokbel, 60, will not serve additional time for trafficking 41 kilograms of methamphetamine while on the run.
At the Victorian Court of Appeal on Thursday, Mokbel appeared relieved and shared a passionate kiss with his girlfriend after the decision was announced. He originally sought to have his 2006 conviction quashed, arguing that barrister-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo had tainted his case.
In October, the court rejected his appeal against the drug-trafficking charge linked to police operation Magnum. His conviction was upheld, and Justices Stephen McLeish, Maree Kennedy, and Stephen Kaye re-sentenced him to 13 years, seven months, and 15 days—time he has already served.
Justice McLeish commented that while the offences were serious and blatant, Mokbel’s unique circumstances justified a reduced sentence.
Mokbel committed the trafficking offences between July 2006 and June 2007 while evading law enforcement for separate charges. During this period, he managed to traffic over 41 kilograms of methamphetamine, generating an estimated $4 million in revenue, while hiding in regional Victoria and Greece.
He was arrested and extradited to Melbourne in 2008, pleading guilty in 2011 to the Magnum offence and two other drug charges. Earlier in 2025, Mokbel successfully appealed the two other convictions, known as Quills and Orbital.