3 judges, 2 decades and 1 bad wig later, Tony Mokbel walks free

This photo of the drug lord Tony Mokbel Leaving the court with his criminal defense lawyer Nicola Gobbo (later revealed to be a police informant) Filmed around 2005.

An accused Melbourne drug dealer was charged in the Melbourne Magistrates Court with promoting the importation of the drug ecstasy.

As reported news.com.au:

‘Mokbel spent almost 19 years behind bars before his long-time lawyer Nicola Gobbo appealed his convictions and sentence after it was revealed he was a police informant.’

Accordingly ABC, On Friday:

Prosecutors have withdrawn the drug trafficking case against underworld figure Tony Mokbel. The charges related to allegations that Mokbel attempted to obtain commercial quantities of MDMA from abroad in June 2005.

Mokbel’s legal team argued the gang member suffered a major miscarriage of justice after his former lawyer Nicola Gobbo secretly passed information about him to Victoria Police.

**This photo is part of an IA. A series that looks at Australia through the eyes of award-winning photojournalist Bill McAuley.**

Bill McAuley’s 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a student photographer at ‘The Age’ in Melbourne.

He has several published collections including ‘Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley’ and ‘Last Light on Victoria Dock, 1999’. Click to see more from Bill Here.

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