Underworld Kingpin Mokbel Avoids Return to Prison
Drug kingpin Tony Mokbel has been sentenced to time already served after his bid to overturn a conviction failed. Mokbel, 60, will not serve additional time for trafficking 41kg of methamphetamine while evading authorities.
After the Victorian Court of Appeal delivered its decision on Thursday, Mokbel appeared relieved and shared a kiss with his girlfriend. He originally sought to have his 2006 conviction quashed, alleging that informant Nicola Gobbo compromised his case.
The court rejected his appeal in October, upholding the drug-trafficking charge related to police operation Magnum. Justices Stephen McLeish, Maree Kennedy, and Stephen Kaye re-sentenced him to 13 years, seven months, and 15 days, a term he has already served.
Justice McLeish stated that despite the seriousness of the offense, Mokbel’s “unusual circumstances warranted the more modest sentence.”
Details of the Magnum Offense
- The offending occurred between July 2006 and June 2007 while Mokbel was on the run for other charges.
- He trafficked over 41kg of methamphetamine, generating more than $4 million.
- Mokbel was hiding in regional Victoria and Greece during this period.
He was arrested and extradited to Melbourne in 2008, later pleading guilty in 2011 to the Magnum offense and two additional drug charges. Mokbel successfully appealed the other two convictions, Quills and Orbital, earlier in 2025.
Author's summary: Despite serious drug-trafficking charges, Tony Mokbel avoids further prison time as the court reaffirms his original sentence, acknowledging his unique circumstances.