Tony Mokbel Walks Free After 18 Years: A New Chapter Begins
Tony Mokbel. Just hearing that name used to bring visions of the height of Melbourne’s underworld scene—drug syndicates, high-profile trials, and a dramatic international manhunt. But now, after nearly two decades behind bars, the 59-year-old has walked out of prison and into the sunlight, dressed in a suit and tie, flashing a smile as he faced a very different world than the one he left.
It’s been 18 years since Mokbel was taken into custody—first in Greece, where he fled while on bail in 2006, and then in Australia, where he’s served a lengthy sentence for masterminding a massive drug empire. But now, he’s free on bail, under 30 strict conditions, awaiting a potentially landmark appeal that could see his past convictions thrown out altogether. His legal team argues those convictions are deeply tainted by the notorious Lawyer X scandal—where his own barrister, Nicola Gobbo, was acting as a police informant while representing him. A betrayal of the most profound kind.
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On Friday, a panel of Court of Appeal judges, led by Justice Karin Emerton, acknowledged Mokbel’s “very strong case” for having his convictions quashed. It’s an extraordinary twist. The same man who once escaped the country in a 17-metre yacht, now bound by a GPS ankle monitor, a 10-hour daily curfew, and a total ban on smartphones or encrypted apps. He must report to police daily, stay within metropolitan Melbourne, and is forbidden from coming within two kilometres of any airport. The court is clearly not taking any chances.
The surety for his release? A staggering $1 million, half of which was backed by his sister Gawy Saad and her husband through equity in their home. Despite his previous bail breach, his sister testified that Mokbel has paid the price—and then some. She’s convinced he won’t run again. “He’s been punished for it and he’s done his time,” she said, firmly.
And what did Mokbel do with his first day of freedom? After a high-speed media chase around Melbourne’s freeways, he reunited with family in Viewbank, and later, visited his mother’s grave—an emotional, symbolic step that shows a man possibly trying to reconnect with his past on more personal terms.
There’s still a long legal road ahead. His final appeal, based on the Lawyer X revelations, is expected later this year. But for now, the image of Tony Mokbel stepping out of court, a free man after 18 years, is one that will linger. It’s not just a headline—it’s the latest chapter in a saga that blends crime, corruption, redemption, and justice all in one. Whether it’s the end of the story or just a turning point remains to be seen.
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