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Underworld identity Tony Mokbel is unlikely to face a retrial on decades-old drug matters, with the Director of Public Prosecutions expected to announce the bombshell decision to abandon the legal case against him.
Mokbel’s defence barrister, Julie Condon, KC, told this masthead a decision on the future of the case had been made on Thursday, before a hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday at which it is expected to be announced.
Channel Seven reported it had been decided a retrial would not be pursued, after the Court of Appeal set aside Mokbel’s previous conviction in October, ending the 60-year-old’s protracted, high-profile legal fight.
When previous inquiries were made about whether the charges would be pursued, the Office of Public Prosecutions told this masthead a decision was yet to be made. On Thursday, the office said it could not comment but would release further information on Friday.
Mokbel attended the Supreme Court late last year expecting to learn whether he would be retried after his conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal, but no decision had yet been made.
During a hearing in December, Condon expressed frustration at the delay and said it was time to bring this “sorry saga” to an end.
The case centres on a charge of conspiracy to import drugs stemming from two meetings with undercover police operatives on June 29 and 30, 2005.
The charge was laid despite Mokbel backing out of the alleged deal and calling the undercover police operatives on July 15, 2005.
Police alleged Mokbel had commissioned the importation of 100 kilograms of MDMA powder at a cost of $1.2 million in what was known as the Orbital case.
Mokbel has been on bail since being released from custody pending the outcome of his appeal hearings in April 2025. Strict conditions prevented him from leaving the country and at one point mandated he wear a tracking device, abide by a nightly curfew and live with family in Melbourne’s north.
He was jailed for 30 years, with a non-parole period of 22 years, in 2012 after pleading guilty to masterminding an elaborate drug syndicate.
But in October, the Court of Appeal threw out one of Mokbel’s major drug convictions, ordered a retrial on a second and upheld a third.
His 30-year sentence was then reduced to 13 years, seven months and 15 days, which the court said he had already served in jail following his arrest in Greece while on the run from authorities.
In its judgment, the Court of Appeal found supergrass Nicola Gobbo’s involvement corrupted one case against Mokbel – known as Operation Quills – to a degree that his conviction should be quashed. Gobbo had served as Mokbel’s defence lawyer in the early 2000s while also informing on him to police.
The Magnum conviction, which still stands, related to Mokbel trafficking a commercial quantity of methamphetamine via a large-scale criminal enterprise while he was overseas.
Mokbel is expected to be at the Supreme Court on Friday.
It is expected that after the announcement of the DPP’s decision he will be a free citizen with no pending criminal charges.
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