Drug kingpin, Tony Mokbel is claiming that barrister-turned-informant, Nicola Gobbo, advised him to flee to Greece to avoid murder charges.
58-year-old Mokbel made the claims against Gobbo while providing evidence to the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday, as part of his appeal against drug trafficking, and incitement to import charges for which he was jailed in 2012.
Mokbel told the court that Gobbo advised him to “seriously think” about absconding while he was awaiting trial in 2006 on unrelated cocaine trafficking allegations.
In March of that year, Mokbel absconded to Greece, days out from the commencement of his trial. He was eventually arrested at an Athens coffee shop in June 2007, taking 11 more months to extradite him to Australia.
According to Nine News, while giving evidence on Tuesday, Mokbel said he “fully trusted” Gobbo and told her everything about his cases.
“I thought she was the staunchest person on earth,” Mokbel told the court.
“You would never pick her to be on the other side of the fence.”
Mokbel was sentenced to 30 years in jail in 2012 on drug trafficking charges stemming from police operations known as Quills, Orbital, and Magnum; the 30-year sentence was reduced to 26 years with a 20-year non-parole period in 2023, according to a Court of Appeal judgment.
Mokbel will be cross-examined in court today.
Source: Nine News
