Crime figure Tony Mokbel granted bail in Victoria’s Court of Appeal

ABC NEWS (Australia)

One of the most notorious figures in Melbourne's gangland wars, Tony Mokbel, has been released from prison on bail. The court of appeal has granted Mokbel bail as he attempts to have his drug conviction quashed.

Transcript

00:00There were jubilant scenes when Tony Mockbell emerged out of these doors into a huge press

00:09pack and a crowd of supporters who were cheering as he made his way into a grey Mercedes, being

00:16driven by his brothers and driven off most likely to his sister's house where he's been

00:22bailed to.

00:23But effectively what we learnt today is that his lawyers were successful in arguing that

00:29there were exceptional circumstances that warranted his release from custody as he awaits

00:35more hearings related to the overturning of his drug convictions.

00:39And the reason for that appeal is that when they were recorded he was being represented

00:43by Nicola Gobbo who's now been unmasked as Lawyer X.

00:48So inside court it was pretty subdued, Tony Mockbell was pretty quiet, he was asked if

00:55he agreed to the conditions of his bail, he said yes, he said he swore he would abide

01:00by them and he's just emerged three hours later to a huge press pack.

01:06Effectively what the judges have said is that the risk of Tony Mockbell fleeing this time

01:12are pretty low.

01:13They said that, keeping in mind last time he was bailed was when he fled to Greece on

01:21a yacht via Bonny Doon and was caught a year later.

01:25But they said that wouldn't happen again, it's very unlikely to happen because he wants

01:28to see this appeal play out, he has a supportive family, he's entrenched in the community,

01:34he has a long term partner which is one of the more surprising details that we found

01:38out during these proceedings.

01:40So she said the risk of him absconding is very low and they also pointed to the fact

01:45that this appeal has legs, it's a good case that's been put forward, so those are the

01:52reasons why he's been released.

01:55But he's been released with very strict bail conditions, he'll have to stay at his sister's

01:59address, he'll be subject to GPS tracking, he'll have to comply with a curfew, he'll

02:06have to report to police once a day.

02:09So he's not exactly a free man but this is the first time that Tony Mockbell will taste

02:15freedom in about 18 years.

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