Australian drug lord Tony Mokbel walks free: ‘I don’t regret anything’

South China Morning PostEN 1 min read 100% complete by Agence France-PresseFebruary 6, 2026 at 07:05 AM

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Australian drug lord Tony Mokbel, a central figure in Melbourne's gangland wars, was freed after prosecutors dropped a planned retrial on drug trafficking charges. Mokbel had been sentenced to 30 years in 2012 for masterminding a drug syndicate. His conviction was jeopardized when it was revealed that his lawyer, Nicola Gobbo, was acting as a police informant. After serving 18 years, Mokbel was granted bail in April following a court ruling that he had a strong chance of overturning his convictions. While one charge was dropped, a retrial was considered for a 2005 MDMA importation allegation, but prosecutors in Victoria ultimately decided not to proceed.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

MDMA 40% Melbourne 50% Victoria 60% Nicola Gobbo 70% Australia 80% Tony Mokbel ×290%

Keywords

tony mokbel 100% drug trafficking 90% retrial 80% nicola gobbo 70% gangland war 70% police informant 70% criminal convictions 60% melbourne 50% mdma 50%

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Neutral

Score: -0.10

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Source

South China Morning Post

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85%

Geographic Perspective

Australia

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis.

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tony mokbel drug trafficking retrial nicola gobbo gangland war police informant criminal convictions melbourne mdma

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