Tony Mokbel
| Tony Mokbel | |
|---|---|
Mokbel, wearing a wig, after his arrest in Greece.
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| Born |
Antonios Sajih Mokbel 11 August 1965 Kuwait |
| Criminal penalty | 30 years imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Imprisoned (Australia) |
| Conviction(s) | Drug trafficking, drug importation |
Antonios Sajih 'Tony' Mokbel (Arabic: طوني مقبل) (born 11 August 1965) is a Kuwaiti-born Australian criminal of Lebanese descent, who has been convicted for a number of offences, most prominently commercial drug trafficking. He is of Lebanese descent, but spent most of his life in Melbourne, Australia. Mokbel was a fugitive until his recapture in Athens, Greece on 5 June 2007. Operation Purana allege that he is the mastermind behind the Melbourne amphetamines trade. He has been linked to Carl Williams, as well as the killing of several victims of the Melbourne gangland war. He disappeared from Melbourne while on trial in March 2006, and was arrested by Greek police in Athens, Greece on 5 June 2007. Prior to his arrest, there was a $1 million bounty for information leading to his capture. According to Victoria Police, this reward still stands for the person who tipped off the police on his whereabouts.
It has been alleged that in late 2002 there was a meeting of more than 10 Melbourne organised crime figures in Carlton. At that meeting it is said that Mokbel was beaten, nearly to death, by Nik 'The Russian' Radev's bodyguard, Western Australian Troy Mercanti, who was a member of the Coffin Cheaters motorcycle gang.Andrew 'Benji' Veniamin was ordered by his then close associate, Dominic 'Mick' Gatto, to take Mokbel to a female doctor. In the following couple of weeks Mick Gatto was told that Veniamin and Mokbel became close allies.
He was reported to have paid convicted murderers, Keith Faure and Evangelos Goussis, A$150,000 for the murder of Lewis Moran, the 23rd victim of the Melbourne gangland killings. After an investigation by Operation Purana, Mokbel was charged with Moran's murder.
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