The judges said an order of a retrial would leave the decision for further prosecution to the proper decision-makers.
Justice Chris Maxwell, however, said Mokbel had already been fully punished because he had served the entire portion of his 12-year sentence.
The court ordering an acquittal, Justice Maxwell said, was not like a jury returning a not guilty verdict and in this case, said nothing about Mokbels guilt.
Indeed, it is common ground that there is sufficient evidence to support a conviction on the importation charge, Justice Maxwell said.
Rather, the judgment of acquittal gives formal expression to the appellate courts conclusion that there should be no retrial.
Fridays decision doesnt mean Mokbel will be released. He is still serving time on Victorian drug charges, which hes also appealing because of the involvement of Ms Gobbo, dubbed Lawyer X before her identity as the barrister who was registered as police informer 3838 was revealed.
Con Heliotis talks to the media in March 2006 after Mokbel, his client, failed to show up to court. Ms Gobbo is pictured in the background.Credit:Simon O’Dwyer
A critical aspect of the appeal to the Victorian convictions, which is being fought by Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd, is Ms Gobbos role in Mokbels extradition from Greece.
Mokbels capture in 2007 formed the centrepiece of law enforcements widely publicised successes during the Melbourne gangland war.
Mokbel skipped the country in March 2006, days before he was supposed to go back into custody to await the jurys verdict to the cocaine importation charges.
He was convicted in his absence to a nine-year minimum sentence with a 12-year maximum for importing three kilograms of cocaine in candles from Mexico. He was arrested in Greece and extradited back to Australia in May 2008.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2012 after pleading guilty to three charges of large-scale drug trafficking from operations codenamed Orbital, Magnum and Quills.
Mokbels legal team, consisting of Mr Walker, Ruth Shann, Amelia Beech and Samantha Seoud, said in submissions Ms Gobbo acted as Mokbels junior counsel in the original trial and informed on him.
She told police about other crimes they could investigate Mokbel for and passed on legal tactics, including the identities of defence witnesses shed taken statements from and that though they wanted Mokbel to plead guilty, he was too stubborn.
She then invoiced the solicitors $75,000 for the work she did, according to the submissions.
Lawyers for the Commonwealth, Ms Orr, Raelene Sharp and Anna Martin, had argued there was no evidence that the information Mokbel relied on for his appeal was disseminated to police.
The information, the lawyers argued, was not about whether Mokbel committed the crime, but it was only Ms Gobbos opinion about whether he would succeed in defending the charge.
It is notable that Ms Gobbo told Victoria Police that despite advice to plead guilty, the applicant would not do so.
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