Login
Drug trafficker caught up with Lawyer X refused bail
Saverio Zirilli, a drug trafficker targeted by the Lawyer X saga, was told by the Victorian Supreme Court that he must continue his legal battle from behind bars.
Naomi Neilson
Convicted drug trafficker Mr Zirilli was denied bail but intends to continue his legal fight from behind bars. Mr Zirilli was handed down a decades-long prison sentence for his part in the then-largest seizure of ecstasy tablets with the assistance of Lawyer X.
Instead, the justices said that the grant of bail would see Mr Zirilli released during the non-parole period being served “on charges as to which the prospect of success on appeal is so far shown to be no more than reasonable”. They added they did not believe he had “demonstrated exceptional circumstances that would warrant the grant of bail”.
In 2012, Mr Zirilli was sentenced to 26 years’ jail time over the infamous “tomatoes tin” drug bust which, at the time, was the largest seizure of the drug in the world. The bust was successful with the assistance of criminal barrister Nicola Gobbo who obtained a bill of lading from a client and disclosed the details of the trafficking to Victoria Police.
Mr Zirilli was given a minimum term of 18 years in prison after pleading guilty to traffic of 16 million tablets with a street value of $122 million. He told the court that if he had known about Ms Gobbo’s human informant role, he would never have pleaded guilty.
All eyes are now on gangland leader Tony Mokbel. He told the Court of Appeal he was “very anxious” for his case to get underway so that it could overturn his conviction.
Royal commission appeals for 887 other convicted individuals to come forward
Counsel assisting the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants are appealing for 887 individuals who have been affected by Ms Gobbo’s conduct to come forward if they believe their case may have fallen under a miscarriage of justice.
The counsel assisting submitted that these people’s cases may have been affected as Ms Gobbo acted for them without disclosing she was an active police informer and, in some cases, was acting covertly against her clients while providing legal advice.
“Had these individuals known the true position, they were likely to have engaged an independent lawyer rather than Ms Gobbo,” counsel assisting said.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
