<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After spending 18 years in custody, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/drugs" rel="" target="_blank" title="drug"><span>drug</span></a><span> kingpin Tony Mokbel may be on the verge of freedom as three judges decide whether he will be released on bail.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 59-year-old gangland figure applied for his release from prison on bail on Tuesday, amid heavy security, as he awaits his Lawyer X appeal to overturn his remaining drug trafficking convictions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mokbel has not tasted freedom since his 2007 arrest in Greece, after he famously absconded inside a yacht while on bail with a $1 million surety from his sister-in-law Renate.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/mma-event-allegedly-cancelled-police-fears-gangland-hit/cbe857af-df85-4c01-932e-89701a0d385a" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Former UFC fighter claims he wasn't warned of assassination plot</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She was jailed after failing to pay the surety, her home seized and she was then sentenced to two years and nine months in 2008 for lying to a court about her assets.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A different sister, Gawy Saad, has now offered $850,000 in surety to secure Mokbel's bail and said she was "sure he won't do it to anyone else" when asked about what happened to her sister-in-law.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mokbel has agreed to abide by what his lawyer said were "stringent" bail conditions, including GPS monitoring, a curfew, daily police reporting and that he cannot leave Victoria.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/tony-mokbel-bail-hearing-decision-outcome-melbourne-court/5d0eecd8-75d4-4e32-ad48-5c1ea2123efe" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/rare-white-penguin-washes-up-on-south-australian-beach/df77002f-2d42-4b7b-967d-fa38139bf4ad" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Rare white penguin washes up on South Australian beach</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He would live at Saad's four-bedroom home at Viewbank, in Melbourne's north-east and she told the court she would give an undertaking to report him to police if he flouted any bail conditions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mokbel's barrister Julie Condon KC cited delays in hearing his appeal, the strength of his case, his poor physical health, strong ties to jurisdiction due to his family and "long-term de facto" relationship, as exceptional circumstances to prove he should be released on bail.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He is fighting to overturn drug trafficking convictions, after he pleaded guilty to heading a multi-million dollar drug trafficking empire known as "The Company".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/father-hailed-a-hero-for-performing-citizens-arrest/74908e78-d063-4f7f-b21d-95ce87b648a6" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Father hailed a hero for performing citizen's arrest</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mokbel was represented at the time by barrister-turned-supergrass Nicola Gobbo, unaware she was informing for Victoria Police.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justices Karin Emerton, Robert Osborn and Jane Dixon are due to hand down their decision in the Court of Appeal this morning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mokbel is currently eligible for parole in June 2031 and an appeal over his drug trafficking convictions will be heard later this year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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