"Police have arrested a man and seized a Ferrari during raids on two Melbourne properties allegedly linked to fugitive drug baron Tony Mokbel."
OH GOD not the Kingswood!!!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Ferrari seized in gangland swoop...
Ferrari seized in gangland swoop - National - theage.com.au:
OH GOD not the Kingswood!!!
OH GOD not the Kingswood!!!
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Police swoop on Mokbel assets
ReplyDeleteMatthew Schulz and Kate Uebergang
November 09, 2006 04:00pm
Article from: Herald-Sun
POLICE have seized property worth $2.2 million, including five properties owned by drug fugitive Tony Mokbel's sister-in-law.
In the latest police assault against the runaway drug baron's empire, Zahroula Mokbel, 39, has been charged with four deception offences.
A spokeswoman said the latest raid was conducted by police investigating assets of Mr Mokbel believed to have been gained through criminal activities.
Ms Mokbel, who has three children, appeared this morning at the Melbourne Magistrates Court where police were granted restraining orders on the properties.
The wife of Mokbel's older brother Horty, she was bailed on her own undertaking and ordered to live in Preston, report to Preston police station twice a week, not apply for a pasport or travel documents and not attempt to leave the country.
Outside court Purana taskforce detectives said a restrining order prevented Mrs Mokbel from selling or remortgaging five Melbourne properties in her name. The order covers homes in Caulfield, Preston and Safety Beach.
She is also prevented from disposing of her 2001 black BMW.
The latest arrest coincides with an ongoing police bid to dismantle the financial empire of Tony Mokbel, 41, once estimated to be worth at least $20 million.
Mokbel fled Australia in March during a trial for importing 2kg of cocaine from Mexico in 2000.
He was convicted in his absence to 12 years' jail with a minimum of nine years.
He vanished after being told he was being investigated over several murders. He was sentenced in his absence to a minimum of nine years' jail.
Last month Mokbel was convicted of further charges - in his absence - of trafficking ecstasy, and smaller quantities of amphetamines and cocaine.
This gave officials the right under the Confiscation Act to forfeit and sell a Noosa unit, Bulleen house and Ferrari roadster owned by the underworld drug trafficker.
When Mokbel was charged in 2001, the County Court froze assets including cars, houses and industrial properties.
The self-proclaimed property developer and professional gambler was on $1 million bail with strict reporting conditions when he absconded. He has not been seen since.
Early last month, a business partner of Tony Mokbel's sister-in-law Renate was arrested and had his Ferrari seized.
Kamel Khoder, 30, of Coburg, was charged with four counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one of making a false document after a 10-month Purana taskforce investigation into an alleged money-laundering ring with links to Mr Mokbel.
Mr Khoder is due to appear again in court in March.
Meanwhile, Ms Mokbel, 35, is fighting to keep a $1 million surety she offered to guarantee the runaway drug dealer's attendance at his cocaine importing trial.
At an earlier Supreme Court hearing, Ms Mokbel was labelled a liar who had played the role of ``dumb wife'' and deliberately kept assets secret from police.
Prosecutors accused Ms Mokbel of committing perjury by failing to tell the court this year that she had given her uncle $200,000 worth of jewellery that he buried in his Parkdale garden.
The September raid uncovered more than $300,000 concealed inside plastic pipes and more than 100 valuables, including 18 watches and 33 jewellery boxes of expensive trinkets, that were unearthed during a raid by detectives on the Alma Rd, Parkdale, property.
Purana detectives also seized a Mercedes Benz, registered to Mokbel's brother Milad, from the house.
The Department of Public Prosecutions is now pursuing a financial penalty of tens of millions of dollars by Mokbel, which will effectively repay a civil debt owed by the fugitive.