GANGLAND GODFATHER

More than 200 members of the Bandidos bikie gang will descend on Melbourne this afternoon. Police have been told to "facilitate" the bikies as they ride in convoy from Geelong to the CBD. The Bandidos will be given a police escort and traffic will be stopped so they can enjoy an uninterrupted run. Once in town, they are expected to hit pubs and strip clubs during their annual national run. "It really is a party," said one Bandidos member. Bikies from interstate and overseas are expected to join the run up the Princes Highway. The order from police command has outraged police already livid over what they say is a soft approach to bikie gangs. Officers will be drawn from regions already struggling to contain crime to monitor the gang from tonight until Monday. Police will devote 395 individual shifts to the operation, including traffic management units, general duties officers and brawler vans. "This operation will be sucking up a lot of manpower at peak trouble ...

Melbourne drug czar Tony Mokbel have revealed a trail of deception, hidden funds and a private yacht modified to hide its passenger from officials. The 17m, A$350,000 ($436,000) Edwena, crewed by Greek sailors flown to Australia for the journey, took Mokbel to a new life of luxury in Greece, where he was joined by his pregnant partner after she eluded police in Rome. Mokbel is now back in Melbourne after the Supreme Court in Athens ordered his extradition on a series of charges, including murder. He has already been sentenced to 12 years' jail for importing 2kg of cocaine.Mokbel was on bail awaiting sentence for his cocaine conviction when he vanished in March 2006, leaving his sister-in-law to face jail for a A$1 million surety she could not pay.Yesterday's revelation by police of Mokbel's escape by sea completes a trail that began when he fled a step ahead of a barrage of new charges, and saw him placed on Interpol's most-wanted list, with a A$1 million reward on his...

Christopher Wayne Hudson has pleaded guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder over the peak-hour shootings in Melbourne's CBD last June. Solicitor Brendan Keilar was shot dead and a backpacker was seriously injured when they intervened in an argument between Hudson and a woman in the city during the morning peak hour.Mr Keilar, a father of three, was shot as he rushed to help Kara Douglas, who Hudson was dragging from a taxi in William Street. Hudson also shot Dutch backpacker Paul de Waard, who also went to help the woman. Hudson, from Melbourne, has been remanded in custody to appear in the Supreme Court in June. The former Hells Angels bikie also pleaded guilty to assaulting another woman, Autumn Daly-Holt, outside a King Street nightclub before the shootings. Last week he pleaded guilty to using an unregistered firearm after firing a gun from his car while giving a late-night lift to AFL star Alan Didak.

Victor Brincat, 43, who had previously been interviewed about the fatal shooting of criminals Jason Moran and Pasquale Barbaro, faced the Melbourne Magistrates Court with Thomas Hentschel, 41.They are charged with murdering former kickboxer Michael Ronald Marshall, 38, near his South Yarra home on Saturday night. Marshall's partner and five-year-old son witnessed the shooting.He was shot up to five times in the head about 6.30pm on Saturday and died three hours later at The Alfred hospital. With blood still drying on the bitumen, neighbours yesterday spoke of how Marshall valued his privacy. About six months ago, he had placed a sign near his double garage on Joy Street - metres from where he was gunned down - saying: "Admittance by invitation only to all persons and entities or trespass applies." A surveillance camera was connected to the intercom system at the front gate, and security grilles covered reflective glass, ensuring that no one could see inside the two-storey...