Former Australian fugitive Tony Mokbel will face murder and drugs charges in a Melbourne court this week, after his extradition from Greece.

Rachael Brown reports.

"Mokbel's homecoming had been shrouded in secrecy, with the Federal Attorney General's Department refusing to reveal even the smallest details of his arrival. He flew into Melbourne airport early yesterday afternoon where a waiting helicopter took him to Barwon Prison. Mokbel had fought his extradition for almost a year, and still has an appeal pending with the European Court of Human Rights. But the Federal Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus, has defended the timing of the extradition by the Australian Federal Police. 'Having exhausted all possibilities for appeal through the most superior courts of Australia and Greece.' Mokbel faces the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, charged with the murders of underworld figure, Lewis Moran, and of Michael Marshall. He has to serve at least nine years jail for importing cocaine."

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