A prominent lawyer with ties to organized crime can breathe a sigh of relief as legal proceedings against her have been discontinued by the prosecution.

Sarah Tricarico, who has represented notorious drug lord Tony Mokbel, faced allegations with 33-year-old Youssef Samaan Raffoul. They were both accused of attempting to obstruct justice.

The allegations stemmed from evidence revealed in a 2021 probe known as Operation Ironside, which involved the interception of communications through the AN0M app.

This app was cleverly designed by law enforcement to appear as a secure messaging platform for criminals, while in reality, it was a surveillance tool monitored by the Australian Federal Police and the FBI.

Yesterday marked the beginning of a committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates Court, where the police informant underwent cross-examination by defense attorneys representing Tricarico and Raffoul.

Today, senior crown prosecutor Raymond Gibson KC advised the court the charges should be struck out.

“As a result of a review of the evidence … the prosecution has decided to withdraw both charges against the accused,” he told the court.

Magistrate Leon Fluxman subsequently struck out the charges against Tricarico and Raffoul, with both of them free to leave the court.

Their lawyers did not apply for costs.

Tricarico has been representing gangland figure Mokbel since at least 2017 in his appeal against drug convictions.

Mokbel in October successfully overturned two of his three convictions, with the Court of Appeal finding barrister-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo infected the prosecution.

He is still facing a potential retrial on one of the charges.