EXCLUSIVE Tony Mokbel enjoys his first weekend of freedom with rumoured love interest by his side as convicted crime lord is greeted by cheerful church congregation

Convicted crime lord Tony Mokbel has spent his first Sunday as a free man in 18 years attending church were he was given a rockstar reception.

Mokbel was spotted at the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church at Thornbury in Melbournes trendy inner-north early on Sunday morning.

The convicted drug kingpin attended a service at the church dressed in a simple blue shirt, denim jeans and black boots before he was greeted like an AFL star outside the holy place of worship.

Mokbel was seen hugging and shaking hands with fellow church members who appeared over the moon to see the once-feared crime boss back in the community.

Mokbel, who was bailed on Friday after spending 18 years in custody for running a major drug operation, stopped short of signing autographs and taking selfies with his adoring fans.

The former big wig of Melbournes underworld, who had his own Underbelly TV series, was later spotted leaving his other new church, the Heidelberg Police Station where he has to check-in daily as part of his stringent bail conditions.

Mokbel kept silent as he was asked is it good to go to church and seek your forgiveness while leaving the cop shop. 

Mokbel, also known as Fat Tony, has had his every move scrutinised by the media since the Victorian Court of Appeal granted the 59-year-old bail on Friday.

Tony Mokbel (pictured) was spotted at the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church at Thornbury in Melbourne s trendy inner-north early on Sunday morning

Mokbel attended a service at the church before he was greeted like an AFL star outside the holy place of worship

The mystery brunette Mokbel had been seen with on Saturday also attended the church

Mokbel checked in with police after his church visit

Media hounded Mokbel as he spent his first day of freedom shopping for perfumes with a dark-haired mystery woman in the Myer at Northland shopping centre on Saturday.

He left the shops with multiple bags in hand including one from Coles and one from nutritional store, Elite Supplements.

Mokbel was then seen at Viewbank Reserve with the woman rumoured to be his girlfriend, as well as his sister Gawy Saad and her husband Youssef.

But it was the Daily Mail Australia which revealed on Friday that Mokbels first act after being released from jail was to visit the grave of his mother.

Lora Mokbel, 83, was farewelled at a service at Our Lady Of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Thornbury in 2013, where mourners mixed with some of Melbournes criminal elite.

Mokbel had been unable to attend the funeral, nor had his brother Milad, who was also serving time for drug offences.

But, on Friday, Mokbel made his way straight to Fawkner Memorial Park with an entourage of supporters where he finally got to pay his respect to his mother.

Mokbel was released after the Court of Appeal agreed he had been set up by disgraced former lawyer and police informer Nicola Gobbo.

Mokbel made his way straight to Fawkner Memorial Park with an entourage of supporters where he finally got to pay his respect to his mother

Mokbel was spotted shopping at Northland shopping centre the day after his release

Mokbel leaves his sisters Viewbank home with a dark-haired mystery woman believed to be his girlfriend

He said nothing as he walked through a police cordon shielding him from a horde of journalists and other onlookers.

Mokbel was bombarded with questions from reporters as he made the 5m walk from the courthouse to his vehicle, including being asked: Do you have any plans to buy another yacht, Tony?

Mokbel notoriously bought a yacht named Edwena and hired a Greek crew to spirit him away from Australia while on bail when he fled justice in 2006.

Mokbel had been treated like a celebrity from within the prison dock, shaking hands and chatting with his supporters - two of which left court in an orange Lamborghini on Friday.

He had arrived in court on Friday once again in an armoured vehicle and escorted inside by Security and Emergency Services Group guards.

The decision to release Mokbel saw gasps from his supporters, who crammed into the courthouse.

While free on bail, Mokbel will be required to wear a GPS ankle bracelet that will monitor his every movement, report to police daily and adhere to a strict 11pm-6am curfew. 

After his release, Mokbel was spirited away in a matte black Mercedes where he was taken to his new home with his sister and her family in the north of Melbourne.

Mokbel was bombarded with questions from reporters as he made the 5m walk from the courthouse to his vehicle

Mokbel had been treated like a celebrity from within the prison dock, shaking hands and chatting with his supporters - two of which left court in an orange Lamborghini

But neighbours hid in fear with one resident, Donna telling Daily Mail Australia on Friday that she thinks it is very bad for the community.

Firstly, I worry that he has enemies, which has been shown in jail that he does have enemies because he nearly died and that these enemies or other crime figures are gonna come and they, you know, kill him, she said.

In setting Mokbel free on bail, Justices Karin Emerton, Robert Osborn and Jane Dixon agreed he stood a solid chance of winning his appeal against three convictions for drug trafficking, which is expected to be heard later this year.

If he wins, it will likely result in his complete release.

His current sentence expires in 2037, but he is eligible for parole in June 2031.

Mokbel had been languishing in jail since 2007 when he was caught in Greece after going on the run from Melbourne while on bail.

His sister-in-law Renate Mokbel had put up a $1million surety to secure his release - a decision that saw her later jailed when she refused to cough-up the cash.

Mokbel also known as Fat Tony had his own Underbelly TV show

Mokbel mugshot after he was captured in Greece in 2007

Known more widely as Lawyer X, Gobbo had been Mokbels lawyer while informing against him in the early 2000s when he was a kingpin of Melbournes deadly Underbelly War.

It was a 12-year war that began in January 1998 and ended in August 2010 with 36 underworld figures dead.

Mokbel had been facing the drug charges he is appealing now when he was tipped off by Ms Gobbo that he was about to be charged over the murder of Michael Marshall.

Marshall had been shot in the head outside the South Yarra home he shared with his wife and five-year-old son in 2003.

Police had believed the now-dead crime boss Carl Williams was contracted by Mokbel to kill Marshall, who he mistakenly believed had murdered his great friend, another gangland figure Willy Thompson.

The charges were ultimately withdrawn in 2009 and there is no suggestion Mokbel was in any way involved in the murder.

Mokbel had been jailed in 2012 over Victoria Police drug operations code-named Quills, Magnum, Plutonium and Orbital.

While not directly acting for him on Quills, Magnum and Orbital, the court heard Gobbo had convinced her own clients - cohorts of Mokbel - to roll on him.

She had done so while reporting back to her Victoria Police handlers.

Mokbel was released after the Court of Appeal agreed he had been set up by disgraced former lawyer and police informer Nicola Gobbo (pictured front)

It was this decision that provoked the ire of Justice Osborn during the prosecutions closing arguments to keep Mokbel caged.

Justice Osborn suggested Mokbel would be eligible for parole today should he win his appeal on just one of the three outstanding convictions.

Gobbo had first met Mokbel in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in 1998 when she was acting as a junior for barrister Alex Lewenberg.

Mokbel claimed she had been acting on behalf of his brother.

In 2002, Mokbel said Gobbo visited him in jail while he was on remand for drug charges.

Mokbel claimed Gobbo gave him the hard sell, assuring him she would work hard for him.

A Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants later found Gobbo had been hellbent on taking down Mokbels criminal empire and provided police with a volume of information.