On Wednesday, Comanchero boss Mark Buddle was frogmarched into Australian police custody as the bikie allegedly smuggled $40 million worth of cocaine to Australian soil.
After being secretly deported from the Turkish court on Tuesday, Buddle was taken into custody by Australian Federal Police officials at Darwin Airport on Wednesday morning. On Thursday, the Comanchero bikie boss was charged with allegations that he smuggled 160kg of cocaine from Hongkong to Melbourne via Sydney.
The alleged smuggler faced two offenses in Victoria court, one count of drug importation and another for the conspiracy to smuggle border-controlled commercial quantities.
How Australian Federal Police Captured Comanchero Boss?
AFP’s Operation Ironside monitored the encrypted communication shared on an app called ‘ANOM’ and discovered Buddle’s encrypted communication for the coordination of drug importation from Hongkong.
Buddle was held in Darwin’s local court. Australian Federal Police delayed the infamous gang leader’s extradition to Melbourne due to security concerns. However, he was extradited to Melbourne via a chartered flight on Friday.
Buddle appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday upon his two drug charges. Stephen Zah from Sydney, who is representing the alleged drug smuggler Buddle, did not put forth a bail application in front of the Jury.
The court hearing on Friday concluded, that the federal agents will take up to 6 weeks to thoroughly compile the brief of evidence presented against Camonchero’s boss. Melbourne Magistrates Court scheduled Buddle’s next hearing in November.
Turkish Led Secret Mission To Raid Buddle’s Hideout
The former fugitive left Australian soil with his girlfriend in 2016 after federal police considered him a person of interest in a murder case in Sydney. The Comanchero bikie boss fled the country as a fugitive, living offshore in a range of countries including Greece, Dubai, Iraq, and Turkey to avoid the scrutiny of law enforcement.
Buddle got a Turkish residency permit on the grounds he would bring monetary benefits to the territory. Before he was arrested by Australian Federal Police at Darwin Aiport, he had been living in Turkey. Alleged offender, Buddle was AFP’s target since 2021 as he was living off-shore most of the time.
The Turkish local police and Interpol agents led a secret mission to raid Buddle’s hideout in Turkey due to concerns about public peace and safety around Turkish territory. Turkish officials held him at gunpoint and arrested the exiled Bikie boss on the charge of visa violations, last month.
After the arrest, AFP was working tirelessly for weeks in Europe to bring down Buddle and make him face prosecution for all the crimes he commit. In mid-July, AFP was issued an arrest warrant by Melbourne Magistrates Court to arrest Mark Buddle for the alleged drug importations into the country. Comanchero boss Mark Buddle was secretly deported to his home soil, Australia on Tuesday.
Self-Proclaimed Comanchero Bikie Leader Mark Buddle
Jock Ross formed the Comanchero bikie gang in 1966 as an ex-army to support brotherhood and loyalty. Australia’s most wanted man, Mark Buddle was a self-proclaimed leader of the infamous Comanchero Bikie Gang in 2009 after the former Mick Hawi was arrested at Sydney Airport for a fatal brawl and faced prosecution for numerous.
Mick was shot dead in his Mercedes 4WD in February 2018 in Rockdale, New South Wales. The bikie went to JJ Cahill Memorial High School in Mascot, New South Wales. The above photo was taken in 1999 while he was studying in grade 9 at the time.
Comanchero Boss Complicated Relationship With His Ex-Wife
Mark Douglas Buddle married Mel Ter Wisscha. The couple is known to have two children together, one is just around 8. According to Daily Mail Australia, Mark and Mel got separated more than a year ago and the duo hasn’t seen each other in a year. She also mentioned in the publication that she hasn’t left turkey at all. Before Buddle was taken into custody by Turkish authorities, his children visited him time and again but Mel never did after the divorce.
Ter Wisscha revealed to Daily Telegraph that she was detained outside Istanbul as she was living in a resort she’d been living in as she was often linked to Buddle’s continuous encounters with law enforcement. We can conclude she had been upset with her ex-husband for a long period, and finally broke up with her ex-husband.
Buddle’s ex-wife is a model who worked as a promotional model for US restaurant Hooters and A-list celebrities. Moreover, Mark and Mel both have had multiple encounters with the law. In 2016, the pair was found with $60,000 in their luggage. As the money was not clean, both pleaded guilty to the court and faced a Commonwealth charge by Newcastle Court.