Here's video of a big fish being hauled ashore
Mark Buddle has been boss of a powerful outlaw motorcycle club, accused of high-level involvement
in international organized crime, and a man whose notoriety saw him living abroad for six years
Here he is on a high security cloak-and- dagger flight to face justice, on Friday
August 5, 2022, after a secret deportation from Turkey to Australia two days before
Need a sign of his notoriety? After arrest he was escorted by cops in this most unorthodox way
But that won't be the last indignity he faces. The Mob Reporter here with news on the forced return
of 37-year-old outlaw biker boss Mark Buddle who is back in Australia after six years of
living in exile. He is back, but not free, in chains, facing life in prison. Let me tell you about it
Mark Buddle's arrest may be of great significance — he's not accused of just being a local operator
or muscle or another cog in the machine, but of being a guiding mind, an influential player on
the world stage. Buddle's name became synonymous with the powerful Comanchero Motorcycle Club
which police recently declared "Australia's largest organized crime network." He rose swiftly within its
ranks as his swagger grabbed public and police attention. "How many people have you buried alive?"
"Not you." Interest in Buddle increased substantially after the shooting death
of a security guard delivering cash in sydney in 2010. The messy armed robbery was pulled off
by four men and remains unsolved despite the offer of a one million dollar reward
As part of their investigation, police wanted to talk to Buddle, as a person of interest
No charges were ever filed but attention remained, so much so, he felt more comfortable living abroad
Although he left Australia to hop around the Middle East and the Mediterranean, he is said to
have retained control of the Comanchero as a sort of Godfather figure. And while he was away, police
pressure remained, including raiding the homes and businesses of those close to him, including
his in-laws. In a raid last year, officers seized a diamond-encrusted gold ring in the shape of a one
percent logo — that's the symbol of outlaw biker culture and it's believed to be Buddle's ring
His jet-setting life in exile ended suddenly July 9, when he was arrested in
Girne, in Northern Cyprus, an area under Turkish control. Perhaps seen as too hot for the small
territory to handle, he was quickly moved to Ankara, Turkey's capital, where he was held
During Buddle's time abroad, Australian police had a lot of smoke but no fire. He was the subject of
an Interpol blue notice — that's a request for police around the world to provide information
on someone. It's two steps down from a Red Notice, which is a request that the person
be arrested wherever they are found. While living in Cyprus, Buddle quietly married a local woman
after splitting from his longtime partner, a much photographed model
His ex, however, was also living in Turkey at the time, according to photos posted online
Buddle was in a Turkish jail for almost a month, during which an arrest warrant was issued for him
in Australia. Rather than the often lengthy and sometimes messy process of extradition, however,
there seemed a nod and a wink between officials. Buddle was deported — as an independent decision
by Turkish authorities, the aussie cop said — and flown seven thousand miles to Darwin, in northern
Australia, aboard a chartered plane escorted by Turkish officers. He was arrested after touchdown.
In Australia, police took few chances. Buddle was escorted under exceptional security
Here he is arriving at a police station in this unorthodox manner. Now whether this was a special
security move to prevent escape, or as a clever way for police to photograph his capture without
showing the faces of the officers doing it, i'm not sure. You'll see they're masked up for the
occasion, and not with the Covid varieties. Police said they feared underworld friends might try to
bust him out, or gangland foes might try to kill him. Buddle faces charges in Melbourne
of importing and conspiring to import a commercial quantity of border control drug
namely 160 kilos of cocaine, given a police estimate of $40 million Australian dollars
In U.S. dollars, that's about 27 and a half million
Five people were already arrested for that load, which was intercepted in Melbourne in
May of last year. It was hidden in a shipment of air filters, seen here. Police said it was the
work of a high-priority transnational criminal syndicate operating out of Hong Kong and Turkey
To put Buddle before a judge, authorities charted another jet to fly him clear across the country
2,300 miles south from Darwin to Melbourne with Buddle and his minders as the only passengers
It has been suggested he originally landed in Darwin because it was the only place in
Australia that has an international airport but no chapter of the Comanchero. Police
then revealed that Buddle was the first success of a previously secret task force
called Operation Gain. It's an interesting tactic. Here's how police described it: "This man has been
the target of the AFP-led transnational offshore disruption task force, known as
Operation Gain since March 2021. This is the first time the AFP has publicly revealed the existence
of this task force, which targets Australia's biggest organized crime threats offshore..."
He said Buddle was just the beginning, one of more than 20 task force targets
He also confirmed Buddle was one of hundreds of accused criminals who was using the ANOM encrypted
phone app. That's the huge sting operation run by the FBI and Australian Federal Police that
operated a supposedly secret phone service, meant for criminals, that police were able to monitor
A lot of those snapped up by police after that sting last year
were Comanchero members and associates
Mark Buddle was finally presented in a courtroom in Melbourne on Friday, August 5th 2022
The careful security continued. His appearance was brief. He didn't bother applying for bail
Local reporters said his lawyer told them he wasn't aware of any safety concerns over Buddle
and none were raised during the hearing. Always a showman, though, Buddle gave a nonchalant grin when
he spotted a camera poking into the back of an armored police van where he sat wrapped in chains
Not bad for a guy facing a life sentence
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