Comanchero bikie boss Mark Buddle’s secret ‘sham marriage’ in Cyprus revealed
Bikie kingpin Mark Buddle has ‘tied the knot’ with another woman in Cyprus, after his long term partner revealed her despair at his arrest.
True Crime
Don't miss out on the headlines from True Crime. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Exclusive: Exiled Comanchero bikie boss Mark Buddle has secretly tied the knot with a Northern Cypriot woman in what official sources have described as a fake marriage.
Just days after Buddle was arrested it can be revealed the Australian bikie kingpin held the nuptials with his new “bride” away from prying eyes in an upscale enclave where he had been living in the Turkish-controlled area of Cyprus.
The revelations about his mystery wife known only as “Ozge” came after his long-time partner Mel Ter Wisscha posted photos of herself in a pink bikini in a luxury resort in the popular Turkish town of Bodrum more than 500km away.
Sources in Northern Cyprus have revealed Buddle arrived on the island on July 7, last year on a tourist visa, without Ms Ter Wisscha or their children.
It can also be revealed that Buddle had started his new life, alone, in the wealthy area of Girne in Northern Cyprus, renowned as a playground for the rich and famous with its casinos and high-end hotels, and had partnered with a local businessman rumoured to have mob and mafia connections.
Sources said the businessman who was involved in the car trade used his standing to vouch for Buddle, allowing him to extend his one month tourist visa by three months at a time. But it is also suspected apart from being protected by that businessman and others, he was also receiving protection from officials.
Buddle is said to have bought shares, invested in local businesses and real estate opportunities as he attempted to build a new life away from prying eyes.
It is understood Buddle could gain citizenship in Northern Cyprus after a year of marriage to Ozge. Locals say she is widely liked and the community has protectively closed ranks around her after Buddle’s arrest.
And it is Buddle’s continued criminal contacts that have seen his undoing.
Official sources have said he was arrested at gunpoint when he went out to meet “with a gang member of his who came from Germany to meet with him”.
Buddle had arrived in Northern Cyprus just weeks after the AN0M sting, an international coalition of law enforcement agencies including the AFP, which ensnared alleged criminals around the world after duping them into using phones loaded with an encrypted messaging app controlled by the FBI.
After country hopping from the United Arab Emirates to Lebanon, and Iraq, Buddle had been living in Istanbul in Turkey where drug lord Hakan Ayik was also last seen after going on the run in the wake of the AN0M sting.
Ayik had for years been promoting the use of encrypted messenger service throughout the underworld.
Ms Ter Wisscha was believed to be in Istanbul with Buddle and was snapped with a girlfriend on the tourist trail at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and driving a speed boat.
But she has been posting regularly from Bodrum, a cosmopolitan port city in the southwest of Turkey has been described as promoting a “hedonistic lifestyle” which is always bursting with tourists, expats, backpackers and zillionaires.
She is believed to have been living there while Buddle established new businesses on the Mediterranean island 500km away.
In 2015 Buddle and Ms Ter Wisscha, both from the Sydney beach suburb of Maroubra, left Australia in a private jet to begin a new life overseas.
That effort was temporarily halted when Customs officials found $60,000 in undeclared cash in their luggage at Newcastle Airport, north of Sydney.
They reached the United Arab Emirates and set up house in Dubai on one of the man-made artificial Palm Islands.
That lifestyle came to a halt until a confrontation with tourists poolside at a luxury resort brought international attention to Buddle.
He was caught on camera threatening a group of young British men during a scuffle after one of them allegedly slapped Ms Ter Wisscha on the backside.
The couple were at the exclusive Drift private beach clubok in Dubai in May 2021 when the altercation between Buddle and up to four men erupted.
In the video, an angry Buddle was seen spitting at the group, point at them and then mouth the words “You’re dead’’ as staff tried to intervene in the argument.
Less than a month later the AN0M sting was unveiled and Buddle was on the move leaving a trail across the Middle East until he settled in Turkish-controlled Northern Cyprus last year.