The Snitch: Bikie boss Mark Buddle arrested in Louis Vuitton ’Run Away Sneakers’

Bemused eyebrows have been raised at the shoes chosen by Comanchero bikie boss Mark Buddle during his Australian arrest — and not just because they cost more than $1500.

For a bloke who has been on the run for six years, international bikie boss Mark Buddle picked the perfect pair of shoes to be arrested in.

It turns out the high-fashion Louis Vuitton shoes worn by the Comanchero boss as he walked the runway of Darwin Airport — albeit in the clutches of heavily armed police — are known as the “Run Away Sneaker”.

And according to Louis Vuitton’s website, a pair will set you back $1570 if you happen to want to get the (allegedly) killer look of the Maroubra houso-turned-accused international
drug smuggler.

They’re made in Italy and feature a “hand-finished technical rubber outsole” to go along with “monogram canvas and mesh” with Louis Vuitton logos all over it, according to the website.

Buddle was deported from Turkey to Australia this month to face charges of allegedly smuggling 160kg of cocaine to Victoria last year.

Mark Buddle was extradited back to Australia from Cyprus via Darwin while wearing some upmarket footwear.

Buddle’s personal wealth has been the subject of much speculation of late.

And it seems he’s come into a bit of cash because he has followed the aspirational path trodden by many accused organised crime figures — going from a meagre public housing upbringing to enjoying the fruits of his labour by wearing some super-high-end clobber.

Louis Vuitton’s Run Away sneakers cost $1570.

So how does Louis Vuitton feel about Buddle being an influencer for them?

Probably not too good.

High end fashion house Burberry suffered an image crisis in the early 2000s when its distinctive checkered pattern was adopted by a low-market crowd, famously known as Burberry CHAVs (Council Housing And Violent).

The label took years to right itself and once again be embraced by the high-end crowd.

THE AN0M ROOM

There are now so many accused organised crime figures joining the fight against the AN0M hearing that the case needs its own court room.

What started off as a small group of accused drug smugglers and suppliers who came together to try to have the millions of AN0M text messages intercepted by the Australian Federal Police ruled inadmissable as evidence has grown into a unifying movement.

If you somehow missed it, last year a supposedly encrypted phone network called AN0M was revealed to be a worldwide police sting where the AFP, FBI and other agencies were actually intercepting the messages that allegedly detailed criminal plots.

Snitch was on hand in room 4.3 in the Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, which has now been dedicated to hearing the application of the 51 (and counting) parties who are mounting a legal challenge to have the messages ruled inadmissable as evidence.

Magistrate Robert “Rock DJ” Williams did an admirable job in streamlining the process when the matters were mentioned.

But it is going to become a lot more difficult when the matters start getting into lengthier hearings and arguments.

Just to mention each case and get a return date saw 15 lawyers representing 51 accused have to stand up and run through the names of each matter, which took 45 minutes alone.

This is shaping up to be a long one.

SNOOZER OF A CASE

Still on the length of the AN0M case: it appeared to have already gotten to one of the lawyers involved.

Sitting in the third row of the proceedings waiting for their matter to be heard, we watched on as the lawyer dosed off for a bit of a kip.

We won’t reveal their identity and we’ll just assume they were up until the wee small hours diligently doing some lawyering.

WHERE’S THE LOVE?

The legal fraternity is famous for cut-throat behaviour.

And boxer turned lawyer turned ex-partner of TV personality Lauryn Eagle, Lovemore Ndou, says he has become a victim of exactly that.

Boxer-turned-lawyer Lovemore Ndou. Picture: Richard Dobson

Ndou was ordered to undergo “further legal education” on July 28 after an opposing lawyer made an official complaint that he had broken a court order in one of his cases.

According to the Office’s Register of Disciplinary Action, Ndou “breached a Local Court order” by using information or documents from those proceedings in his client’s affidavit that was then filed in the Family Court.

Yesterday, Mr Ndou said he was seeking legal advice with a view to having the decision overturned.

“It is common to use material from the Local Court in the Family Court, particularly where there are matters of family violence,” he said.

Ndou spent a brief period as a media darling in the early 2010s after his relationship with Eagle — a water skiing champion and model who became a reality TV star — went public.

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