Wanted Comanchero bikie boss flees

THE boss of the Comanchero bikie gang is believed to have fled interstate or overseas as police investigate a spate of shootings involving the club.

THE boss of the Comanchero bikie gang is believed to have fled interstate or overseas as police investigate a spate of shootings involving the outlawed club.

Mark Buddle, 28, the national president of the club, went to ground after the Gangs Squad had issued a warrant for his arrest on alleged serious criminal charges.

A senior police source said efforts were continuing to locate Buddle and there were a number of possible locations where he may be hiding outside of NSW. They have also not ruled out the possibility he may have gone overseas on a false passport.

The Comanchero has been fractured by internal fighting which culminated on November 5 with the murder of newly patched member Faalau Pisu, 23, at Canley Vale.

Mr Pisu - known as "Phil" to those close to him - was a member of the Canadian-based gang Rock Machine, an outfit that tried to set up in NSW from Perth several months ago.

Police confirmed its members were being stood over by another rival bikie group, the Rebels, which saw the Rock Machine crew join the Comanchero for protection.

Their absorption into the gang is believed to be the catalyst for much of the internal fighting, which is largely between its key Milperra and Maroubra chapters.

Police have established that Mr Pisu, a member at Milperra, had been involved in a street fight just hours before he was killed at a fellow gang member's wedding.

He was shot along with another Comanchero member, aged 25, and a 27-year-old gang associate, Jason Brown.

The attack was followed by the shooting of Buddle's 28-year-old cousin, John Devine, a member of the Maroubra chapter, as he made his way to work in Rhodes.

Devine had been identified as a "person of interest" by police into the shooting death of Mr Pisu.

Miraculously, Devine survived the attempt on his life.

However Devine, together with the two other victims from the previous shooting, is refusing to cooperate with police inquiries.

Mr Pisu's funeral proceedings are expected to begin tonight with a church ceremony, followed by a burial tomorrow.

Police said they would be covertly and overtly monitoring the event, and had done the same for a wreath-laying ceremony held in Mr Pisu's honour by family and friends last week.

Tensions within the gang have been brought under control, one law enforcement official said, due to an aggressive targeting of the group, which included home visits and vehicle stops.