Six men charged over alleged Comanchero murder plot to gun down gang member plead not guilty

Six men charged over an alleged Comanchero murder plot to gun down one of their own at a popular Adelaide cafe strip have entered their pleas in court.

Six alleged bikie gang members charged over an alleged murder plot to publicly gun down one of their own have all declared they are “not guilty” in the Supreme Court.

The men, none of whom can be identified because of suppression orders, are each charged with conspiring to murder another man and participating in a criminal organisation.

Police have previously alleged the Comanchero bikie gang members targeted one of their own – whom they suspected of being a police informant – and planned to lure him to The Parade at Norwood and shoot him between October 15 and November 5, 2020.

Police have previously said they thwarted the alleged plot, uncovered during the Operation Ironside investigation into thousands of encrypted messages on the AN0M application.

On Monday five of the men responded “not guilty” in person from the Supreme Court dock, while a sixth accused who appeared via video link also told the court he was “not guilty” of the alleged crimes.

A Comanchero logo and jacket.

Lawyers for the men asked the suppression orders already in place from the Adelaide Magistrates Court be confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Justice Sandi McDonald imposed the suppression orders and adjourned the matter to a directions hearing in April

Also on Monday, another man charged as part of Operation Ironside over a separate alleged plot to murder a different man entered not guilty pleas.

That man, whose identity is also suppressed, was allegedly involved in a separate Comanchero-linked plan to murder another man who owed the gang a drug debt.

Police also allege they foiled that plot, during which a weapon was stashed under a bush at a park near the Rosslyn Park house where the men thought their intended target lived.

The court has previously heard that police would allege the men had targeted the wrong house.

He is also facing charges of conspiracy to murder and participating in a criminal organisation.

He will return to court in May

Another man, also charged over the alleged Rosslyn Park plot, also appeared in court on Monday but did not enter pleas. His identity is also suppressed.

He will return to court next week to enter pleas.

Originally published as Six men charged over alleged Comanchero murder plot to gun down gang member plead not guilty