Mark Buddle: Bikie boss believed to have contract out on his head

Mark Buddle, the Comanchero bikie boss in exile, is reportedly considering leaving his life of luxury in Lebanon to return to Australia.

The underworld is abuzz with rumours Mark Buddle – the Comanchero bikie boss in exile – is considering returning to Australia for his own safety.

Buddle is currently believed to be living in south Lebanon with fellow outlaw associates Bilal Haouchar and George Dib.

Once considered unassailable, he had been enjoying a millionaire’s lifestyle in Dubai since leaving Australia in 2016.

But Buddle eventually fled the Arabian Peninsula after several alleged drug dealers, who believed they were safe there, were arrested by Australian Federal Police and extradited home to Sydney.

Social media image of former Comanchero Bikie boss Mark Buddle with partner Mel Terwisscha

Buddle may be coming back to Australia.

Now Budde has brought fresh heat on himself with a plan to tax all drug imports smuggled into Australia by other cartels, and both police and those in the underworld know a massive contract worth millions has been placed on his head by a Balkan Mafia gang furious at his latest move.

The NSW Crime Commission in its latest annual report warned of reprisals from Buddle’s attempt to set up the so-called “drug commission”, which he did in February this year and appointed himself its commander.

Without naming him, the report said any attempt to regulate the market, including by violence, would “likely result in significant reprisals in Australia and overseas”.

The report said: “A joint investigation by the NSW Crime Commission, NSW Police Force Organised Crime Squad and US Drug Enforcement Agency uncovered a conspiracy to import three tonnes of cocaine into NSW by a European syndicate in direct competition with the commission, demonstrating that competition in the market continues.”

That importation was linked to a former Sydney crime boss now living in Europe, who is considered a major and powerful player in the international drug scene and behind the ­contract on Buddle.

Originally published as Mark Buddle: Bikie boss believed to have contract out on his head