Melbourne truckie accused of being key player in Mark Buddle’s alleged 160kg cocaine importation

A Melbourne truckie has been accused of being a key player in the $40m drug syndicate that has also nabbed Comanchero bikie Mark Buddle.

A Melbourne truckie described as a “trusted insider” is accused of being a key player in Comanchero Mark Buddle’s alleged 160kg cocaine importation.

Buddle, 37, has arrived back in Australia from Turkey to face allegations over the $40m shipment that arrived in Melbourne last year.

The 55-year-old transport figure has already faced court after his arrest in August last year as part of the Australian Federal Police’s Operation Ironside inquiry.

He was charged with aiding and abetting the importation of a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs.

The AFP and Australian Border Force intercepted the cocaine concealed in air filters after its arrival on May 31 last year.

There has been increasing concern from authorities in recent years about the level of insider involvement in major drug importations to Australia.

They are frequently legitimately employed in the supply chain at ports, the airlines, and transport or storage businesses, and are used by syndicates to ensure consignments get to their destinations.

The truckie was the sixth man charged by officers attached to South Brittanic, one arm of the Ironside probe.

A Sydney man and four from Melbourne have already been charged as part of the bust in which raids were made on properties at Southbank, Taylors Hill, Keilor Park, Keilor East, Dandenong, Point Cook and Laverton North.

A cash-counting machine was allegedly found at a Southbank apartment and $500,000 cash uncovered in the walls and roof space of a home in Taylors Hill.

A total of 600kg of pseudoephedrine was found at a commercial property in Braybrook.