Australia’s most wanted fugitives caught in violence around the world after fleeing

They bolted when bloody gang wars became too hot to handle here — now many expat Australian gangsters have popped up in Europe. But life there doesn’t seem much safer.

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They bolted when bloody gang wars became too hot to handle here — now many expat Australian gangsters have popped up in Europe.

But life there doesn’t seem much safer.

Former Comanchero bikie chief Amad “Jay” Malkoun was almost incinerated as he turned on the ignition in his Mercedes Benz outside a gym in Greece last month.

The bomb totalled the car but Malkoun miraculously survived with hand and leg injuries.

Former Commanchero bikie chief Amad Malkoun was almost killed in a car bomb.

He miraculously survived this with leg and hand injuries. Picture: EPA/Pantelis Saitas

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Mosman-raised drug dealer and nightclub identity John Macris was two years into his new life with reality TV star wife Viktoria Karida when an alleged Bulgarian hitman shot him four times with a 9mm handgun in Athens in October 2018.

Jailed in Sydney for commercial drug supply in 2003, Macris bounced between Greece and Australia for about a decade after his ­release and he started a new security business in Athens.

He was assassinated on the way to an opening party for his new business.

John Macris moved to Greece to start a new life.

He was two years into reality life with TV star wife Viktoria Karida before he was killed.

Macris was gunned down in October last year. Picture: Proto Thema

This week NSW Police announced a renewed hunt for James Dalamangas — one of Australia’s most wanted men — who they suspect is hiding out in Greece after allegedly stabbing Sydney bouncer George Giannopoulos to death on April 25, 1999.

Underworld figures have also descended on neighbouring Turkey, in particular its biggest city Istanbul.

James Dalamangas is wanted for two alleged murders.

Hakan “Little Hux” Arif.

Hayak “Little Hux” Arif is believed to have fled to Turkey after he was arrested in Dubai with Fadi and ­Michael Ibrahim in 2017.

Arif got bail in Dubai before, police believe, using a fake passport to get to Turkey.

His associate Hakan “Big Hux” Ayik was one of Australia’s most prolific drug importers before he left the country in 2010, setting roots in ­Istanbul.

Drug importer Hakan Ayik fled Australia in 2010.

Former Sydney Comanchero boss Mark Buddle.

Another former Sydney Comanchero boss, Mark Buddle, took flight in 2016, spending time in Thailand. He was later linked to Dubai and Turkey.

Buddle’s friend Bilal Haouchar is believed to have joined him after he, too, skipped the country in June 2018 while police in Sydney were seeking court orders to monitor him.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said NSW Police were pursuing targets by working with their international ­colleagues.

Originally published as Australia’s most wanted fugitives caught in violence around the world after fleeing