Alleged Sydney bikie associate Mark Horne extradited from NT to New South Wales

An alleged Sydney bikie associate‘s three-month plot to escape police ended in the bottom of a boat, with the wanted fugitive sent packing from the Territory.

An alleged bikie associate who tried to smuggle himself to South East Asia in the bottom of a yacht has been booted from the Territory back to New South Wales.

Mark Horne, 32, appeared before Judge Tanya Fong Lim at Darwin Local Court on Friday for an interstate extradition hearing.

Horne was one of Australia’s most wanted fugitives until his three-month plot to escape the country was unravelled in a ritzy Darwin suburb.

The alleged bikie associate was tracked down at 5.20pm on Wednesday, with the 32-year-old located in the hull of a yacht floating at Cullen Bay, one of Darwin’s most expensive suburbs.

Police found the 32-year-old alleged bikie associate was crouched under the fuel tank, clutching a blue vape.

It is understood the raid boarded the boat just hours before it was due to set sail for Indonesia.

On Friday Horne’s lawyer Christina White told Ms Fong Lim her client did not object to his extradition home.

He will be remanded in custody until January 31, and is expected to appear before the NSW courts on February 1.

Supplied by NSW POLICE., 32-year-old Mark Horne, who is wanted for breach of bail, continue.

It was alleged the Sydney-based man cut off his ankle monitoring bracelet in the back seat of an Uber at Riverwood on October 21.

Police suspect Horne fled on a private jet from Bankstown Airport to a regional location.

The fugitive was due to face a trail over the $550,000 robbery of a truck driver in the NSW Blue Mountains in 2020.

The driver of the truck was allegedly shot, but survived the incident.

Wanted bikie Mark Horne could be using two fake drivers licences. Pictures: Supplied

Under his NSW bail conditions Horne surrendered his passport, leading police to suspect he used a fake identity to aid his escape, or that he would attempt to flee by water.

On Thursday NT Police Commander Matt Hollamby said an overlapping investigation sparked the boat raid at Cullen Bay.

“I think it’s safe to say a man hiding in the bilge of a yacht is a little bit suspicious,” Mr Hollamby said.

“He wasn’t on the boat very long. It was a very small space, most of us wouldn’t have fit into it but somehow he managed to squeeze in.”

Mr Hollamby said police and intelligence agencies were always receptive to information about criminal syndicates.

Mark Horne. Picture: NSW POLICE.,

“Organised crime costs this country billions of dollars each year, and if you are someone on the fringes or involved in organised crime and want to get out, law enforcement can help you,” he said.

Australian Border Force Acting Commander Budhy Tanddo said those trying to escape Australia from the Top End had “literally no place to hide”.

Horne’s alleged co-accused, Michael Lazzarini, 43, and Sean Melia, 51, also appeared before Ms Fong Lim on Friday.

Both men were accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice on Wednesday, January 25.

Neither Lazzarini or Melia made an application for bail, and were both remanded to custody until their Darwin Local Court directions hearings on March 6.

Originally published as Alleged Sydney bikie associate Mark Horne extradited from NT to New South Wales