Wednesday 3 August 2022 05:09 PM Comanchero Mark Buddle: Bikie under heavy security as ex-wife Mel Ter Wisscha ... trends now
Federal agents fear Comanchero bikie boss Mark Buddle could be busted out or assassinated as he heads to Melbourne to face court over a major drug bust - as racy new images surface of his ex-wife's life before she met the alleged crime kingpin.
Sources have told Daily Mail Australia that Australian Federal Police are determined to keep Buddle's movements secret out of fear his bikie mates might make a daring escape attempt or kill him.
In a carefully manicured media stunt, Buddle was pictured being frogmarched into a police station in handcuffs after being secretly deported to Australia from Turkey.
The nation's most wanted man was apprehended by AFP agents over alleged drug importation offences, after he touched down in Darwin on Tuesday morning.
While AFP hierarchy are rumoured to be wallowing in the high profile bust, sources have suggested agents on the ground are keen to avoid a media circus around Buddle.
The 44-year-old's ex-wife Mel Ter Wisscha, with whom he has children, admitted last month the pair split up over a year ago and she hasn't seen him in 12 months.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal an insight into her distant past working as a promotional model for restaurant chain Hooters - smiling at a red carpet event alongside celebrities.
Ms Ter Wisscha was pictured at the premiere of Will Ferrell's Taladega Nights in Sydney in 2006, posing with Hollywood megastar Chris Hemsworth and Australian Olympic legend Kieren Perkins.
Buddle's ex-wife Mel Ter Wisscha (right) smiles with Chris Hemsworth at the premiere of Taladega Nights in Sydney in 2006
Buddle was walked into the station backwards, surrounded by at least five Australian Federal Police officers
Bikies are no strangers to pulling off daring hits, with one-time Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin shot dead by a sniper from more than 300 metres away.
The 35-year-old man, who cannot be named due to court orders, shot Martin at the Perth Motorplex in Kwinana on December 12, 2020 and last year was sentenced to 20 years in prison over the hit.
AFP will allege Buddle imported more than 160kg of cocaine - which has an estimated street value of $40million - into Melbourne in May, 2021.
Rebels bikie boss Nick Martin was shot dead by a sniper from more than 300 metres away
A video released by AFP showed Buddle arriving at a Darwin police station in an unmarked white four-wheel drive.
An officer sitting next to Buddle in the backseat jumped out before the Comanchero kingpin was ordered to exit and put his hands on the top of the vehicle.
While one officer checked his handcuffs, another placed their arm under his armpit and put their hand on his shoulder, to secure Buddle in a hold.
A second officer repeated the procedure on Buddle's other arm, before he was walked backwards into the police station.
At least five officers in face masks could be seen standing around him as he was checked in to the facility, where he was placed in cell to appear in a Darwin court.
Assistant Commissioner Nigel Ryan said Buddle, who was the subject of an Interpol red notice, arrived in Darwin after Turkey made an 'independent decision' to deport him.
'He was escorted by Turkish authorities by charter flight to Darwin where he was taken into AFP custody and arrested,' Assistant Commissioner Ryan told reporters at a press conference.
'The AFP was well place to respond to his return due to the progress of an ongoing AFP investigation and the AFP’s strong global law and enforcement intelligence networks.'
During his court appearance, AFP will apply to have him extradited to Victoria, where he is facing two charges - one count of importing and another of conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.
Each offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Security in Victoria is again expected to be tight until Buddle can safely appear before the court.
The AFP will allege that Operation Ironside South-Britannic linked the man to a transnational criminal syndicate operating out of Asia and Europe, which used dedicated encrypted communications to coordinate the shipment of the cocaine from Hong Kong to Melbourne via Sydney.
Five people were arrested in Australia in May 2021 under the same operation.
Buddle became leader of the infamous Comanchero motorcycle gang back in 2009
A motorcade follows the coffin of Rebels bikie Nick Martin to Pinnaroo Cemetery in Perth in 2020
Buddle left Australia in 2016 and has spent time in Dubai, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Cyprus
The AFP alleges that in mid-2021 it identified Buddle as the sender of encrypted communications about the alleged cocaine import, leading the AFP to launch Operation Gain-Orion to target his activities.
In October, AFP engaged with the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions in preparation to seek a warrant for Buddle's arrest, with a full brief of evidence submitted in January.
A Melbourne Magistrates Court issued an arrest warrant in relation to the alleged cocaine importation in mid-July, with an Interpol Red Notice put out days
