Seized Comanchero vehicles join Istanbul police fleet

ISTANBUL

Following a Comanchero gang bust in Türkiye's Istanbul, 21 luxury cars seized in the operation have been allocated to the province's police department.

The Comanchero motorcycle gang, led by Australian-born Hakan Ayık, had been busted in an operation last month with their luxury vehicles confiscated. The luxury vehicles with a market value of 100 million Turkish Liras, including the Ferrari 488 GTB, Bentley Continental GT, Land Rover Range Rover L460, Porsche Taycan Turbo and the latest models of Mercedes, BMW and Audi brands, were registered in the inventory of the Istanbul Police Department.

The cars were placed in a warehouse in the Pendik district and modified, ready to be put on duty in the streets of Istanbul in the coming days.

The Comanchero gang, which took its name from a 1968 movie, was formed by Mick Hawi, who lived in Sydney, Australia. After the murder of Hawi, Mark Douglas Buddle took over the gang. With Buddle in charge, the gang, which mainly committed actual bodily harm and drug crimes, spread first to the American continent and then to the whole world, becoming a full-fledged cartel.

The Comancheros were notorious for their strict rules and hierarchy. After Buddle was apprehended in Turkish Cyprus in 2022, he was extradited to Australia and arrested. Subsequently, Hakan Ayık, nicknamed "Reis," became the head of the gang.

Almost all members of the gang were on Interpol's red bulletin list.

According to the findings, the management team of the gang, which transported the drugs they procured from South America to Australia, the Netherlands and Hong Kong via South Korea and South Africa, fled to Turkish Cyprus and Türkiye when Australian and U.S. authorities cornered them. The entire gang was busted in an operation last month.