Tuesday, 7 November 2023
A man accused of money laundering for Australian drug baron Mark Buddle* has appeared in court, Yeniduzen reports.
Only identified by his initials B.A., argued that he had not received any payment from Buddle for his services. He added that he did not know that Buddle was a major drug dealer.
Giving evidence at court, the police stated that B.A. had sold three apartments to Buddle but had failed to report these transactions to the TRNC authorities.
B.A.’s defence lawyer pointed out that the North Cyprus authorities had granted residence permits to Buddle, and it is not illegal to make an agreement with a person who has been granted a residence permit.
The police reminded the court that Buddle had been found in a house owned by B.A. and requested that the suspect be subject to bail conditions, including a ban on leaving the country. The suspect and his lawyer objected, stating that they have three companies in Turkey and that a travel ban would have a negative impact on those businesses.
The judge postponed the bail decision for the suspect until Tuesday and issued a travel ban order.
*Australian citizen Mark Buddle, who was head of the Comanchero gang was arrested by the TRNC authorities and extradited to Turkey. He was then deported from Turkey to Australia last August. Buddle was arrested on arrival at Darwin airport charged with attempting to smuggle 40 million dollars worth of cocaine into Melbourne.
