Hayden Lilwall: Comanchero bikie faces court after gang crime squad raid on Landsdale home

A Comanchero bikie has faced court on gun and drugs related charges after gang crime squad detectives raided a home in Perth’s northern suburbs on Wednesday night. Hayden John Lilwall, 29, appeared from custody in the Joondalup Magistrates Court on Thursday morning on 10 charges after police carried out a search warrant at a Landsdale property. Police will allege as a result of the raid they found cannabis, methylamphetamine, steroids and drug paraphernalia inside the property. The search warrant also allegedly turned up a loaded shotgun and ammunition. Among the 10 charges Mr Lilwall is facing are six counts of possessed a prohibited drug, one count of having ready access to both weapons and illegal drugs and one count of possessed an unlawfully altered firearm. Mr Lilwall made no application for bail when he faced court on Thursday and he was remanded into custody. He only spoke to confirm his name and that he understood the charges. He will face court again on Monday. The 29-year-old makes no secret of his ties to the Comanchero gang on his social media pages, with various photos showing him in gang colours and posing in front of gang paraphernalia. The Comanchero bikie gang is widely considered by State and Federal police to be one of Australia’s biggest organised crime gangs. In a rare and exclusive interview with The West Australian last year, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission deputy chief executive Matt Rippon confirmed the Comanchero had become a prime target of the ACIC’s coercive hearing powers — by where suspected criminals and bikies are issued notices to appear at secret hearings to answer questions about organised crime. “In terms of threat, sometime ago we saw them (the Comanchero) as having the biggest collective threat around the country, so we have jumped on them with our partners,” Mr Rippon said at the time. “We are certainly attacking that particular outlaw motorcycle gang at the moment over others and we are using the hearings and the notices regime to hammer them.” Last year, Comanchero boss Mark Buddle was extradited back to Australia via Turkey over allegations he imported about $40 million worth of drugs into the country. And in 2021, AFP Assistant Commissioner Chris Craner said the Comanchero were among the biggest distributors of drugs in the country.