Michael Michael

Last updated

Michael Michael (born 12 November 1957) [1] is the ex-boss of a criminal empire called the Organisation which was involved in drug smuggling, prostitution and money laundering. Following his arrest, Michael turned supergrass/police informer, with his evidence leading to 34 people being jailed for a combined 170 years, and the dismantling of 26 different drug syndicates. [2]

Among people he informed on were his wife Lynn, given a 24-month prison sentence suspended for two years for her role as a cash courier; and Janice Marlborough, his business lieutenant who ran his string of brothels. Michael's evidence led to drugs worth £49m being recovered from a distribution network that is thought to have smuggled more than 110 kg (250lb) of cocaine and 19 tonnes of cannabis into Britain. [2] [3]

Information about Michael's work as an informer remained secret until December 2001, when a judge at Woolwich Crown Court sentenced him to six years in jail. Reporting restrictions that had been in place for three years were lifted. [2] [3] Michael had admitted one count of conspiracy to import cocaine, a similar charge involving cannabis, and three conspiracies to launder the proceeds. He has also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm. [2] Michael, who lived in Radlett, Hertfordshire, is thought to have been given a new identity under the terms of the witness protection programme. [2]

Born into a Greek-Cypriot family in Birmingham in the English Midlands, Michael's birth name was Constantine Michael Michael, but he decided to drop the use of the forename Constantine in adulthood.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Jung</span> American drug trafficker and smuggler (1942–2021)

George Jacob Jung, nicknamed Boston George and El Americano, was an American drug trafficker and smuggler. He was a major figure in the United States cocaine trade during the 1970s and early 1980s. Jung and his partner Carlos Lehder smuggled cocaine into the United States for the Colombian Medellín Cartel. Jung was sentenced to 70 years in prison in 1994 on conspiracy charges, but was released in 2014. Jung was portrayed by Johnny Depp in the biopic Blow (2001).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Marks</span> Welsh author and drug smuggler

Dennis Howard Marks was a Welsh drug smuggler and author who achieved notoriety as an international cannabis smuggler through high-profile court cases. At his peak he claimed to have been smuggling consignments of the drug as large as 30 tons, and was connected with groups as diverse as the CIA, the IRA, MI6, and the Mafia. He was eventually convicted by the American Drug Enforcement Administration and given a 25-year prison sentence; he was released in April 1995 after serving seven years. Though he had up to 43 aliases, he became known as "Mr Nice" after he bought a passport from convicted murderer Donald Nice. After his release from prison, he published a best-selling autobiography, Mr. Nice, and campaigned publicly for changes in drugs legislation.

The Brink's-Mat robbery occurred at the Heathrow International Trading Estate, London, United Kingdom, on 26 November 1983. £26 million worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse. The bullion was the property of Johnson Matthey Bankers Ltd, which collapsed the following year after making large loans to fraudsters and insolvent firms. Two men were convicted, and the majority of the gold has never been recovered. Insurers Lloyd's of London paid out for the losses, and several shooting deaths have been linked to the case.

Schapelle Leigh Corby is an Australian woman who was convicted of smuggling cannabis into Indonesia. She spent nine years imprisoned on the Indonesian island of Bali in Kerobokan Prison. Since her arrest Corby has publicly maintained that the drugs were planted in her bodyboard bag and that she did not know about them. Her trial and conviction were a major focus of attention for the Australian media.

Supergrass is a British slang term for an informant who turns King's evidence, often in return for protection and immunity from prosecution. In the British criminal world, police informants have been called "grasses" since the late 1930s, and the "super" prefix was coined by journalists in the early 1970s to describe those who witnessed against fellow criminals in a series of high-profile mass trials at the time.

Curtis Francis Warren is an English gangster and drugs trafficker who was formerly Interpol's Target One and was once listed on The Sunday Times Rich List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clerkenwell crime syndicate</span> Criminal organisation based in London

The Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate, also known as the Adams Family or the A-Team, is a criminal organisation, allegedly one of the most powerful in the United Kingdom. Media reports have credited them with wealth of up to £200 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nathan Baggaley</span> Australian sprint canoeist and surfskier

Nathan Baggaley is an Australian sprint canoeist and surfski champion. He is a three-times world champion in the K-1 500 m events and has also won two Olympic silver medals. His career has been tarnished by drug scandals and arrests.

Walter Douglas is an alleged Scottish drug trafficker and organised crime figure, dubbed the Tartan Pimpernel by the press, who is reportedly one of the richest in the United Kingdom with an estimated worth of £20 million. He was allegedly wanted in at least three countries on drug trafficking and gun running charges as of 2003, and Douglas was reported to have had ties to numerous international criminal organisations in Europe and North America as the head of the Delta crime syndicate. But in fact nothing has ever been proved against Douglas. In October 2013 there were no longer any warrants out against him and he staunchly maintained his innocence to a British journalist

Michael Tyrrell was an Antigua-born drug trafficker who headed a drug ring along with his Common law wife Julie Paterson, known as the "Cocaine Queen". In 1999, he and his "wife" were caught by authorities attempting to smuggle nearly half a ton of cocaine from Bequia into Great Britain, one of the largest ever to be smuggled into the country.

Brian Charrington is an English drug trafficker and owner of a car dealership in Middlesbrough who, along with Curtis "Cocky" Warren, operated in North East England during the late-1980s and eventually built a criminal empire with links to Germany, France, Spain and Austria as well as connections in South America and the United States.

Derek Creighton "Bertie" Smalls was considered by many as Britain's first supergrass. Although there have been informers throughout history – the Kray twins were partly convicted two years before Smalls on evidence given by Leslie Payne – the Smalls case was significant for three reasons: the first informer to give the police volume names of his associates and provide the evidence that would send dozens of them to prison to serve long sentences; the first criminal informer to strike a written deal with the Director of Public Prosecutions; the only criminal informer to serve no time for his crime in return for providing Queen's evidence.

<i>Banged Up Abroad</i> British television series

Banged Up Abroad is a British documentary/docudrama television series created by Bart Layton that was produced for Channel 5 and that premiered in March 2006. Most episodes feature stories of people who have been arrested while travelling abroad, usually for trying to smuggle illegal drugs, although some episodes feature people who were either kidnapped or captured while they were either travelling or living in other countries. Some episodes have featured real-life stories that first became well known when they were made the subject of a film: films that have been 're-made' in this way include Midnight Express, Goodfellas, The Devil's Double, Argo, Mr Nice and, to a lesser extent, Casino.

Miguel Ángel Caro Quintero is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former leader of the Sonora Cartel, a defunct criminal group based in Sonora.

A drug lord, drug baron, kingpin or narcotrafficker is a high-ranking crime boss who controls a sizable network of people involved in the illegal drug trade. Such figures are often difficult to bring to justice, as they are normally not directly in possession of something illegal but are insulated from the actual trade in drugs by several layers of staff. The prosecution of drug lords is therefore usually the result of carefully planned infiltration into their networks, often using informants from within the organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Drug Law Enforcement Agency</span> Law agency of drugs in Nigeria

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) is a federal law enforcement agency in Nigeria under the Federal Ministry of Justice charged with eliminating the growing, processing, manufacturing, selling, exporting, and trafficking of hard drugs. The agency was established by Decree Number 48 of 1989. The NDLEA is present in international airports, seaports, and border crossings. The NDLEA also targets the leaders of narcotics and money laundering organizations.

John Haase is an English gangster, drug dealer and associate of Curtis Warren. Haase and his nephew Paul Bennett are career criminals with convictions for bank robbery and drug smuggling. In 1996, Haase and Bennett were given a Royal Pardon 11 months into 18-year prison sentences for heroin smuggling, having provided information leading to the seizure of firearms. The Home Secretary, Michael Howard, was criticized for the decision, and in 2008 Haase and Bennett were convicted of having set up the weapons finds to earn them their release, and sentenced to 20 and 22 years in prison respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hells Angels MC criminal allegations and incidents</span> Criminal incidents involving the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club

Numerous police and international intelligence agencies classify the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club as a motorcycle gang and contend that members carry out widespread violent crimes, including drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, gunrunning, extortion, and prostitution operations. Members of the organization have continuously asserted that they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole. Members of the club have been accused of crimes and/or convicted in many host nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Landín Martínez</span> Mexican drug lord

Carlos Landín Martínez, also known as El Puma, was a Mexican former police chief and convicted drug lord. He was a high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas, Mexico, and worked as the second-in-command of the cartel in Reynosa from 2005 to 2007. Landín Martínez was a trusted enforcer of the kingpin Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa. Among his responsibilities included managing international drug trafficking shipments from Tamaulipas to Texas, collecting taxes from independent traffickers who operated in his turf, and managing money laundering operations. Landín Martínez was also a commander in the Tamaulipas State Police, where he headed the homicide task-force. According to a witness who testified against him in court, Landín Martínez worked for the Gulf Cartel while still employed by the state police.

James Mulvey is an illicit drug smuggler originally from Solihull.

References

  1. "findmypast.co.uk". search.findmypast.co.uk.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hopkins, Nick (19 December 2001). "Gangster supergrass jailed". The Guardian. London.
  3. 1 2 Correspondent, By John Steele, Crime. "'Supergrass' is jailed over £132m drugs ring".