DRUG LORDS GAVE LABOUR DIRTY CASH FOR ELECTION FUND

Britain's most powerful crime family gave a series of cash donations to the
Labour Party before the general election, The Observer can reveal.

Key members of the notorious Adams family made the claim in conversations
secretly recorded during an undercover police investigation into the London
criminal gang, which has made millions from drugs and is thought to be
behind 25 gangland murders.

Tommy Adams, one of the gang's leaders, was recorded in June 1996 boasting
he should be "all right" under New Labour because he had donated UKP2,000
in cash.

Last week Adams was jailed for seven and a half years after being convicted
of masterminding an UKP8 million-a-year cannabis dealing ring.

Police say gang members were taped between October 1995 and March 1997
discussing other cash donations of UKP2,000 or UKP3,000.

Detectives are puzzled by the reasons for the donations other than to
obtain influence in the New Labour heartland of Islington, north London,
where the gang is based.

It is believed the donations were made on behalf of the Adams family by
their lieutenants Michael Papamichael and Edward Wilkinson, also jailed
last week for their part in the drug operation.

It is suggested a further gift was made by a relation of Adams who acts as
one of their enforcers and was recently arrested in possession of a kilo of
cocaine.

During the two-year investigation, listening devices were placed in hotel
rooms and a taxi which Tommy Adams used as a "mobile operations centre" for
drugs deals.

The payments were in cash because Tommy Adams has no known bank accounts.
Cash payments ensured the identity of the real donor could be hidden.

Adams, a 40-year-old father of four, has had no tax or employment records
since leaving school yet lives in a UKP450,000 Islington town house.

Gifts under UKP5,000 to Labour do not have to be disclosed in the party's
annual report. Money given to a constituency party does not have to be
declared.

The Adams family is rumoured to have built up influential contacts not only
among police but also with judges and politicians.

The taped claims by the Adams family - described as "worse than the Krays"
- - will embarrass Labour.

A Labour Party spokesman said yesterday: "We will have to look at any
evidence the police have. If there is any evidence that the money we
received was from an illegal source then we will return it or pay it over
to the police."

Police investigations into the Adams organisation continue. It is
understood Tommy Adams' wife Androulla, 39, will soon face money laundering
charges.

The Observer has established that through Tommy and Androulla Adams, the
gang had links to a leading West End ticket agent, Tony Bruce, real name
Tony Jones. Bruce was co-director with Androulla Adams of ticket agency
Newapex. A previous company, Tony Bruce Theatre, was financed through a
UKP142,000 mortgage on an Islington house where Tommy Adams once lived.

Bruce had extensive dealings with West End theatre companies and sporting
venues who rely on agents to guarantee sales. Large cash profits are made
from the excessive mark-up on tickets.

Asked about his connection with the Adams family, Bruce replied: "Speak to
my solicitor."

Checked-by: Richard Lake