THE DRUG-RUNNERS WHO SHAMED A REGIMENT

ONE of Britain's most distinguished regiments was publicly shamed yesterday
when seven of its soldiers were convicted of organising cross-Channel
drug-runs. Seven men, all past or present members of 39th Regiment, Royal
Artillery, used weekend leave to import cocaine, heroin and ecstasy worth
millions of pounds. They would set out for Amsterdam in pairs on a Friday
night, drop off their drugs in Liverpool on Sunday and return to their
barracks , near Newcastle upon Tyne, in time for guard duty on a Monday
morning.

The non-stop trips covered 1,300 miles.

At the end of a three-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court, three soldiers
were convicted of conspiring to import drugs.

Another four have previously admitted their involvement in the smuggling
ring. All will be sentenced on Thursday. David Turner, QC, prosecuting,
told the jury: "Until this case, those who man Customs were entitled to
feel that the least likely drug smugglers were those who had sworn an oath
to protect the realm.

This case has changed that perception. These men abused their position as
British Servicemen and, instead of protecting the country, provided for
drug importers a cross-frontier transport system."

Customs officers broke up the gang after an 18-month investigation with the
national crime squad and military police.

At one stage, the rogue soldiers were under 24-hour surveillance even
inside their barracks.

Some were photographed telephoning their paymasters from a camp callbox.

A senior Customs investigator said last night: "They were like a League of
Gentlemen, recruiting among themselves, handing out the drug-runs to men
they had served with. Most spent their profits on new cars or paid off
debts.

They came to regard the collections as nice little weekend earners." Gang
members are known to have made at least 15 trips.

For centuries the Royal Artillery has lived up to its twin mottoes: -
Ubique (Everywhere) and Quo Fas et Gloria Ducunt (Whither Right and Glory
Lead Us). Customs investigators estimate that, in total, the men brought
back cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and ecstasy worth #12.5 million.

They received between #3,000 and #5,000 for their runs. Some are thought to
have made up to #85,000. Those involved would catch an overnight ferry to
France and drive non-stop to Amsterdam. Drugs were hidden in a secret
compartment in the soldiers' cars. At Customs, they allayed suspicion by
piling duty-free beer on the back seats and flashing their military ID
cards to the officers. Customs officers were alerted to the gang on Jan 13,
1996, when they spotted one of them passing through Dover as a foot
passenger.

Peter O'Toole, 26, from Liverpool, was not a soldier but had served with
the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Customs put him under surveillance and saw him
meet two men in a red Honda Civic. They were Paul Bromiley, 31, the main
courier, and Peter Jackson, 30, both gunners in the 39th Regiment. All
three were arrested and Bromiley's car searched.

Customs officers found a hidden compartment but, because it was empty, they
had to let the men go.

Nevertheless, a Customs intelligence team began to monitor the movements of
the trio. In the months that followed, they uncovered an ever-widening
network of soldiers making trips through several ports.

Favourite drug routes were Ramsgate-Dunkirk and Dover-Calais. However, they
also used the Channel Tunnel. It was while using the tunnel route that Dale
Mills, 26, another gunner, celebrated a "successful" trip by having his
picture taken. He is seen beaming at the camera's lens, the fingers of one
hand held in a victory salute.

The negative was recovered by Customs. Paul Wright, 29, left the Army to
become one of the gang's meeting party in Liverpool. Jackson, from Greater
Manchester, did more drug-runs than others but would delegate to others if
he had been rostered for weekend guard duty. When the regiment was posted
to Cyprus in 1996, Bombardier Kevin Jones, 31, came to the fore. Jones, of
Newcastle upon Tyne, James Bull, 29, of Inskip, Merseyside, and Mills, of
Northampton, were found guilty of conspiring to smuggle drugs. Those who
have admitted conspiracy are: Jackson; Bromiley, of Preston; and civilians
O'Toole, of Liverpool, and Darren Williams, 27, of Ellesmere Port. Billy
Stott, 20, of Oldham, and Paul Wright, 29, of Liverpool, admitted being
concerned in importing drugs.

Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)