Drug men 'lured into gun ambush'

THREE drug dealers who were found shot dead in a country lane had been
lured into an ambush with the promise of a large cocaine consignment,
a jury was told yesterday.

They died because they had threatened to kill another drug dealer, who
decided to act first before the threat could be carried out, it was
claimed at the Old Bailey. Patrick Tate and two associates, Anthony
Tucker and Craig Rolfe, were sitting in their parked Range Rover in
the lane at Rettendon, in Essex, when eight shots were pumped into
them with "cold, ruthless efficiency", the jury was told. Andrew
Munday, QC, for the prosecution, said that Tate and his men were not
angels, but "notwithstanding their past, they had the right to live".

He added: "Dealing in drugs is not an honourable trade. It is often
the province of doublecross, the sting, doubledealing.

"There is a great deal of distrust. Distrust breeds threats from which
there are often acts of violence, and sometimes the direst acts of
violence ¡ killing someone."

The murder is denied by Michael Steele, 54, from Great Bentley, Essex,
and Jack Whomes, 35, from Brockford, Suffolk, who was said to be his
righthand man.

Mr Steele, Mr Whomes and another man, Peter Corry, 44, from
ClactononSea, Essex, also pleaded not guilty to importing cannabis
resin between August and December 1995. Mr Steele further pleaded not
guilty to the possession of a pump action shotgun.

Opening the prosecution case, Mr Munday told the court that Mr Steele
believed that Mr Tate had threatened him over a bad consignment of
cannabis which Mr Steele had supplied. Mr Munday said that drug
dealers could not go to the county court to pursue a claim if a
consignment was bad: "They are beyond the law, and as a result the
remedies are often lawless."

Mr Tate, 37, Mr Tucker, 38, and Rolfe, 26, were business associates in
the drugs world and operated rather like merchant venturers. Sometimes
they would pool their resources to buy a cargo and get a discount. Mr
Steele, Mr Whomes and Mr Corry were said to have smuggled drugs from
Holland to Britain, using fast open boats to bring their cargo to the
East Coast.

In November 1995, the quality of one consignment was so poor that
there were complaints and some had to be dumped. Refunds were
provided, but Mr Steele said that there were disagreements between him
and Mr Tate, and there were threats against him from the dealer.

Mr Tate was said to have threatened to make Mr Steele beg on his knees
and then kill him. Mr Steele, said Mr Munday, decided to eliminate the
threat once and for all.

Mr Tate and his friends were lured to the country lane on a cold,
snowy night, with the promise of a cocaine consignment. Mr Steele had
claimed that he was bringing the consignment into Essex for others. Mr
Tate and his group felt that they could have the chance to intercept
the cargo, killing the courier if necessary.

In fact, said Mr Munday, there never was a cocaine consignment, but Mr
Tate "bit upon the hook hidden within the bait". Excited by the
prospect of the drugs, he and his friends drove to the lane.

When their car was found the next day, Mr Tucker was sitting in the
front with a mobile telephone in his hand. He had been shot three
times. So had Mr Tate. Mr Rolfe had been shot twice. Mr Munday said it
looked as though someone had started to get out of the rear of the
car, and been handed a pumpaction or selfloading shotgun by a second
person and opened fire. Alternatively, the holder of the gun came up
and opened fire.

After the killings, Mr Steele was alleged to have been heard to boast
that he had "sorted them out" and that they would not be threatening
him again.

Mr Munday told the jury they might find it chilling that the two
killers later allegedly laughed at the fact that, at one point during
the ambush, one of the guns in the shootings had fallen apart when Mr
Steele tried to use it.

Mr Steele, Mr Whomes and Mr Corry were arrested in May 1996 on drug
charges, with a fourth man, Darren Nicholls. The court was told that
he would be giving evidence in the case.

The trial continues.

(Picture: Line)Copyright 1997 The Times Newspapers Limited. To inquire
about rights to reproduce material from The Times, please visit the
Syndication website(Picture)