Curtis Warren (criminal)
| Curtis Warren | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Curtis Francis Warren 31 May 1963 Toxteth, Liverpool, England |
| Other names | Cocky |
| Criminal penalty | Juvenile crime: Borstal Armed robbery: 5 years Shipment of drugs to the Netherlands: 12 years Manslaughter: 4 years Conspiracy to smuggle cannabis: 13 years |
| Criminal status | In prison |
Curtis Francis Warren (born 31 May 1963) is an English gangster, who as Britain's most notorious drugs trafficker was formerly Interpol's Target One, and once listed on the Sunday Times Rich List.
Curtis Warren is the second son of South American born Curtis Aloysius Warren, he used to do road with Ian H of South Acton, a seaman with the Norwegian Merchant Navy, and Antonia Chantre, the daughter of a shipyard boiler attendant. He grew up with his elder brother Ramon and sister Maria in Toxteth.
After Warren was released from jail, local police commented that he had turned his life around, a bouncer at a Liverpool nightclub. It was here that he learnt about the drugs trade - bouncers have the power to control who comes into and out of a venue. He learnt the drugs trade from controlling dealers' access and then befriending them, giving him an inside education.
In the late 1980s, he came to a working agreement with Middlesbrough trafficker Brian Charrington. In September 1991, using Charrington's personal yacht, the pair sailed to France on then-legal British visitor passports. They then travelled to Venezuela on British 10-year passports, and arranged a deal with the Cali cartel to smuggle cocaine in steel boxes, concealed in lead ingots.
On arrival in the UK, HM Customs and Excise cut open one ingot, but found nothing. Having let the shipment pass, they were later informed by Dutch police that the drugs were held in the steel boxes; by which time Charrington, Warren and the shipment were untraceable. However, a second shipment of 907 kilograms (2,000 lb) using the same method was already on its way from South America.
When the shipment landed in the UK in early 1992, Charrington, Warren and twenty-six others were placed under arrest in a prosecution brought by HM Customs and Excise. However, in preliminary court procedures, it was revealed by police that Charrington was a police informant for the North-East Regional Crime Squad. HM Customs officials went forward with their prosecution, despite protests from his police "handlers" Harry Knaggs and Ian Weedon. In Newcastle Crown Court, it was alleged that Warren was so well informed, that he knew the length of the largest drill bit owned by HM Customs, and therefore the size/depth of the required ingots. Eventually, through Tory MP Tim Devlin, a meeting was arranged in which Customs was ordered to drop charges against Charrington on 28 January 1993. The case was dropped, with all accused including Warren acquitted of all charges.
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