Stopped at the Border with £10m of Drugs – What Happened Next Is Unreal | Arran Harvey's Story - Sounds From The Dockside

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And he pulled out this bag. So obviously it's just

(00:02):
COVID time still over there when you're traveling. So I've
still got a mask on, but my mouth just dropped.
They interviewed me, and I had said, yeah, there's seventy
one kilos of cocaine sour hundred and one of everything
that came out of my mouth over the next four
or five days.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
It didn't matter.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
You've been stopped at the border to see that I'm
out of get pulled out of a vehicle you're driving,
you must have for that point.

Speaker 4 (00:28):
Fuck, I'm never seen like a day again.

Speaker 5 (00:30):
This is just the start of it, man.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
What's happening?

Speaker 3 (00:57):
I don't even know how to start this way, Like
where where do you start this? So, for those listening
at home, brief synopsis. She was caught at the Calais
border with somewhere in the region of seventy one kilo of.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
Coke and one hundred and one kilo of ketmen.

Speaker 3 (01:13):
And then he was acquitted by a French magistrate after
representing yourself in French court. And then a couple of
years later, after a whole barrage of shit, you think
you're a free man, and then you end up on
remanding ones with for forty months for them original charges
in a nuts. Just let's start by just getting to

(01:36):
know you're a bit there first, mate. How's it going, Yeah,
sounds obviously, left the army we did a bit before together.
I left there, joined a contractor working for a water
company driving htvs.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
Did that. It was great. Went direct for a water company,
no problems. Yeah, it was great.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Work loads through COVID. Obviously were key workers, so we
worked straight through COVID, did loads of time.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
It was great. Loved my job. Obviously, we always grafted
from before. It was sound.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
A couple of my friends from local got their own businesses.
One's a painter and decoratur one runs a carpet fiting business.
There was another guy from our gym. His dad run
run a shop fitting business. His mum she was she's
a police in crime commissioner. She used to run a
media company. I think she sold it for like thirteen

(02:37):
million pounds or something like that. It was all not
a close group, but there was a there was a
few lads, fans and mechanic you know. There was a
group of lads well used to go to the gym,
have a bit of a chat, different pieces, different bits
and bobs. Obviously, the lad in question used to work
for his old man. Always had nice cars.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
I think when I met him he was like twenty five,
maybe twenty four.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
From what you said, that like quite upstanding members of
your community out there. They're quite prominent people the family, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
quite well known afterwards.

Speaker 4 (03:08):
Business people and you know.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
I think his mom was a counselor in Litchfield for
a while. Obviously then the role at the time was
policing crime commissioner. I think she held that for like
ten plus years.

Speaker 4 (03:21):
Comes with a lot of responsibility that job and a
large part of money.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
Is she He had a kid, like the lad in question,
he had a kid. We went to the we went
to the christening, you know, close group of lads. When
they had a beer, you know, got a little bit
out of control, ended up rowing, just like normal people,
really like I think, do you know what I mean? Yeah,
hoving a little bit mad about it. When COVID was stopping,

(03:48):
he'd started his own business.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Real estate removals.

Speaker 1 (03:54):
No issues all over social media, so I would be
sharing the posts and memory come up the other day. Actually,
funnily enough, you know we'd shared it, put it on
my story, trying to get him some more business and
more people. He was asking for drivers, he was asking
for hand bailers to help obviously load the vans, and.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
Like legit operation, you know, legit business, legit jobs going on, and.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
Loads of local lads helping him out vans, lorries, bits
and pieces. Obviously he was one of the boys. He
knows I drive HTUV. So he used to message me
constantly about taco rules and like what's what's this?

Speaker 2 (04:28):
What's that? Do I do it?

Speaker 1 (04:30):
Do I not get class ones? Do I just go
like Lootens, which is obviously a smaller, smaller van, sorry,
a bigger van.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
And obviously I just used to talk him through it.

Speaker 1 (04:40):
Obviously he asked me if I'd go and drive for him,
and I said, I'm contracted, Like I ain't never leave
him the air, do you know what I mean? Like
we've been taken on, we've been two peered over, like
it's basically perfect. So yeah, like long story short, Obviously
his business just developed, developed, developed over To be honest,
it was a small space, like it was a short
space of time. But his dad was a director of

(05:03):
the company, so you could see why he was progressing,
you get what I mean, Like, yeah, his dad was
a businessman, his mom got back and from the start.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
Yeah, of course, So that was it, all over social
media bits and bobs. I ended up getting my cousin
an interview there.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
He went to the office and had an interview for
a handballing job.

Speaker 2 (05:22):
I don't think he fancied it in the end.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
So that was that. A few of my friends used
to work for him. Obviously it was one of the
boys just like speaking to you, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
So yeah, that was that.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
Obviously the message would be to in them from I.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Think Christmas twenty twenty one. I was going to New
York in the December end of November.

Speaker 1 (05:48):
Work got us in the office and now we're like,
you have done loads of work over COVID. You need
to have some time off. You think I had like
seventeen days or something like mad to use with the
time off that he got over Christmas and stuff. Anyway,
turned out I was going back at like the third
of January or something, So I put that on social media,
see you boys in the New Year sort of thing.

(06:08):
I'm like the third of December something mad, Yeah, so I.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
Had all this time off.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
Straight away, I've still got the message, now bring me
jumped in there ranging straight away, I was everything.

Speaker 4 (06:19):
All right, this is this is the owner of their removal.
Just keep track.

Speaker 1 (06:23):
Yeah yeah, and he was like like, when you've got
time off, he was like, come drive for us. It's
cash in hand, like like I'll sort you out, but
it's got to help you. I was just wow, you
know me, I can't sit still anyway, train every day,
Like why would not go and work cashing hand?

Speaker 4 (06:42):
Yeah, a few grand when you've got a few weeks
off work, it's a no brainer.

Speaker 1 (06:45):
And I'm going on a mental holiday as well at
the end of the at the end of December.

Speaker 4 (06:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
So I was like, yeah, sound obviously it come about
a couple of the details. He was just like, oh,
you are going abroad. You're gonna drive with this guy.
You'll go today, you'll be back tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
We'll be bringing a removal.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
Were contracted to move a unicompus from abroad from Holland
back to the UK. Got there and I was a
bit like, yeah, well is what it is. The lad
that I was driving with driver's mate, he knew what
the score was. Chohine even said to him, like, oh,
when you get to take him to that state place
that we used to go to, like have some food

(07:28):
and stuff get loaded. Obviously come back to the dock
in the morning. Sweet got there, got to the unit.
It was unifurniture bro It was like we were picking
up the tables from this room, drawers, wardrobes.

Speaker 2 (07:44):
I think there was a fridge there. It was just
like you'd gone to a uniflat picked it up, put
it in the unit and would put it in the lorry.
Do you know what I mean? The lads were like oh.
I said to them, like what do we do? Do
you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (07:57):
Me in this driver's mate and he said, ah, like
the boys will load it would just help with the
big stuff like big tables or if there was a
big wardrobe, big old wardrobe. I member one time he said,
we'll just help them out with that, all right, sound
everything else.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
They just loaded it different bits and pieces. You could
just see it.

Speaker 1 (08:14):
All those boxes, Dave's room written on you know what
I mean, kitchen like all the rest of it wasn't
nothing was really sealed.

Speaker 2 (08:20):
It was just cardboard boxes folded over.

Speaker 3 (08:22):
So it just seemed you know, you turned up at
this job and it was just completely leget like nothing whatsoever,
just normal.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
Like you just started throwing all your stuff in the
back of the lorry, do you know what I mean?
It was just like that got there, loaded it, no ishoes,
gone for food after, had an old steak and that
got back a grand cashing and driving to Holland and back.
I'd googled it before, you know, obviously driving jobs like this,
that and the other, and on Google they actually get

(08:53):
a little bit more than a grand. It was about
fifteen hundred quid for the mileage and stuff that I'd
been doing, do you know what I mean? So I
actually thought I was being sure changed a little bit,
if I'm being completely honest. Yeah, cashing hand so obviously
that's probably where the tax and stuff.

Speaker 2 (09:06):
Come in, do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (09:07):
I was like, it's sound. So that was that came
back handed, the keys over, I won't know.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
That was it. No issues.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
The next week obviously we're still in December. The next
week he was like listen, like, can you drive a
van this time not a looten like a sprinter And
he was like the lads have already done our removal
in Europe, but they're bringing it back. They need to
go to Switzerland to do another removal. Can you take

(09:37):
them a van and bring their van back? And he said,
we've already done like the removal, you just need to
bring the kit back.

Speaker 2 (09:44):
I was like, all right, but it's not. It wasn't
in Holland. It was like further down.

Speaker 1 (09:51):
So I went over there, met the boys, exchanged keys, literally,
came back really early hours the next day.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
No issues.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
When you go through the border, I don't know if
you've done it. Everyone gets searched, everyone goes through customs,
everyone has their passport over all the bits and pieces.
All these vans get searched. The open it up, it's tables,
it's kitchen, where it's boxes with so and so's kitchen
written on and wherever.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
There's no issues, no problems at all.

Speaker 1 (10:21):
Towards the end of December, literally probably a few days
before I went to New York, he was like, oh,
what you do like this one before you go on anotheriday?
He was like, I know, it's a rush. He was like, well,
i'll give you thirteen hundred quid, but cash. I was like, so,
same sort of thing like this. He was like, yeah,
the same place. He was like, I need to get
a certain amount of kit from the university brought back

(10:43):
to the UK before the end of the year. And
at this point I'd seen on social media it wasn't
just me going. There was other boys going in different vans,
all different parts of the week. So in my head
it made sense to we were saying I'm rushing, like
I need, I need to get it done by the
end of the year.

Speaker 3 (11:02):
Why would you doubt him at this point exactly? Why
would you doubt him if he was one of the
boys offered you are driving job. Is one of the
boys is offering you a grand cash and you're about
to go on holiday.

Speaker 4 (11:11):
It's a fucking no brain, aren't at.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
All this point as well, like all the boys that
were doing jobs for him and stuff. It was all
over social media, like the lads were doing removals locally,
like up and down the UK. Obviously I was going
to Europe. There was a couple of lads to go
into Europe. These boys were going to Switzerland. They were
taking pictures. It was all over social media like everybody
could see it. So, like you said, there's just no

(11:33):
reason to kind of doubt it anyway, got there again,
no problems, the bang got searched, no problems.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
Went on holiday. Well, I was going on holiday and
I said.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
To him, I said, like that's me now obviously, like
I'm going on another day starting the new year, like
I'll be thinking I'll be going back to work. And
he was like listen, like I know you're going to
like New York, he said, jop me to take it
to the airport. Like I said, oh, we're flying from Manchester.
It was like, mate, but you've helped me outloads, like
I'll take you to Manchester, I'll pick you up, or
I'll get you a new bout whatever you want to do,

(12:07):
like you've you've done it a solid a lot, thank
you sort of thing like this past couple of weeks,
you've been golden.

Speaker 2 (12:12):
I said, fucking hell, nice one.

Speaker 1 (12:14):
I said, I appreciate it, but I've already booked the airport,
parking and all the rest of it, Like, but thank you,
And he.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
Said, like obviously take the cash and stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:21):
He said, but if you need anything, like honestly, like
from me to you, like thank you. Okay, sounds in
my head going on holiday, I'm thinking you know like
it kind of owes me a favor of a lot
nice one, feeling a little bit confident about myself, do
you know what I mean? So yeah, like obviously when
I'm on holiday Christmas and New Year and stuff. Obviously
come back at Christmas, had New Year, which happy New

(12:42):
Year and stuff like twelve o'clock on New Year's Eve,
he said, Oh, like your holiday looks sick, like great
pictures and stuff, blah blah blah, replying to each other's
stories and.

Speaker 2 (12:53):
That over Christmas, what you do with the boys?

Speaker 4 (12:55):
Yeah, do you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (12:56):
So it was it was solid like why not sort
of thing. Come to January.

Speaker 1 (13:04):
Obviously, a couple of days into January, I've gone back
to work and he's gone on holiday. Obviously he'd said
over Christmas as well, I need to wait until the
New Year to go Anoliday, but because I've got loads
on leading towards the end of the New year, at
the end of the year.

Speaker 2 (13:19):
So that was that he'd gone.

Speaker 1 (13:20):
On another day, I'd seen his pictures in Dubai and
stuff been picked up at the airport in some mental
car or whatever sounds. I didn't see some of the
other stuff he was driving cars and doing bits and pieces.
I didn't see some of that, but i'd seen that
he'd been picked up in a really flash car. I
can't remember what it was, but it was nice. And
obviously you just don't dood buy, isn't it. You don't

(13:42):
really think much of it. Everyone drive standard. A couple
of days into his holiday, obviously I'm back at work now,
he's messaged me, I've been let down. Can you drive
over to their blah blah blah on the bank holiday?
Obviously I'll get bank holidays off and listen, Like, you know,
that's going to be a rush for me to do
that on the Monday and then come back for the Tuesday.

(14:04):
He was like, like, I don't know what to say,
so I need to help blah blah blah blah. And
I apologize that and your but I think I've still
got the message now, like I said you before.

Speaker 2 (14:14):
Anyway, I agreed.

Speaker 1 (14:16):
He's a little bit pushed, a little bit weird because
he was so rushing, but I figured that's because he'd
been let down by a driver.

Speaker 2 (14:23):
Yeah, so I was a bit like.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
But it built you up to a point here, you know,
he kind of made you feel like you as a
crutch he needed. Yeah, you know, I mean, like you're
saying you left that Christmas feeling confident that he owed
you a favor, didn't you.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
Yeah, so obviously I agreed, and I just said, like
I can over the bank holiday, but listen, like you
need to square yourself away. After that, he said, I'd
go myself, he said, but I'm away, he said, Oh
what is I just go myself, he said, I've done.
I've done numerous trips. I was like, all right, sound
I met this kid, him and his missus. His missus
took me and him to go and pick up one

(14:55):
of the vans. Then we had to go and get
one of the other van's early hours of the morning
from the garage so we could drive a van each
to kick start the new year off.

Speaker 2 (15:06):
Essentially.

Speaker 1 (15:06):
Yeah, So, like I said, it felt rushed, but it
was because he'd been let down from a driver. That's
what add into my head.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
So I kind of made my piece with that.

Speaker 1 (15:20):
Gone over there, got exactly the same thing as before,
same unit.

Speaker 2 (15:24):
You know these boys.

Speaker 1 (15:24):
Yeah, we've unloaded the kit from the like this is
you know, tables, fringes, bits and pieces like you know,
living room written on these boxes. There was nothing overly secure,
it was nothing overly weird.

Speaker 2 (15:38):
Same thing as before.

Speaker 1 (15:39):
I think the one time I helped out, that time
it was with with a three pieces week chair and
like so fa like everything else that We're like, no, no,
you're all right, like you've been driving for however long.
The lad I pulled out, The lad pulled out, pulled
back in in a sprinter. He was in there really quick.
I think it was just a couple of bits, like
a couple of boxes and a big unit.

Speaker 2 (16:02):
But other than that we were sound. Do you know
what I mean? We've got in there. I think we
pulled over at services on.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
The way up, so we were prepped, ready to go,
sort of thing. On the way back down, I just
wanted to get there, get in the queue, and kind
of if I could have twenty minutes, I'd have twenty
minutes in the queue, do you know what I mean?
When I was waiting at Calais, the lad rang me
on the way down. He said, I was knackered, like
you know, I'll stop for a sleep. He said, I'm

(16:29):
going to be late. I said, take your time. I said,
don't rush the queues.

Speaker 2 (16:33):
Massive.

Speaker 1 (16:34):
I got down there, went to the office, got my paperwork,
my CMR and all the rest of it. What's the
CMM mate, sorry to do with traveling all the kid
that's in the truck. Yeah, John had messaged me and said, oh,
when it comes to your CMR, tell him it's a
house removal, it's a personal removal, which I thought was

(16:56):
a bit mad. But he was just like, I don't
want to pay the traveling tax basically on commercial. Again,
I got it, do you know what I mean? It
does make sense obviously if we was going over there
and you said, oh, we'll just say it's this so
that we don't have to pay the traveling tax for commercial.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
I do get it. From a small business point of view,
do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (17:16):
He was one of the boys again, like, yeah, as
if this big CEO of a big company just said
I lie, do you know what I mean? So I
just when I got to the thing, obviously I just
signed it. Well, I had the message that said, oh
tell him it's this, so I was kind of like,
all right, do you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (17:32):
From boys to boys? Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (17:34):
Anyway, got to the thing, gave the CMIRO no problem,
went into the searching area. Obviously the other vans still
on his way back down at this point. Name of
the truck and that all name of the business all
over the side of the truck. Gone in there. She's gone,
oh yeah, it's plain the situation. Yeah, no problem, searched
it same as before, No problems. Oh what's what's in there?

(18:02):
Like in the boxes with kitchen and stuff it? And
I was like you have a look. I was that
all right, yeah sound So they got in there with
a dog, no issues, no problems. It was like, oh,
we want to take you through a scanner. I was like,
all right, yes, is that local? Like what what are
we doing?

Speaker 2 (18:21):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (18:22):
Yeah yeah in broken English obviously we're in France. Yeah
you know what I mean, So broken English. It was
oh a few minutes, A few minutes, okay.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
No problem.

Speaker 1 (18:29):
So I messaged John now like oh man, I'm knackered,
Like are they having me on here or what?

Speaker 2 (18:35):
No? No, no, like it's fine, it's normal, bro. One time they.

Speaker 1 (18:39):
Tried to take my wheel off because they thought I
was hiding something in a wheel and I was like okay,
and he was like, just don't stress it. He was
like like, don't worry, like it will be fine. So
I've gone to this scanner, come back and I said
to the guy. I was like, well, I'm I free
to go and he was like, he was like yeah,
but I just need to ask. He was like, he

(19:00):
showed me the picture of the scan and the whole.
So you got front of the truck here, the whole
of the truck there, it's really dark.

Speaker 2 (19:09):
And he was like, what why is that dark there?
I said, well, it's not my vehicle.

Speaker 1 (19:12):
I like, I don't know, and he was like it
was like so he had supposed to be supposed to
be like this, it's lighter. And I was like okay,
and like obviously it was all it was all on
the drawing. I couldn't really get what this dark?

Speaker 2 (19:26):
This light? Why? Like it was really broken? Do you
get what I mean?

Speaker 1 (19:29):
And I was like, man, I don't know. He was like,
we empty find out. I was like, no problem. You know,
was knackered, but do what you gotta do you get
what I mean? Like, just get me out of I
don't care. I've messaged him again. I was like treating
me like a fucking Criminally, what's going on? He was like, mate,
just don't worry about it. It's their job, which it is,
which I've got obviously we've done like that sort of stuff.

Speaker 2 (19:51):

Speaker 1 (19:53):
So I was like, okay, sound he was like, don't panic, like,
just let him do that job. Like you'll be on
your way, he said, like I said, you before, you know,
they took the wheel off one of the vehicles before.
So I'm sitting there obviously I'm messaging I'm knackered as well,
you know me really like it's been a long night,
do you know what I mean. Anyway, obviously I've rushed

(20:13):
to get that down to try and get onto the
ferry so that I can then I can get I
think ninety minutes.

Speaker 2 (20:19):
Yeah, trying to get a little bit of kip on
the way back.

Speaker 1 (20:22):
That's what I always have done the past couple of trips.
That's what I've done.

Speaker 2 (20:25):
Before.

Speaker 1 (20:28):
A couple of guys cambered in the truck, you know, pulled,
pulled the sofa off.

Speaker 2 (20:34):
I think that was the biggest thing. And then that they.

Speaker 1 (20:36):
Climbed over to a couple of pieces, opened up a
couple of boxes bits and piece I think the kitchen
box maybe or something else.

Speaker 2 (20:45):
And he pulled out this bag.

Speaker 1 (20:47):
So obviously it's just COVID time still over there when
you're traveling. So I've still got a mask on, but
my mouth just dropped.

Speaker 3 (20:54):
I was like, what when you say a bag, you're
what about just a typical sort of wrap and just
looked like a suspect bag of gearis.

Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, so it was just a bag, so yeah, and
he said, oh, what's this?

Speaker 2 (21:07):
So inside that was it? Like my heart dropped.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
I was like, I said, I don't know, and he
was like and he was like that was it. Soon
as soon as I got I don't know, I have
phone in this and I think I had like a
drink in this, and that was it. I just got
dived on. There was a guy behind me like bag off.
Obviously I had my rooksack on back off like I had,

(21:31):
I had a big coat on coat, pulled it off,
the phone out of hand, handcuffed straight away like like
loads of French screaming, shouting, like like intimidating stuff, you
know what I mean. And like I said to you before,
I was shipping myself, well mate.

Speaker 2 (21:54):
Like that was it. That obviously put me in another room.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
Where truck gets searched. The rooms like here, so it's
behind the door, you can't really see what's going on.
I pulled everything off and when I went back out
maybe an hour later if that, they just piled these
bricks up around this big square, like a semicircle, and

(22:22):
I was like, what the fuck is going on? They
were like in threes, but there were I'm talking bricks
like and I was like, what the fuck is going
on here? And they were like, yeah, we're arresting you
on suspicion of trafficking drugs whatever. Obviously, again, the most
English guy there was really broken, so I didn't really

(22:45):
understand a lot. They got me an interpreter, which obviously
was a godsend. They interviewed me and they had said, yeah,
there's seventy one kilos of cocaine hundred and one.

Speaker 3 (23:00):
Of so from that initial search happening to them then
interviewing you, how long was that process?

Speaker 4 (23:07):
Would you say?

Speaker 2 (23:09):
A couple of hours?

Speaker 4 (23:10):
All right, so pretty quick?

Speaker 1 (23:11):
Then yeah, well that was a customs situation. So obviously
what they explained to me pretty quickly with the interpreter
when she got there was a couple of hours later
that what had happened is I'd get interviewed by the
Customs because obviously there was there find if you like, yeah,
But then afterwards I'd get interviewed by the police and
arrested officially by the police.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
So the thing with.

Speaker 1 (23:35):
An importation offense is that there's actually two offenses involved
because Customs can give you a sentence custodia or whatever,
and the police can give you another custodial sentence. So
essentially you could get sentenced twice. So if they both
gave you ten years, you'd get twenty years.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
That would be.

Speaker 3 (23:57):
Separate chargers, though would one be for the trafficking and
be for the input But it seems like double jeopardy
a bit, don't know, It seems a bit I don't.

Speaker 2 (24:04):
Because it's customs, So one's the customs offense and one's
a legal offense. Matter. I don't know how it's.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
So, been interviewed by the customs, explained my situation. Obviously,
you know, name of the companies on the truck or
the rest of it. Obviously, they took my phone from me,
gave it to the police, interviewed by the police. The
second I opened my mouth, the police were like, they

(24:33):
asked me the name of the company that was on
the side of the truck.

Speaker 2 (24:37):
I told them the name of the company that was on.

Speaker 1 (24:39):
The side of the truck, and they told me I
was lying straight away, no matter what. So everything that
came out of my mouth over the next four or
five days was it didn't matter.

Speaker 2 (24:51):
They were They were like, you know what I mean
straight away? Nope, nope, nope, no, We've seen we see
you people every day, like we know you're lying.

Speaker 1 (24:59):
And I was like, so over. So that was at
the start. So as the days kind of progressed, it
got a lot worse and worse and worse, more and
more frustrating. Firstly, like I said to you before, they
asked me if I wanted legal representation, and I said no,
So they didn't really seem that bothered. It wasn't that

(25:23):
big of a deal at that point. It was only
when I got to court after it's like it was
made a bit more of a deal. But to being
filmed being questioned. That asked the court after about a
day if they could have more time to question me
because all I was doing was telling the truth. But
that weren't what they wanted to here. They wanted more answers,

(25:44):
you know, what I mean. They asked me where i'd been.
I said, it's in my sat NAV, look at it.
They said, well, where have you been? I said, it's
in my sat enough, I didn't just make it up.
That's where I've been. Oh, say you've been here? Yeah,
well there's nothing there. What I'm telling you, that's where
I've fucking been.

Speaker 2 (26:01):
Do you know what I mean? Like, I can't. I
don't know any other things than what I know. And
that's that.

Speaker 1 (26:06):
Oh, who do you work for? You know who I
work for? Like it's in my phone? You know who
I've been messaging, Like I've told you. But they asked
me who I've been told you straight away?

Speaker 2 (26:16):
Do you know what I mean? If you google the
name of the company and then google the owner and
the name of the company on company's.

Speaker 1 (26:22):
House, that's who I've been talking to. Yeah, investigative work.

Speaker 5 (26:27):
Just do it.

Speaker 1 (26:28):
And no, you're liing, No, that's not true, like you're
being evasive this that well, I'm not, like, do you
know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (26:36):
Which she kept in theself of these this time when
he was over there.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
Yeah, so the cells there are a little bit different
to here.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
Okay, so I had it's three walls, but then just
bars at the front and obviously I was by the dock, water,
cold light everywhere. Yeah, I couldn't sleep, fucking freezing.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
Obviously it's France as well, so they don't. It's just
obviously police. The microwavable meals and stuff that were there,
they're not like English curry or whatever else.

Speaker 2 (27:05):
Do you know what I mean? It was just some
dog shit fucking food.

Speaker 1 (27:08):
I didn't really get watch like every Obviously you'd get
three meals a day if you're in the UK.

Speaker 2 (27:13):
That's not what you get over there.

Speaker 3 (27:14):
Yeah, So just you know, just just thinking about this,
this part of the story is quite fucking done. And
then it really you know, you've been You've been stopped
at a border to see that I'm out of gear,
get pulled out of a vehicle you're driving. You must
have been for that point. Fuck, I'm never seeing like
a day again. It's like something out of a film.
And then getting getting chucks in a fucking hole for
five days, getting told everything you say is bullshit.

Speaker 5 (27:35):
This is just the start of it.

Speaker 1 (27:36):
Man themselves again, Like there was just a hole in
the floor to go toileting, do you know what I mean? Yeah,
talking something out like the fifties, vile mad again, no food.
I think I lost just over a stone in those
five days myself here. Obviously I never slept going forward.
I think after about a day or two I asked.

(27:57):
I kept asking for phone calls. Obviously I got told
at the end of the second day I could call
my sister, well, I could call somebody. So I called
my sister just to let I know what was going on.
So I had to be really scarce.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
But you know, at this point, it's just I am
alive because obviously I don't know, do you know what
I mean?

Speaker 1 (28:14):
I haven't opposed to me for two days and then
that was that pretty much really brief phone call. Another
couple of days that kept asking the court for more
time to kind of convince me to change my story
to get what I mean. Obviously, that never like, all
I can do is tell the truth, and that's that.
That's all I know. I think at the end of

(28:35):
the fourth day, just before court, or the end of the
third day just before court, just the day before court. Anyway,
I got to call my sister again really quickly. I'm
going to court in the morning. I don't know what's
going to happen. You know, I'll be in touch if
I can.

Speaker 2 (28:50):
Yeah, I think on the way back to the cell,
remember one of the.

Speaker 1 (28:58):
French police officers, he was one of them was good English,
and one of them just couldn't speak a word. So
whenever I would speak to the interpret and the interpreter,
I would speak in French. That the French that the
English speaking copper would say something on top that I
wouldn't be able to understand, you know what I mean,
just kind of like maybe his opinion or something I
still don't know even now. Yesday, and he said to

(29:20):
me on the way back to the cell the night
before court, he said, I'm telling you now, if you
don't change your story tomorrow, we're going to get you
twenty years. He said, you won't see Britain again for
twenty years. He said, because it's not like Britain here,
he said, it's different. He said, like we're dead against
what you do. And I was just like, I've told
you it's not what I do like and that's that.

(29:42):
And he said that's up to you in my eyes,
you need to change your story. So again I didn't sleep,
but I went back into the cell that day.

Speaker 2 (29:54):
Thinking that the rest of my life was over. Do

Speaker 1 (29:57):
Obviously I've got a thirteen year old, not my sister,
my nephew.

Speaker 2 (30:03):
Do you know what I mean? Everything was it was
quite bad bleak at that point, gets up.

Speaker 1 (30:11):
The next day, gets moved to court. Court morning was
the first time that I'd had fresh food. The day
brought me French baget, back coon roll, good food, bottle
of water.

Speaker 2 (30:26):
Do you know what I mean? That's the foot and
it was that was gone. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (30:28):
It was gone like wind. To go to court, you
have to have a barrister. Even though I had no
solicitor or lawyer, you have to have a barrister to
represent you in court. So it gone to again. It
was just an assigned one for the court for that day.
So he came to the selling the morning and he said, oh,
I'm here. He had this pile of paperwork. He said,

(30:51):
I'll find your paperwork. And I'm thinking I'm finished it,
Like do you know what I mean? This guy is
just assigned to me. He doesn't really care what happens
to me. Like he's got all these works from the
different cases throughout the day, I'm thinking, I'm so fucked.
I've got my mask on. My interpreters here, he's gone away.
Sure enough, he's come back about an hour later, and

(31:15):
he said to me, he said, so, usually i'd be
asking you to change your statement so we could get
your a reduced sentence. And obviously you must have seen
it in my face. I've still got my mask on.
You must have seen it in my face where I
was about to not explode, but just you know, say something.
And he said, he said, look, look whatever in French, whatever,

(31:38):
hang on, hang on, but I'm not going to do that.
He said, you didn't do this like that, And obviously
my interpret is telling me what he said. And I
was like, no, I didn't like that, and he was like,
no problem. And that was that, and I was like,
that's the first time in like five days where he

(32:00):
felt hopeful.

Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah, I believe somebody believed what i'd said. Do you
know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (32:05):
Because they've just been grinding me down to a point
where you know, you just think like, is it is
it worth me telling the truth? Do you know what
I mean to try and get a lot or should
I just lie and then give them what they want?

Speaker 2 (32:19):
Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (32:20):
But that that ain't in me. It's part of the
tactics when you're getting questioned by police. They wanted to
try and tie you up in nuts. It probably probably
worked for you, obviously that he was telling the truth.
You know, there's no holes in your story. I know
exactly that. But it's so frustrating when they make you
feel like that over the course of five days and you're.

Speaker 4 (32:37):
Not sleeping, you're not eating, you're stressed, you know.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
Yeah, So obviously I'm thinking fuck for that, like okay,
sound and he's like it's like, no problem, kind of
gets up, knocks on the door. I'll go back downstairs,
and I'm thinking what just happened? Like I'm hallucinat him.

Speaker 2 (33:01):
Did that? Did he really say that? Like? What do

Speaker 1 (33:04):
That all sorts is happening. I'm not shaking at this
point as well. Gone up to court three judges, two
blokes and a woman. It's different there, there's no jury
or a different act. You talk to the court, to
the actual judges themselves. So we've got customs prosecution, a
legal prosecution, me and my barristat and my interpreter. Obviously,

(33:27):
I've got to talk to the court, but my interpreter
has got to speak, so obviously I could make an
opening statement, so you know, I explained my situation and
explained who I was. They asked me to calm down
a few times because I just went into beltfed mode
and just kind of you know, just yammering on.

Speaker 2 (33:47):
A little bit.

Speaker 1 (33:48):
But I needed to get off my chest, you know
what I mean. So anyway, we've gone through the court.
Prosecution has said they're a bit, customers have said they're
a bit prosecution.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
The customers have.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
Asked I think they asked for about eight years and
then to find me for what the drugs were worth,
which is like tens of millions, and then the prosecution
I think they asked for I think they asked for
about seven or eight years as well. So obviously, in essence,

(34:21):
as long as I may it in sixteen years preson
for something that I didn't even know was happening, do
you know what I mean. But then my barrister stood up,
so obviously I've made my owning statement, They've made theirs.
I'd explained my situation from me and said this is

(34:43):
going on to this is what I am but I
explained that, you know, they tried to paint me as
this picture where because I've been in trouble when I
was younger, that I'd not stopped being in trouble obviously,
to try and paint the narrative where I explained the
truth as soon as I have my kids, soon as

(35:04):
soon as my kid was even born, I'd never even
thought about.

Speaker 2 (35:07):
Drugs, do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (35:08):
Yeah, And obviously that's like fifteen years ago. Yeah, So
that was that finished. I'd explained, put my story forward.
Then my barrister stood up and I don't remember what
he said. He said that loads of mad stuff in French,
obviously the interpreter's kind of whispering in my ear.

Speaker 2 (35:23):
But then the.

Speaker 1 (35:24):
Closing bit was the prosecution needs to prove beyond reasonable
doubt that my client did what they said he did.
They can't do that, you need to let him go.
And he just sat down and I was like, uh,
my dropt well yeah, like I was like uh, and
then the interpreter said, oh, sometimes less is more, because

(35:46):
he literally said a couple of lines and then that,
and I was like, I fucking hope, So like what
I was supposed to do, and then that was that closed, finished,
gone downstairs, a little bit of deliberation whatever. About forty
minutes an hour maybe felt like all day. To be honest,
it was horrible. The customs you can't get out of

(36:09):
because I was there, I was in the truck.

Speaker 2 (36:12):
You can't get out of that. So with customs, the
judges had said that.

Speaker 1 (36:20):
They were going to find me for five million pounds
and then give me a year suspended sentence. But for
the legal stuff they couldn't prove that I'd done it,
so they were going to quit me. And I whispered
to the fucking interpose like what does acquitted me? And

(36:41):
she said you can go. And I was like, okay,
do I need to do anything? Thank you type thing,
and yeah, like they just them. Barrister turned around and
I just walked out the door. I bet that must
have been surreal, mate, I didn't think it was really.
So I got outside. Obviously I've not got a phone,

(37:03):
So I got outside and I said to the interpreter's.

Speaker 2 (37:05):
Throw away that I can call somebody.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
She was like, that's it's not how this works, Like
you got it's a bit conflict of interest type thing.
Obviously you could be calling anybody, and I was like,
I just need to let my family know I'm are right.

Speaker 4 (37:17):
So they just stripped you over your possessions and not
giving your own back.

Speaker 1 (37:20):
So I've got my card, my passport, my keys, got
my bag with most of my stuff in, just not
my phone because that's something to do with the investigation. Yeah,
I'd gone downstairs, tried to pay my court fee of
like one hundred and thirty euros. The card machine wouldn't work,
so I said to the woman. I was like, can
I just pay this online? She gave me the thing

(37:41):
and said pay it within thirty days. I was like, right, sound,
got to the front door and I legged it down
the road a lot on my toes, good half a
mile or whatever to like this little local town thing.

Speaker 2 (37:55):
Went to the shop. I got a fant of lemon
and a couple of bench pastries because I was starving.
But then, what the.

Speaker 1 (38:04):
Fuck, eader, I'm in Boulogne, some mad French town, don't
I don't speak French. There's no phone boxes because it's COVID.
I've got no phone almos first of the stranded, you
know what I'm saying. So I got on a bus
I went to a card machine, got some euros, got

(38:26):
on a bus that said there was a boat on
the front of the bus, a little picture. So I'm thinking,
if i'll get back to the port, i can just
get on a boat and just get back to the
UK and just try and square everything away.

Speaker 2 (38:42):
Got on the got on the bus mid afternoon.

Speaker 1 (38:45):
Obviously we're in January, so it's mid afternoon, but it
feels like a little bit later on the bus, I
was ended up wondering about it's just a bit mad
because it doesn't take it directly to where a piano is.
Obviously you can't. You can't just get there, do you
know what I mean? So I was wandering around to

(39:06):
shopping centers by the port. Different bits and pieces started
to get dark. Obviously January. People started to appear like
obviously I was the same, big jacket bag on people
started to appear, big jackets, bags on, little families, different

(39:28):
people floating about by the port. And I'm thinking, I'm
fucked here. I've got a British fucking passport in my pocket.
I've got a load of euros.

Speaker 2 (39:39):
Mhm.

Speaker 1 (39:40):
The right person tries, the wrong person tries to speak
to me and that's me finished.

Speaker 2 (39:44):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (39:46):
Seen a holiday in so I've gone to the broken.
I've gone into a holiday in again.

Speaker 2 (39:52):
People everywhere, you know, people trying to plug in chargers,
mad families floating around, loads of screaming like.

Speaker 1 (40:00):
It's a mess. Speaking of his holiday in. Gone there
blokes English for that. Can you get me a taxi
to the Eurostar? Yeah, that sounds no problem outside ten
minutes wrong with your taxi? No problem Eurostar. I've had
to go back to the cash point to get some
euros for the taxi, but got to the Eurostar.

Speaker 2 (40:22):
Bit dead, thinking what's going on here? Gone in there?

Speaker 1 (40:27):
So just one bloke walking around the platform and I've
got oh, Eurostar has got a big fucking red line
through it. It's COVID and that m hm, she can't
get on the Eurostar.

Speaker 4 (40:37):
Really, they're just completely closed.

Speaker 2 (40:39):
After that, Yeah, I said to the bloke, I said
there was a taxi sign on the side.

Speaker 1 (40:49):
I said, oh, I need a taxi, like, pointing to
the sign. Obviously it was Frenching and have a fucking
clue what I was saying. And I said I've got
no phone, and the bloke said, ran me a taxi outside.
He said outside five minutes for that. I've got in
the taxi English and he said a little bit. I said,

(41:09):
very to UK like that. He said, yeah, UK, no problem.
Took me to piano.

Speaker 2 (41:17):
There's nowhere near where I was before, by the way,
so it took me there like from piano.

Speaker 1 (41:24):
Open the window and I said, and I said, oh,
he said, before you get out, he said, you can't
get on the boat.

Speaker 2 (41:29):
Said are you talking about? Why not? And he was like,
it's COVID, you can't walk on the boat. I said,
I haven't got a phone. Kind of use your phone.
He's an English guy. He was like yeah, he was,
you can use it.

Speaker 1 (41:41):
Yeah, And I said, I need to tell my friends
and family what I need to get on this boat. Okay,
no problem. So I've gone in the piano. It's a
little hot thing. I said, can you use your phone?

Speaker 3 (41:51):
The bloke's like, yeah, is this in the port of Calais.
There was a guy in there, mixed race guy. He
it's just in the corner talking to the woman behind
the thing. They're exchanging forms that I couldn't hear what
they were saying. I said the blog, I said, right,
what do I need to get on this boat. He said,
you need all your COVID details, you COVID passport and

(42:12):
stuff which is on your phone. You need a passport obviously,
and you need proof of vaccination, which will be on
your phone. I'm thinking, like he said, and you need
a vehicle to get on that boat. So if my
family were going to come and get me, I need
to get them over with my details on their phone

(42:35):
and then be able to take me back over. Guy
pipes up in the corner. He said, oh, where are
you going? I said, Birmingham or Tamworth near Birmingham. He
said oh, and I went yeah. He said, oh, I'm
going to Leeds. He said I can take you, and
I'm thinking, there we go. I'm going okay.

Speaker 1 (42:57):
I said, look, I need all these details blah blah
blah like whatever else. I said, can I just call
my family to try and get these details. And he's
just chocked his phone across across the counter and he's
going to just use that. So I rang my sister
off the p and O phone explain my situation. Obviously,
I didn't know I was even out. I didn't know anything.
So she's gone, she's gonna like you're coming home and

(43:18):
I've gone Yeah, she's obviously she's excited, said listening to
calm down. We need to have this conversation. So I
explained what I needed, told her I was going to
what tap her off this guy's phone, told her how
to get my details obviously on the nateous website. Obviously
my NXS number and all the bits and pieces. It
was difficult, but she managed to smash it out of
the park going forward cheap. Obviously, I needed to fill

(43:45):
out these details in this form and all the rest
of it all online, put in all my NHS numbers
so they could prove that I'd been vaccinated, and all
the rest of it. To travel talk about an hour,
but we did it.

Speaker 2 (43:57):
Obviously. This guy's volunteered in self.

Speaker 1 (44:01):
I sat in his car and I said to him, listen,
before we go anywhere, rein't anything in the sky that's
going to get as nicked as there obviously you know, yeah,
you just laughed.

Speaker 2 (44:11):
He's just laughing at me.

Speaker 1 (44:12):
I'm like, I'm serious, and he's like, I've driven all
the way from Naples, Like no. I was like, okay,
sound he was like, I've driven through every stop on
the way. Down, he said, obviously not. And I said,
when we get on the ferry and the faery's moving,
I'll explain, but right now.

Speaker 2 (44:28):
I need to know the truth.

Speaker 1 (44:29):
And he was like, yeah, yeah, it was of course,
got in the ferry, got into the cash point, gave
him some money for obviously, offer him to take me
in the first place, and all the rest of it,
some money for fuel and whatnot. Explain my situation. Obviously
you understood. Then he was like okay. Now he was like,
your pal's done. You are dirty there, like what's going on? So, yeah,

(44:53):
explain the situation. Got in the faery, got back. Turns
out that he was he was supposed to be there when.

Speaker 2 (45:01):
I was there.

Speaker 1 (45:01):
You know, he he's not been vaccinated, so he had
to go and do a COVID test about thirty five
minutes away from the port and then come back. So
he'd been there about two hours before and they turned
him away. So he'd had to go away, get vaccinated,
get a test, get tested, wait for the result, come back,

(45:23):
and then saw.

Speaker 2 (45:24):
His paperwork out. So if that hadn't know what happened
the way it had, you.

Speaker 4 (45:30):
Know, yeah, there was a bit of good camera coming back.
Your way there when I.

Speaker 2 (45:33):
Do you know what I'm saying?

Speaker 1 (45:34):
So obviously we'd had the conversation all the way up
and all the rest of it. If sounds I followed
him on social media. I was going to say it,
he's still stay in touch with him, so I did before.
But last year when I wasn't on social media for
a while, while social media got hacked and taken over
by some random giezer somewhere and some mad country.

Speaker 2 (45:54):
And now I can't get it back. So that's the
Moroccans have got it made. That's the end of that.
So got back.

Speaker 1 (46:01):
Obviously, met my sister and my girlfriend at the time
at the services, gone back to my sisters, had some food,
I think everybody, had a little bit of a cry
or whatever, and then kind of like formulated a bit
of a plan, like I wanted to keep my whereabouts
in them four walls because this kid had just tried

(46:23):
and tried to basically take my life, do you know
what I mean. I wanted to make sure that I
was the only one that knew that where I was
at the time.

Speaker 3 (46:34):
But all manner of things are going through your head
at this point now that and your families that matter
you know you're going through this, but the strain this
must have had on your lad and everyone else. And
then at this point, sure that you don't know what
you're dealing with.

Speaker 4 (46:46):
Do Yeah you don't know what? Yeah you don't know. Yeah, yeah, you.

Speaker 2 (46:49):
Don't know whether it's been going on the whole time.

Speaker 3 (46:51):
Yeah, this is just you don't know. Does you think
you're going to have said something? And have you got
anything coming on you now?

Speaker 4 (46:57):
Do you know?

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (46:58):
I can imagine how it would have been a very scared,
we sort of sort of feeling sort of time fore.

Speaker 1 (47:03):
Yeah, yeah, exactly that it was. Yeah, just wasn't wasn't
very nice at all. So look, I got back, had
a shower, got squared away.

Speaker 2 (47:15):
I didn't sleep at all. Every every night.

Speaker 1 (47:20):
After I'd got back, for probably about eighteen months, I'd
just see that sort of bright light every time I
closed my eyes.

Speaker 2 (47:27):
Was just like that, because that's what it was, a
little up there like you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (47:32):
So the next day I just scoffed my face basically
ht my weight in food because I hadn't eaten for
so long. Then the next day, on the evening, I
contacted one of my friends and said we need to
go and find this geez are like you know something

(47:53):
at right, Like you know what I mean? And he
was like yeah, Like so will we'll go up there.
I went to his mom's got my friend to call
him and I said, you know who it was? And
he said, oh where I said, I'm on your mom's lawn.
You need to come, and he was like, look, I'm coming,
Like I won't be there yet, like, but I'll meet
you in town, like quite the garage somewhere on camera.

Speaker 2 (48:17):
So I'll presume he was worried. I don't know, Yeah,
I'll presume.

Speaker 1 (48:22):
And when he turned up, he turned up with a
bit of a lump I'd never seen him before. And
then a guy I know, Ryan, he used to box.
Used to have a bit about him, I think, But
like he turned up with these two gezers. Obviously I
went with a couple of my pals as well, but
I left my pals in the car and I said
to him, I was, come, leave your phone in the car.

(48:43):
I said, we need to have a bit of a conversation.
And these two geezers they didn't leave his side mate
from that what you will, But I left my pals
in the car do you know what I mean? Like
we'd obviously had this conversation. I'd explained what been going on.
I asked why he tried to fucking do me like
you know what I mean, like just put it on
him hard. He basically said that it was the client

(49:07):
and that he never knew anything about it. Just give
him a day and he'll, you know, get some answers.
Well he'll help whatever. He wouldn't do that to me.

Speaker 4 (49:19):
Did you see him convinced at this point by what
he was saying.

Speaker 1 (49:23):
I'll be honest, I didn't even listen to what he'd said,
not really, because I just had a one track mind.

Speaker 2 (49:32):
I wanted to take his head off. And that's like
I can't even now. I couldn't. I just couldn't help
it him the other lad he didn't.

Speaker 1 (49:41):
Say too much, but it was just kind of like
calm down, calm down. And I remember Ryan said, or
we wouldn't do that to you, like we as a
collective we wouldn't do that. And I remember thinking like
I remember that and that will come clear after But
I remember him saying those exact words, and I was
a bit like, okay, so if not, well you know

(50:06):
you've got a day and then come through with something.
You know what I mean, Like, you proved to me
that it was them? Okay, sound. I remember him saying
to me that I looked like a psychopath. He was like,
you need to calm down. You look like a fucking psycho,
blah blah. I said, well wouldn't you. I said, I'm
not even supposed to be here right now?

Speaker 2 (50:23):

Speaker 4 (50:24):
You've just been looking at a fucking potential twenty stretch
even more.

Speaker 2 (50:28):
Yeah, So again it was just a slanging match, really,
just me shouting at them and them trying to defend
it with whatever. Then that was that.

Speaker 1 (50:41):
A couple of days went by and it started to
become more clear that this kid had been running under
everyone's nose and no one had a club, no one,
I don't know who knew to start off with. But
as the days and weeks went on, it started to

(51:04):
dodge phone calls. It started to change his number. I remember,
I've still got the message. I messaged his bird a
few times. She was like Aaron, like, I understand you're
stressed out and stuff, but this has nothing to do
with me. And I'm like, yeah, but get him to
answer the phone.

Speaker 2 (51:17):

Speaker 1 (51:18):
Tell him to be a man about it, Like it
don't matter what's happened on fucking here. Now, what can
I do but be a man about it?

Speaker 2 (51:25):

Speaker 4 (51:26):
Did you know at this point if he was being investigated?

Speaker 2 (51:29):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (51:30):
No, I didn't have a clue. I didn't know anything
at that point. I didn't know anything. And then yet
as the weeks and stuff progressed, then things started to
come out. A couple of the boys started to I
heard this from so and so or you know, I
think I can't remember who said what, but I remember
someone saying to me a couple of days a couple

(51:52):
of months after, oh, he turned up somewhere.

Speaker 2 (51:59):
And ended up having like like a boot full of cash.
And I was just like, right where because that, as
far as I was concerned, that was him finished.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
Like I was just gonna like, I'd just have just
have him the next time I see him. And then
I just never did staying in hotels. He was like
dodging people like.

Speaker 2 (52:20):
That was it?

Speaker 4 (52:20):

Speaker 2 (52:21):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (52:23):
So, yeah, obviously from then I try to get help
because I never slept. I didn't sleep an inch. I
was always working. Obviously, I had to go straight back
into work within days because I had flat to pay for,
got my car to pay for my kid to pay for.
So I had to carry on work and I couldn't
take no time off.

Speaker 4 (52:43):
I assumed work. It was all right with it. There
was understandable was there.

Speaker 1 (52:46):
So my boss was in touch with my sister obviously
didn't understand where I was for five days.

Speaker 2 (52:52):
My sister half.

Speaker 1 (52:53):
Explained, and my boss was like, right, sound, I'll try
and cover it with holiday and bits and pieces, but
you can't have no time off to kind of get
to grips with what just happened or try and calm down.

Speaker 2 (53:04):
I had to go straight back into work. Obviously.

Speaker 1 (53:08):
With that just comes its own pain, Like there was
no I referred myself to the nxsmental health team, and
I spoke to somebody over the phone for about eight
weeks and it just wasn't helping.

Speaker 2 (53:22):
Like I said to the woman, I said, I need
to see somebody face to face.

Speaker 1 (53:25):
I need to have a conversation and explain to somebody
what the what's been going on. She was like, yeah,
it's going to take a couple of weeks. But I
can get you in with somebody sound. So I started
to see like a therapist and I just remember after
the first session him just sitting there thinking and he
literally said to me like, I've never heard anything like

(53:46):
this in my life.

Speaker 2 (53:47):
He was like, I don't know what I can say.

Speaker 4 (53:50):
To Yeah, you broke the therapist.

Speaker 2 (53:53):
He was like, I don't know what I can do.
He said, We'll see the program through.

Speaker 1 (53:57):
We'll try and manipulate it a bit for you, he said,
but I don't know whether it's going to work or not,
or whether we're going to be able to compartmentalize. As
a couple of weeks went by, I've got a letter
from the barrister's legal team that said you've been acquitted,

(54:17):
which means we couldn't disprove it, but they couldn't prove
it either. There's every chance that they could appeal the acquittal.

Speaker 2 (54:27):
If they do. This is our name and number. Give
us a call. Cool. And then that was that. Nothing else,
nothing from the police, nothing from any French people. Nothing.
That was it.

Speaker 1 (54:41):
So all I've got is this letter and then from them,
I was flapping, obviously they're coming, they could come, they
might not come. What's going to happen.

Speaker 4 (54:50):
It's not a good state to be left in afterward
you've just been through.

Speaker 1 (54:53):
So I've got all of these things going on on, working,
trying to keep my life as normal as what I can,
for my kids sake, for everyone else's sake, So no
one knows. As little people as possible know what had happened. Obviously,
I've got this kid that's trying to avoid me because
he knows he's a wrong gun. Basically, all of these

(55:14):
different mad things happening. Months went by, working, not really sleeping, trying,
therapy isn't working. Still, just trying to stick it out,
training loads, throwing myself into the gym just to try
and tire myself out so I can sleep, do you
know what I mean? As the months went on, there's

(55:38):
literally nothing else I could do other than keep trying,
keep trying, keep trying. I've got a phone call the
British police. Ah, Hi, it's so and so police officer.

Speaker 2 (55:48):
Blah blah blah. We spoke to the French police. We
know you're not being investigated.

Speaker 1 (55:53):
I was thinking, okay, So and he was like, and
from our side, you haven't done anything wrong here, just
an FYI, we are investigating the party is involved. So
I said to the copper on the phone, you want
to worry up and find him before? I either said,
because that would be that yeah, and he was just

(56:16):
like I had a bit of a chuckle down the
phone and I went, I'm fucking serious and he was like, well,
we'll do what we can.

Speaker 2 (56:24):
That was that.

Speaker 1 (56:26):
No phone call from the British Police, no nothing. And
obviously at this point this kid wouldn't even like answer
a phone to me, do you know what I mean?
Because he knew what was coming. I told a couple
of Maclo's powers what had gone on, and there was
a kid who used to have a detailing business. He
was sound and explained to him what had happened.

Speaker 2 (56:49):
One of obviously he used to detail my car.

Speaker 1 (56:54):
So I explained to him what had happened, told him
the kids were wrong, and you know I wouldn't even
bother detailing car I follows you, do you know what
I mean? As the months went on, he'd got himself
involved as a business partner. Okay, so I'd explained what
was going on, told him to stay away from him.

(57:16):
Now the kids ended up with sixteen years right.

Speaker 3 (57:21):
Well, the detailer he ended up getting sixteen years association
because he got himself involved himself abroad with him.

Speaker 2 (57:28):
Yeah, I explained, and I told him not to. Another
lad he messaged me.

Speaker 1 (57:33):
When I was there, when I was in France, and
he said, oh, I was supposed to go there tomorrow
because obviously all the stuff flock I said to before
all the stuff was on social media.

Speaker 3 (57:41):
Yeah, he said, there was a few lads doing trips
and everything on you, so he could have been fucking
stitching loads of people up, couldn't hey.

Speaker 1 (57:46):
So this kid said, oh, yeah, like I was supposed
to be there tomorrow, so I obviously I'll message him.

Speaker 2 (57:50):
When I got back, I said, did you go? And
he said no.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
He said my my trip got delayed. He said I'm
supposed to be going like next week and said, listen,
you need to ring me.

Speaker 2 (58:00):
So he rang me. I explained what was going on.

Speaker 1 (58:03):
I said, listen, kids are wrong and don't you know,
don't just you've got kids, like, don't do it again.
He never listened, so it weren't just me that he was.

Speaker 2 (58:14):

Speaker 4 (58:15):
Corrupts, mate, don't it even when people have the knowledge.

Speaker 1 (58:18):
When this kid got went over there got caught this
side his missus dor came off, police searched, like arrested,
obviously under questioning and blah blah blah, so he was
being investigated. I think another trip got caught. I think

(58:38):
another port, maybe Southampton, I'm not sure, but that had
an hundred million kids worth in their trip. So even
though I'd been caught, been arrested and then come back
to the UK, his kids still carried on. So in
my head, you can correct me if you think I'm
wrong from an outsider's point of view, but I think
that because of the position is mum held within the forces,

(59:01):
he just what he could do whatever he wanted.

Speaker 3 (59:03):
Seems like there is a bit of a superiority complex
and it like untouchable. Yeah, it's a big one in
it because you always expect people who hold office to
set a high example, and you'd naturally assume that people
and their families would too, wouldn't you.

Speaker 1 (59:20):
But well, even like, just as a side note, this
kid went to Jeremy clarks Is Probabate school. His mum
paid like fort yard grand a year for his kid
to go to school. You know what I mean, you'd
think you'd have half a brain but clearly not.

Speaker 3 (59:35):
So he ended up getting how long did he end
up getting twenty two and a half and what do
you know what charges they were specifically or was it
all just for important?

Speaker 4 (59:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (59:45):
And how many people went down at the same time
as them, because they're sent down quite quite a network,
didn't they.

Speaker 1 (59:50):
So six people got arrested, four people got sentenced, two
people got off. So Ryan got off, you know, the
one that said the boxer to you, So he got off,
and Jack got off. Who are messaged and said don't

(01:00:11):
do it? This is the score? He got caught and
then he still got off.

Speaker 4 (01:00:16):
All right, okay, interesting.

Speaker 1 (01:00:22):
So the four lads that got caught, John got twenty
two and a half, two other boys got eighteens I think,
and then one young lad he got sixteen. The detailer.
He's all right, he is a good lad. He just
had one choice, I think. But he is a good
lad though a lot of I think is good people do.

Speaker 4 (01:00:41):
It, don't the mate? Yeah, So you know this is
all happened.

Speaker 3 (01:00:44):
You've come back to the UK, You've been going through
your therapy, trying to get your life back on the ends,
and you fucking end up on remand again for the
same charges mate, So so how did that come about?

Speaker 4 (01:00:55):
What happened there?

Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
So all of that was twenty twenty two and twenty three.
End of twenty three, all these boys have been caught,
gone to prison. I'm thinking end of twenty twenty three,
like I'm starting to get myself back on track, like

(01:01:17):
things are still a little bit messy.

Speaker 3 (01:01:18):
Did you feel like you'd had some cost with them
or getting sent down for it. Did you feel like
that part that chapter was kind of closed now, like
that's there's no way that career it said again, it's
done for me, you know what I mean, it's all
ironed out.

Speaker 1 (01:01:30):
Yeah, but no, So yeah, because they've been caught, they've
gone to prison, here's what it is. But no, because
there's always something in the back of your head, do
you know what I mean? And that's why although I
was starting to sleep and I was doing these things,

(01:01:52):
I was going out like I was starting to try
and enjoy myself, there was all something in the back
of my head. End of twenty twenty three, I just thought,
do you know what.

Speaker 2 (01:02:04):
New Year?

Speaker 1 (01:02:06):
Like, that's it, Like you say, just try and try
and bush it under the carpet. I know, I was
being a pain to my family and my sister, like
I know, I was, do you know what I mean?
Like because it was always in the back of my head.
Like one of my patals said it the other day,
he said, like, you can see that you've changed.

Speaker 2 (01:02:25):

Speaker 1 (01:02:27):
I wonever that's the last fourteen months. Whether that's the
last three years in total, I'm not sure, but he said,
you can see that you've changed. So ended twenty twenty three,
start at twenty twenty four, thinking, you know what, New year,
try my hardest to let it go, do you know
what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:02:45):
Not let it go, but try and bush it under
the carpet.

Speaker 4 (01:02:47):
And yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:02:50):
February twenty twenty four, a National Crime agency rang my phone,
actually went to my mom's house because they didn't know
my phone number, even though I'd.

Speaker 2 (01:02:59):
Kept it the same, and said, sorry, man, I should laugh,
but it's crazy. I kept it the same as mad
and said that I'd got a warrant out from France
for my arrest, that they didn't really know much much details,

(01:03:21):
but I needed to go and answer a warrant request
in London at the Royal Court of Justice.

Speaker 1 (01:03:26):
So I was like, uh, not the Oral Court Justice
at Westminster. So I was like, I mean, all right,
but this got squashed, like I got acquitted, like I've
got the paperwork, blah blah blah. I had a bit
of a two and a frow with the geezers on
the phone and they basically said that I could do
what I wanted. I could go on the run if
I felt like it. But this was their phone call

(01:03:49):
from them to me to say you want it, but
it's your choice. And I was a bit like, this
is the National Crime Age, bro, Like they're telling me
I can go on the run. Just a bit bit
of a weird conversation to be having, anyway, I told
him straight.

Speaker 2 (01:04:08):
I just said, well, I've got nothing to run from.
I've been acquitted.

Speaker 1 (01:04:11):
There was like, bring your ac quitted paperwork, bring your passport,
and we'll go down and we'll see what they're warrants about.

Speaker 2 (01:04:17):
So I said, well, do I need to bring anything, like,
you know, clothes, Like I'm staying, like, what's do you know?

Speaker 3 (01:04:24):
What?

Speaker 2 (01:04:24):
Do you know? What I mean? What's what's the deal? No?

Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
No, no, no, like you'll you'll be bailed, but they just
need to see who you are and surrender your passports,
so you can't leave the country. I was like, what for, Like,
what's what's going on. What they didn't tell me was
that in twenty twenty three, the French police had appealed

(01:04:48):
my sentence you're a quill, not gave me any paperwork,
not sent no paperwork to my mom's address, which they've
obviously got h gone to court without me and found

(01:05:09):
me guilty in my absence without telling no one, no paperwork,
no nothing. So then I've gone to this court hearing
at Westminster and been like hearing all this information for
the first time, like, yep, we requested so and so's
presence at court on so and so date in twenty
twenty three. And I'm thinking, well, like that's not true,

(01:05:29):
But where's all of this paperwork come from? Obviously not
my mom's addressed.

Speaker 2 (01:05:33):
Like what they've done.

Speaker 1 (01:05:37):
Is they put my mom's address and my flat postcode
so the addresses didn't match.

Speaker 2 (01:05:44):
Yeah, so that the paperwork.

Speaker 1 (01:05:46):
That they tend they've done it on purpose, because unless
you can't read an address properly, do you know what
I mean? That the postcodes and the paperwork was wrong.
So they'd gone to court obviously, I didn't turn up
because I knew it was going on. They found me
guilty in my absence.

Speaker 4 (01:06:03):
When what did you get a sentence from your absence.

Speaker 2 (01:06:06):
So well to the retrial?

Speaker 4 (01:06:09):
Was it the original original? So what was you looking
at for that? For that one? Was it seven years?

Speaker 2 (01:06:14):
So I was looking at seven but they gave me five.

Speaker 4 (01:06:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:06:18):
So I'm sat in Westminster like okay, so like now
what and they're like, yes, you need to go to
France for five years. I was like you fucking what? Look,
where's all I didn't even obviously, so you can imagine
the bombshell from two years prior, hour year prior. This

(01:06:39):
is just like atom bomb bombshell, do you know what
I mean? Like it just exploded right in front of me.
I didn't know what the was going on at Westminster.
You can't talk, so I wanted to obviously, I wanted
to talk like I did in France, and you can't.
So obviously the solicit that had been given to me
at the time, I was thinking like so I said
to her like, well I didn't do anything, like they can't.

(01:07:00):
How can they send somebody in their absence? You don't
do that here, which we obviously they don't do that
in the UK. So I said, like, how am I
going to fight it? I said, I never did anything wrong.
I got acquitted.

Speaker 2 (01:07:11):
She went, oh, I don't really matter whether you did
it or not. I thought, of course it does, that's
the point, that's justice.

Speaker 1 (01:07:18):
And she was like no, yeah, well, like you've already
been given a sentence now, okay, so what awsome? Yeah,
well we'll go to France and you need to argue
it for them. Oh sound, I'll just do that then. No,
obviously not try to get bailed. Obviously thinking that I'm

(01:07:41):
going to be bailed, because that's what the National Crime
Agency has said. I didn't bring no kit whatever else.

Speaker 2 (01:07:46):
And the British police, well the British representative for the.

Speaker 1 (01:07:52):
French justice system or whatever or whether it works, said
that they couldn't release me on bail because I was
a key figure in an organized car organization and if
they let me go. Bear in mind, I've been at
home for two years. If they let me go, then
they'd never see me again.

Speaker 4 (01:08:14):
For two years working completely made up.

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
Yeah, that was it, Like I could have been gone
already if you felt like you had any reason.

Speaker 1 (01:08:20):
So if that was my situation, and that's what I
was doing for a living. Bear in mind had been
going on the holidays in these two years as well,
So I not.

Speaker 3 (01:08:27):
Just sad, but the key components of that gang had
all been getting you know what I mean, They've all
been getting taken down in this time as well.

Speaker 2 (01:08:33):
So if I was that was anything to do with me,
I'd have been arrested.

Speaker 3 (01:08:36):
He's just semantics and it's just saying the right things
to fucking keep you are of the one.

Speaker 2 (01:08:39):
Yeah, but there was no there was there was no proof,
but they didn't need any proof, do you know what
I mean? You know, like you see stuff in the
news where people get arrested with no proof, and you
see all these like supposed criminals like oh, like you know,
against justice system and blah blah blah, and you think like, well,
that can't be right, Like he's an asshole. Do you
know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (01:08:59):
This is I know from around here is his dad
did a thirty stretch accused of rape, got acquitted a
couple of years ago from DNA. I mean, his entire
family is growing up thinking my dad could potentially be
a rapist here man.

Speaker 4 (01:09:12):
Do you know what I mean? It's fucking crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:09:14):
You see it in the news like like you're mad,
and you think like, oh, that is the wrong because
it's in the news and you just think, yeah, but
until it happens to you.

Speaker 2 (01:09:23):
Like the stuff that I'll get the transcript, but the
stuff that.

Speaker 1 (01:09:26):
They said about me, Like, if my kid ever reads that,
do you know what I mean, he's just going to
think like because they just made it up, like it's they're.

Speaker 3 (01:09:33):
Just literally just well, if he ever does, mate, you
can show them this podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:09:39):
So yeah, they're reminded me fourteen months i'd got given
a solicitor. At the time, they were all right, they're
like a good little team. But the bit that got
me is that it doesn't matter whether I did it
or not. I'm going to have to go to France
and fight it.

Speaker 4 (01:09:58):
Well, getting told that how can you trust anyone or anything?

Speaker 3 (01:10:03):
How can you respect or I'm finding any institution when
it's like, well, it don't matter if you did it
or not.

Speaker 1 (01:10:08):
Yeah, and went So as soon as they said that
to me, like they didn't they didn't have all the
information from the files and stuff at that point. So
then once they did, they've gone away, got it all
and look before we were on cameras like but she
said to me, there's no legal paperwork here, like it's
just just from the courts.

Speaker 2 (01:10:29):
And I said, well yeah, she said, like who represented you?
I said to representing myself. She was like, well why,
and I said, but I've done the job. I got
myself acquitted because I know the truth. She was like,
the truth doesn't really matter, does it. You're here now
hold the phone. The truth does matter. Like that got me.

Speaker 1 (01:10:50):
Home for two years, two more years with my family,
like my son, my sister, my nephew, Like you know,
how does the truth not matter?

Speaker 2 (01:11:00):

Speaker 1 (01:11:01):
Like the way these people see these things is it's
just crazy. So yeah, remand in Wandsworth.

Speaker 2 (01:11:11):
Obviously you've probably seen the news.

Speaker 4 (01:11:13):
Yeah, there's been a few, been some fruity screws in
ones with fan the as of late been getting themselves
into trouble with some of the inmates.

Speaker 2 (01:11:22):
The place as a whole is a shit all is.

Speaker 4 (01:11:26):
Like the whole UK prison system. Mate, it's just mad.

Speaker 1 (01:11:30):
Obviously we're not really here to talk about it, but
if you ever did want to talk about.

Speaker 2 (01:11:34):
It, you know where to come.

Speaker 1 (01:11:35):
Yeah, fourteen months remand trying to fight this trial business?

Speaker 4 (01:11:43):
Did you so? Obviously you presented it were to Westminster?
Didn't ye? Did you get remanded from that point? Was
I in the GEO Amy van in your are? Yeah? Yeah,
that must have been terrifying, mate.

Speaker 2 (01:11:53):
Do you know what it is? It's because I didn't
do anything.

Speaker 1 (01:11:56):
And if and if somebody was straight up with me
like I was with them, if the NCAA to man
said listen, you might get remanded. Yeah, bring some kit
with you. Do you know some kit? Any kit doesn't,
do you know what I mean? Just so that I'd
had more of their heads up, do you know what
I mean? I gave them a solid like they rang
my phone and I said, I'll have to meet you
in an hour when I finished work, and they were like,

(01:12:19):
if you're going to go on the run, just tell us,
Well no, I've said I'm going to fucking meet you.
Sol Will called them, told them where to be and
I went and met him. They could have done me
a solid, do you know what I mean? And just said, oh, yeah,
bring some kit with you. I said, do I need anything?

Speaker 2 (01:12:34):
We like?

Speaker 4 (01:12:34):
Now?

Speaker 2 (01:12:34):
Just bring your passport? Do you know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (01:12:39):
No, it's just yeah, so remand I was fighting this retrial,
so I was trying to get another retrial where I
could actually show up, give some evidence and do some bits.
So I had to beg, borrow and steal some money
to get a French list in France to show up

(01:13:02):
for me, because obviously the last thing I wanted to
be doing is going over there, knowing what they'd said
to me before about trying to give me twenty years,
do you know what I mean? So over the fourteen months,
two of them from him with a French list and
my English list to try and get myself another retrial.
What the French had done this is how bent the

(01:13:23):
system is. At the trial they had in the first place,
where I wasn't there, you get three judges, like I've
told you before, So what they've done is they've kept
two of the judges out of three from that trial,
So two of the judges had already made their mind up.
You go what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (01:13:40):
Yeah, So at this.

Speaker 1 (01:13:41):
Retrial that I'd paid a fortune for, obviously I was
still owe them money for that FYI, they had kept
two of the judges from before, so two out of
three two of them had already made the mind of them.
Judges aren't going to turn around and go, oh yeah,
because of this new evidence we were wrong. Not going
to They're not going to say that, do you know

(01:14:02):
what I mean? So they kept the five years. So essentially,
right now as we sit here talking, I've got a
five year prison sentence in France and a five million
pound fire impending m So that happened last year. Obviously
I was sat in one's worth. The idea was to

(01:14:23):
bring my sentence from France to the UK. In the
UK in probably a couple of months, they're going to
bring in a system where they have to do thirty
three percent. Okay, so yeah, five years thirty three percent,
and then you'll be able to get a year on
TAG as well. So in one's worth, plush days on Roman.
They account towards your sentence is that where.

Speaker 4 (01:14:45):
You're opening, you're opened. Well, everything aggregated.

Speaker 1 (01:14:48):
Last year when all of this was happening and I
found out that I've been given the five years, and
it stopped like it stood like from before, I'd get
lesser sentence at the very least of I get lesser sentence.

Speaker 2 (01:15:00):
But I never did.

Speaker 1 (01:15:03):
They or The idea was to bring it over to
the UK, so that was what we were doing because
I didn't want to get deported to France. That's the
last thing I wanted. So bring my sentence over to
the UK. So forty three percent, then do some time
on tag. That'd be a job done, probably be by
the end of this year, to be honest, that I
would be out and about.

Speaker 2 (01:15:22):
Yeah, trying to get which is still a.

Speaker 4 (01:15:23):
Fucking joke when you do it in the first way,
you know what I mean, you make the way you
say it. Then you're like, it wouldn't be too bad,
do you know what I mean? It would just end
up being that and that buddy.

Speaker 2 (01:15:31):
Because that's how they try, and like they try and
numb it in.

Speaker 3 (01:15:33):
But you know, at that point you feel so fucked
and so hopeless. It's like making the best that you're trying.
You're trying to justify to yourself out. Yeah, well it
could actually be worse. I could do that and get
out on time. You shouldn't have been there in the
first place.

Speaker 4 (01:15:46):
May I mean? One's with us for fucking for seriously
naughty people, may it?

Speaker 2 (01:15:53):
Yeah? So then a pro ish I just get a
knock on the door.

Speaker 4 (01:16:02):
April twenty five, that is this year.

Speaker 1 (01:16:05):
Yeah, I got a visit and she turned up on
the visit and she was crying her eyes out.

Speaker 2 (01:16:14):
I was like, are you all right? And she was like,
you've been released. Sorry.

Speaker 1 (01:16:22):
Just before that, the phones hadn't been working for about
a week, so I couldn't call nobody.

Speaker 2 (01:16:28):
It was it was like up and down phone course.

Speaker 1 (01:16:31):
Sometimes I'd be able to call, sometimes I wouldn't because
the phones didn't work on our land. So I didn't
get a chance to speak to anybody for a few days.
Got on this visit out of nowhere and I got
told I was being released. So in my head, what
had happened a couple of days prior with a couple
of other boys they've been told they're being released, packed
all their stuff, got really excited and then got get arrested,

(01:16:54):
gone through the red morale and then had to come
back anyway.

Speaker 2 (01:16:57):
They hadn't even touched for an air.

Speaker 4 (01:16:59):

Speaker 1 (01:17:00):
So I had it in my head that that was
what was going to happen to me. Obviously, Like you
just said, I'm always thinking negative at this point because
I've been in here for fourteen months, thinking well, they're
just going to keep me here and now there's no
way I'm getting out. Got back to the wing after
my visit, called my sister downstairs from one of the
other phones and said, what the fuck's going on. She's

(01:17:22):
a solicitor, said that the French judge signed off a
warrant to say.

Speaker 2 (01:17:26):
That you're going to be released.

Speaker 1 (01:17:28):
They're going to revoke the warrant, but there's every chance
that they might come back. I was like, hold on,
they're going to get arrest me. One hundred percent. They're
going to get arrest me. She said they're not. She said,
I know they're not, because they're revoked the warrant. She
said it takes forty eight hours for him to bring
you a new one. I was like, great, so I'm

(01:17:50):
coming back in forty eight hours. Then pat my stuff,
give my stilf foraway to the boys on the wing
and I left MHM again, walked out the gate and
I fucking ran down the road, do you know what
I mean? Like thinking that they were just going to

(01:18:11):
every Obviously it's London, so it's cars everywhere, stuff happening
all the time. I just shipped myself when I'd stand
in Houston Station fucking like looking over my shoulder all
the time waiting for a train. It's just fucking traumatic, do.

Speaker 2 (01:18:31):
You know what I mean?

Speaker 3 (01:18:32):
So?

Speaker 4 (01:18:33):
Is that is that where it leaves us?

Speaker 2 (01:18:34):
Now?

Speaker 5 (01:18:34):
Is there?

Speaker 4 (01:18:34):
Are you obviously them saying when you've got our ones
worth about three months ago?

Speaker 2 (01:18:41):
Yeah? No?

Speaker 4 (01:18:42):
Is it really?

Speaker 2 (01:18:43):
No?

Speaker 3 (01:18:44):
Obviously them saying there is a chance that they might
come back. Is that is that the stay you're left?
And again, then are you currently just sat with that
leoming over your head like it could come back on you. Yep,
it's a shame man heavy ship you've got to live with, mate.
But for most people who have already been broken at
this point, you were a very resilient man made.

Speaker 1 (01:19:07):
Said obviously exactly the same thing. But like trying to
get back home, I wouldn't have managed it. I had
a breakdown or whatever else.

Speaker 3 (01:19:14):
Being hundered in a foreign country, even just even self
represented in a foreign car on your own when you
don't know the foks going on, no one speaks English around. Yeah,
that's enough to finish someone off, mate, Very done and
stuff it is.

Speaker 1 (01:19:27):
But like we had before in the forces, a couple
of bits and pieces it's fight or flight. Yeah, and
I've said to a few people that you think you
think you would, you think you'd fold being put in
prison when you know that's something that's I've not even
thought about for seventeen years, eighteen years, maybe seventeen years.

Speaker 2 (01:19:51):
I think.

Speaker 1 (01:19:53):
For a long old time, do you know what I mean?
For a long long time, where I've been lawa Lloyd,
join the army, worked.

Speaker 4 (01:20:03):
Providing for living a standard life.

Speaker 1 (01:20:06):
Man and then been numbered there like that. The system
here to do people the way they do without any proof.

Speaker 2 (01:20:19):
Is just mad. It's just mad.

Speaker 3 (01:20:23):
Obviously you're another example made of how it's you know, prison.
Obviously he was in there for the wrong reasons, but
it's supposed to be rehabilitating it. And for a lot
of people it just takes them in and fucking spits
them out the.

Speaker 4 (01:20:34):
Other end with nothing.

Speaker 3 (01:20:36):
Do you know what I mean that you as a
fucking working man, do you know you had your place
and everything, then all that shit happens, and you know,
it leads to unemployment, it leads to financial hardship.

Speaker 2 (01:20:46):
This is what I was just about to say.

Speaker 1 (01:20:48):
So, yeah, coming out now, obviously my car had to
go back before.

Speaker 2 (01:20:54):
The finance on that, Like I don't.

Speaker 1 (01:20:56):
Even even right now, Like I haven't even I don't
want to call the finance come because like I know
what they're going to say.

Speaker 4 (01:21:02):

Speaker 2 (01:21:02):
I know how much money on my car was worth,
so I know how much money I.

Speaker 1 (01:21:05):
Again the loan that I got out to get my
car in the first place, that needs to be repaid.

Speaker 2 (01:21:12):
Again, I don't I don't even want to call the
loan company. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (01:21:15):
Who's going to help with that? All of this because
some kid thought who was being clever?

Speaker 2 (01:21:21):

Speaker 1 (01:21:22):
Like the financial hardship, like the the mental wear and tear.
Really like I feel like I've been in survival mode
for coming up three years, four years, maybe like constant.

Speaker 2 (01:21:38):
Like I need to be on it every single day.

Speaker 1 (01:21:41):
I need to be on it every single day because
if if I'm not, who's going to come?

Speaker 2 (01:21:46):

Speaker 1 (01:21:47):
Like the NCAA, the British police, the French police, Like
you know, the the guy that got arrested and got
given twenty two and a half years, Like the end
of the next year, he'll be an open prison. He'll
be around because of thirty three, So twenty two years
he's made potentially millions and he's done a few years

(01:22:10):
really minor, do you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:22:12):
M hm.

Speaker 1 (01:22:13):
So that's another thing I'm going to have to contend with,
do you know what I mean? And like, like we've
just said, living on a knife edge where I've still
got to work, I've got still away from that, I've
still got my kid to pay for. What What am
I supposed to do? Do you know what I mean?
What just sit on my ass and not really do anything?

Speaker 2 (01:22:34):
Do you know what I mean? I need to function.

Speaker 1 (01:22:35):
I need to try and get something back on track,
my life back on track, try and give like my
kid a normal.

Speaker 2 (01:22:43):
Life, do you know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (01:22:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (01:22:45):
Yeah, I think it's good to you talking about it
and get out mate, you know. And I obviously I'm
saying that because you've come on my podcast, But no, now,
I think you've been through some heavy ship.

Speaker 4 (01:22:55):
Now you you've been through some heavy share.

Speaker 3 (01:22:58):
I think it's good to allow yourself to be vulnerable
sometimes and talk about some of their moments, you know,
because it's a story of resilience from start to finish. Well,
at the end of the day, mate, if you've been
for a lot, you've been for a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:23:12):
It's mad that this has happened the way it has
because before this happened when we served, and probably just after,
I've done quite a lot of charity work for like
men's mental health.

Speaker 2 (01:23:24):
Yeah, so I.

Speaker 1 (01:23:25):
Ran an ootramarathon, I did the fan dance for those
guys that died, and again that's all for men's mental health.
For you know, some of the stuff that I've had
a lot of friends from tam with Sam's probably you
boys have around here that killed themselves for less.

Speaker 2 (01:23:43):

Speaker 1 (01:23:44):
And I feel like getting this out talking about it,
creating that get rid of that stigma, not creating get
rid of that stigma where blokes can't.

Speaker 2 (01:23:55):
Talk to each other. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (01:23:57):
Like I've had because of podcast and because of speaking
about my story and like and how I actually felt
about it all.

Speaker 2 (01:24:04):

Speaker 1 (01:24:06):
I've had dozens and dozens of messages, probably in the
hundreds actually, where blokes have been like, oh, you know,
I wouldn't have never dreamed about going on a podcast
and telling people about this, but I know I can
talk to you and they've said, you know, families have died,
they've got drug problems.

Speaker 2 (01:24:25):
A couple of my.

Speaker 1 (01:24:25):
Friends are go into prison for really stupid things, like
they've had fights in nightclubs on nights out and have
made mad mistakes like hit people and whatever else. And
talking to me online about their issues it's just like
a release for them, Like it's like a weight off
their shoulders. And I never really thought that I'd be

(01:24:46):
in a position like this to have these sorts of conversations.
But some of the boys that I've spoke to and
some of the lads that have told me about their
issues and about their story if you like. But I've
had a couple of messages where people have said you
have inspired me, like you've you.

Speaker 2 (01:25:04):
Have helped do you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (01:25:06):
And if talking about this and more story and stuff
that's happened, like it's already helped a few people. I
know for a fact because I've told me and that's
what does make me feel better, do you know what
I mean?

Speaker 4 (01:25:18):
Yeah, there's a really you know story of resilience. Mate,
there's so much.

Speaker 3 (01:25:23):
Like we were chatting before this one we went for
a coffee and I was like, I was just deliberating
on it and that and even just just like thinking
about the different elements of it.

Speaker 4 (01:25:31):
May I think, what the fuck.

Speaker 2 (01:25:33):
It? If you break it.

Speaker 3 (01:25:34):
Down, there's a lot, Yeah, put all together and you think,
fucking hell, you've survived it, though, mate, So what what?

Speaker 4 (01:25:42):
What's next?

Speaker 3 (01:25:43):
Then?

Speaker 4 (01:25:43):
What's next? Because I feel like more people need to
hear about this?

Speaker 2 (01:25:46):
Mate?

Speaker 3 (01:25:46):
I'm hoping you know you're coming on this and you've
been on another podcast as well, aren't you. What was
that a podcast called just we can shout out life
after Life After, Life after podcast will link it in
the description. But but yeah, what what's next to your plan?
I'm getting out and talking more about your story and
so sharing it with more people.

Speaker 1 (01:26:04):
When I was inside, I was writing a little bit
of a diary before I went inside. I wrote down
what had happened a little bit of a description. The idea,
I think is to write a book. I read a
lot of books when I was inside, and a lot
of resilient stories, people that have served people that haven't

(01:26:25):
sports personalities James Cracknell, I do have you ever heard
of him? He is an Olympic rower. He was an
Olympic rower. I was unreal like crazy, crazy endurance athlete.
He was in America doing a cycle and he got

(01:26:46):
hit by a lorry, so Laurie's obviously I've got the
wind mirrors, and the lorry clipped him on the back
of the head as he was cycling along, gave him
a traumatic brain injury. And the story from him and
his wife writing book of Resilience and you know how
is like how he managed to come back from that

(01:27:07):
is absolutely unreal, honestly, Like, don't get me wrong, that
blow my own trumpet. But I feel like my story
is a little bit of a mad one. His story
is crazy, Like some of the stuff that he's managed
to achieve since that is nuts. So if I can,
you know, emulate that sort of thing, go out, speak
to people, explain certain things, try and write my book

(01:27:31):
and get it out there that way, that's what I.

Speaker 2 (01:27:33):
Want to do.

Speaker 1 (01:27:35):
As a side note, if I can, really, I want
to do more charity work. So I've already done a
little bit for Mend's mental health. I've shouted about it
quite a lot, and I feel like it's becoming more
and more of a thing that blokes. I've been able
to talk, which I'm so fucking happy about.

Speaker 2 (01:27:53):
Yeah, I think it's great.

Speaker 5 (01:27:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:27:55):
But one thing that's in the quite in the news
quite a lot of the minute, and a few of
my friends have been through quite a bit. It's domestic
violence and as blokes like it or not, some of
us are at fault. So back home, there's a charity
in Lichfield Pathways. They help local women in Staffordshire. Next

(01:28:21):
year I'm gonna the aim is to do five endurance
events in five months try and raise money nice for
domestic violence, yeah, against women and girls.

Speaker 2 (01:28:32):
Because I feel like some blokes.

Speaker 1 (01:28:36):
A ship and I feel like this, this charity and
this thing needs to be shouted about from now.

Speaker 2 (01:28:45):
Yeah you know what I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:28:46):
Well, if there's that we can do to promote it,
may have put it out there that us now Yeah, no,
more more than you. Be more than happy to put
your links out there and try and try and generate
some some donations here.

Speaker 1 (01:28:55):
Yeah, I feel like when they haven't released the events yet,
so you think you.

Speaker 2 (01:28:59):
Boys are the first We were about it, to be.

Speaker 1 (01:29:00):
Honest, so excive once the events go live and stuff
like that.

Speaker 2 (01:29:04):
And I've already I've paid for one.

Speaker 1 (01:29:07):
I'm trying to get into the London marathon now for
a charity place, and then the other events will come
after that. But yeah, so hopefully that's going to be
the next thing to try and do, speak some more
about Bloke's mental health and then try and raise some
money for charities.

Speaker 4 (01:29:22):
It seems like you need to get yourself a publisher.
May I think a publisher would help you.

Speaker 3 (01:29:28):
It seems like that'd be exactly what you need to
help to stay in the direction of getting a book
and getting your story platform some more.

Speaker 2 (01:29:36):
Mate.

Speaker 1 (01:29:36):
So I had a conversation, a bit of a consultation
really with he was a publisher and like a co author.
I don't think that's the way I'm going to go,
but but that's definitely something I'm going to be looking
forward to in the future.

Speaker 2 (01:29:52):
I think.

Speaker 1 (01:29:55):
I feel like charity work and trying to repeat this
story and get this out there a little bit more.
Charity works really really close to my heart, like I've
always done it since before we served, like given close
to the homelesst like things like that. I just feel like,

(01:30:17):
if you do give back, although all the ship that's
come my way, if you do give back some good.

Speaker 4 (01:30:24):
I'm a big believer in came.

Speaker 2 (01:30:25):
Yeah, yeah, hundred per big believer.

Speaker 4 (01:30:28):
It's been great, mate. Honestly, I've enjoyed it.

Speaker 2 (01:30:30):
It's been good.

Speaker 3 (01:30:32):
It blaws my mind, mate, Honestly, I'm so glad you've
come on and shared it with us. And if there's
out we can do moving forward to help help you know,
help you get your story out there, help you promote
your charity work. Let's let's hold you. Let's do it,
Let's do it, Let's not leave it. Seven years before
we meet up again. It's been a while, it's been
fucking ace, but nice one. Chairs again, Chairs again. Thanks
and for those listen Know Home. If you like what
you listen to it, like and subscribe

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Stopped at the Border with £10m of Drugs – What Happened Next Is Unreal | Arran Harvey's Story

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Stopped at the Border with £10m of Drugs – What Happened Next Is Unreal | Arran Harvey's Story