Allegations: One of the
British men arrested as part of a drugs and money-laundering gang
bust has claimed the money came from professional football
transfers in England
A vast drug and money-laundering operation run by British
gangsters which may have links to Premier League football transfers
has been smashed by police in France's Dordogne region.
Officers from both sides of the Channel raided a number of
upmarket homes in two isolated villages favoured by British
expatriates.
There they found drugs and thousands of pounds worth of used
notes, along with luxury cars including Aston Martin DB9s and
Mercedes SLKs.
There have been at least four arrests in connection with the
enquiry, all of British nationals who claimed to have moved to
France 'for the good life', said an investigating officer.
One claims he was regularly receiving cash payments for his work
with UK-based football agents.
The enquiry began in May 2009 when one of the accused - named
only as Stephen C - was arrested in a car travelling from Narbonne,
on the south coast, to the city of Toulouse, in the south west.
Police found half-a-million pounds worth of used notes in a
hidden compartment in the boot of his Mercedes, along with traces
of cocaine.
The Englishman had been put under surveillance, and the police
established that he had made at least 20 'suspicious' journeys
delivering money around Europe.
Cocaine is thought to have been delivered from Spain, after
arriving in boats from Africa, said police.
But there is also an allegation that some of the cash was linked
to agents or other parties involved in the lucrative - and
notoriously unregulated - trade in footballers.
'Dordogneshire': Police
raided the gang in the Dordogne region of France, above, where they
were living as British ex-pats who moved 'for a better
life'
'He told us that all the money came from professional footballer
transfers in England,' added the investigating officer.
'Those arrested say they had links with big names in the world
of Premiership football.'
Stephen C was placed in custody under suspicion of laundering
money associated with Britain's cocaine trade.
During many months of questioning he led detectives to the
pretty villages of Augignac and Champniers-et-Reilhac, close to
Perigueux, in the Dordogne.
All of those involved were blending in with the thousands of
Britons who have set up homes in one of the most unspoiled regions
of Europe - one which is frequently referred to as 'Dordogneshire'
because of its popularity with what the French call 'Anglo
Saxons'.
It was in Augignac, which has a population of just 850, that two
suspects named as Mickael K and Sophie S were arrested on February
24th this year.
'They owned a villa estimated to be worth around 175,000 euros,
and a second home in Charente, as well as agricultural land worth
around 150,000 euros,' said another police source.
'They'd also invested in three plots of land in another part of
the Dordogne,' he added.
Mark B, another local resident, is considered to be a
'mastermind' behind the operation, and was arrested during a visit
to a London clinic on February 14th.
When police raided his parents' home at Champniers-et-Reilhac,
which has a population of just 500, they found a sky blue DB7, and
a Mercedes with a hidden compartment identical to the one found in
the car in which Stephen C was arrested.
'The cars were typical of the kind of flash, luxury goods these
suspects have been using,' said the police source. 'They had stacks
of money and were regularly investing in land and luxury
properties. They are also believed to have been investing in
Cyprus'.
The officer said Mark B's parents had already offered £50,000 in
cash to pay for their son's defence.
He added: 'All those arrested are being questing pending court
appearances.'
The investigation is being coordinated by Britain's Serious
Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the Toulouse judicial police.