‘Is this your car then, sir?’ Stephens enquired.
‘No, it’s hired, a friend of mine hired it,’ Androliakos replied.
‘Who was that, then?’ Stephens asked. ‘I need to know the name of your friend.’
Androliakos was visibly sweating. He paused for a long time before answering, ‘Nick Reynolds, Nick Reynolds hired it.’
Stephens had been in his job long enough to know that Androliakos was hiding something, so he asked him to get out of the car so that it could be searched. The first place Stephens looked was the glove box, where he found the rental agreement from Budget car hire. ‘This car’s been hired by somebody called Darren Nicholls,’ Stephens said. When he searched the boot, he found a pair of fisherman’s waders. They were still wet and were covered in sand. In Androliakos’s luggage, Stephens found maps of Holland and Belgium, and scraps of paper with mobile phone numbers on them. Although suspicious, the items were not illegal and so Stephens had to let him go.
As soon as Androliakos had departed, the Customs officer dashed back to the office and ran a few names through the computer. Darren Nicholls’s name flashed up on the screen and below was a memo that asked anybody who came into contact with him to get in touch with Essex Police.
On 30 April, DS Ivan Dibley retired and handed over the Rettendon murder investigation to DS Brian Storey. The latter soon realised that he would not be conducting a lengthy investigation because, shortly after taking charge, the taps on the phone of DC Bird began to reveal some startling conversations.
On 10 May 1996, DC Bird and Nicholls talked about a Jaguar that Nicholls wanted to sell for £3,000. Nicholls told DC Bird that drug dealers were going to use the vehicle to transport £150,000 out of the country so that they could purchase drugs on the Continent.
‘Righto, oh that’s goodo,’ DC Bird said. ‘Oh, right, so really all I’ve got to do is steal that car when it goes abroad next time and keep the loot.’
‘That wouldn’t be a fucking bad idea, would it?’ Nicholls replied.
‘No.’
‘That would be a bloody good idea. Wouldn’t that be nice between us?’
‘Yes.’
‘It would be like a hundred and something-odd thousand pounds. No, it would be more than that, actually . . . no, it wouldn’t, it would be about a hundred and fifty grand, I reckon.’
‘Mmm.’
‘It buys a lot of gear down there where they are going.’
‘Yeah, exactly.’
‘No, it would be more than that. I reckon they’re paying seven and a half this time, they said.’
‘How many people go driving abroad with the cash then?’
‘Only two.’
‘What, they leave it in the car, or do they go—’
‘Leave it in the car.’
‘Good grief, that’s very remiss of them, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah, they used to carry it on, you know, used to get it out of the boot, and then they decided that it’s probably worse walking round with a couple of hundred grand like a dickhead in suitcases on a boat than just leaving it in the motor.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Which is a shame, if you know what I mean.’
‘Exactly. It’s a shame you haven’t kept a spare key.’
‘Oh, fuck me, I’d get into it.’
‘It would be better with a key because all you would do is drive on with them, make sure you follow somewhere near them, you hang around when they go up on deck.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Swap from one boot into the other and just drive off with them at the same time.’
Ultimately the gang didn’t think the car Nicholls had for sale was reliable, so they hired a vehicle instead.
As well as discussing what drug dealers were up to, DC Bird and Nicholls talked about making amphetamines. Nicholls had told DC Bird two pints of a chemical known as BMK (benzyl methyl ketone, an essential ingredient in the production of amphetamine sulphate) were available. DC Bird told him more would be needed. ‘Say a gallon, Darren,’ he said. The pair were recorded laughing about dishing out the drugs they planned to make to people ‘like sweets’. Thankfully, this scheme never went ahead.
As proof of the corruption and drug dealing mounted, DS Storey organised a briefing involving not only Essex Police officers but also Customs officers, so that they could trade information and discuss tactics. When the evidence had been processed and compared with other intelligence, DS Storey was amazed to discover that Craig Androliakos, who had been stopped in the Mondeo hired by Nicholls, was working for a gang headed by none other than Pat Tate’s younger brother Russell.
Customs spotter planes were put on standby and dozens of undercover officers were earmarked for duty. Intelligence reports showed that Russell Tate and other members of his gang had just left for Spain. When Nicholls had said to DC Bird, ‘It buys a lot of gear down there where they are going,’ police officers hadn’t initially understood what he had meant. It now dawned on them that ‘down there’ meant Spain, and the money Nicholls and DC Bird had talked about stealing from a car had belonged to Tate’s gang. DS Storey decided to have the gang’s mobile phones monitored, and when transmissions from those phones showed that they were heading north, back towards England, police and Customs would swoop into action.
On Monday, 13 May, Nicholls was driving along the A120 near Colchester in the blue Jaguar that he had failed to sell to Tate’s gang. One of his friends, Colin Bridge, was following behind in Nicholls’s Transit van. Always cautious when ‘working’, Nicholls was convinced that he was being followed. He picked up his mobile and rang DC Bird. ‘Oi, am I under surveillance? Are you lot following me?’ he asked.
‘Nah, don’t be stupid, Darren,’ DC Bird replied. ‘You’re just being paranoid.’
‘I don’t think so, mate, I’m sure I’m being surveyed. I’ve been paranoid before and it doesn’t feel anything like this.’
‘I’m telling you, Darren, you’re not being followed. If you were, I’d tell you, wouldn’t I? I mean I’m not going to fuck you up, am I? You’re on our side, just relax.’
‘All right. Listen, though. The shipment came in last night. I’m just going over to pick up my share.’
‘I know. Don’t worry, everything’s under control. Relax.’
A short while later, Nicholls and Bridge arrived at Steele’s house, and Nicholls asked Steele if he could pick up some tools he had left there. Steele, who was sitting on a deckchair sunning himself, said, ‘Sure, help yourself.’
Nicholls took a toolbox from the Jaguar’s boot and walked off. A short while later, he returned carrying the toolbox and put it in the back of the van. The Transit, driven by Bridge, then left Steele’s home with Nicholls in the Jaguar behind.
At just after 2 p.m., uniformed police officers stopped the two vehicles on the B1053 at Broad Street, Bocking, near Braintree. When the vehicles came to a halt, Bridge got out and began talking to the officers; however, Nicholls refused to open the door of his car and began talking on a mobile phone.
First, Nicholls telephoned his wife Sandra. ‘I won’t be home, after all,’ he shouted. ‘I’m being stopped by the police. I’ll try and call you later. Bye.’
By now, officers were hammering on the window, telling him to put the phone down and open the door. Nicholls chose to ignore them because he had one last important call to make.
‘DC Bird’s message pager,’ said a woman’s voice. ‘Can I take your message, please?’
‘Yeah, the message is, “I’m being fucking nicked.”’
There was a long silence and then the woman said, ‘I’m sorry, sir, I don’t think I can send that particular message.’
The officers outside the car had pulled out their truncheons and were threatening to smash the window. Nicholls looked at them, sighed and said to the woman, ‘All right. Just tell him that Darren has been arrested.’
As soon as Nicholls stepped out of the car, the officers snatched his mobile phone from him and handcuffed his hands behind his back. As he looked up the road, he could see Bridge, also handcuffed, being put in a police van.
‘Do you know why you have been stopped?’ asked one of the officers.
Nicholls said nothing. He just shook his head.
‘Where have you come from?’ asked the officer.
‘Colchester,’ Nicholls replied.
‘Well, there have been a number of burglaries in Colchester and you’ve been stopped today because we would like to search your van in connection with those burglaries.’ Nicholls nodded, ‘OK, fair enough, but everything in that van is mine. Colin is just driving it for me. He has nothing to do with anything. It’s all down to me.’
Because the back of the van was empty except for the toolbox, it didn’t take the officers long to find the ten kilos of cannabis inside. ‘What are these, then?’ asked the officer.
‘They look like chocolate bars to me,’ Nicholls replied. ‘What do you think they are?’
A huge grin broke out on the officer’s face. ‘I think they’re drugs and you’re under arrest.’
Bridge was taken to Chelmsford police station and Nicholls was taken to Braintree, where he remained for three hours. Nobody is quite sure why he was taken there or what he may have been questioned about because his custody record was never found. It is assumed he was questioned about his relationship with DC Bird, who had also been arrested, but nobody other than the police and Nicholls know if that’s the case.
Earlier that day, Jack and John Whomes and their brother William were driving lorries used to shunt trailers on the docks at Felixstowe. The night before, Jack had telephoned his brothers and asked them to stand in for a couple of drivers who had telephoned in sick. As the brothers were working, Mick Steele entered the dock in a rigid inflatable boat. John asked Steele if he had enjoyed a good day out and Steele replied that he had. Moments later, a large crane lifted the boat out of the water and onto a trailer attached to Jack’s van. Steele drove the van and boat back to Jack’s yard, where he unhitched the trailer and pushed it and the boat into Jack’s workshop. Steele then headed home to Clacton to pick up his partner, Jackie Street, and get changed. When they were ready, Steele and Street drove them back to Jack’s yard. A friend, Peter Corry, followed in Jack’s van.
At approximately 3 p.m. as Steele drove along Ranelagh Road in Ipswich, an unmarked police vehicle pulled in front of him and the two vehicles collided. One of the police officers approached the driver’s door of Steele’s vehicle and opened it. ‘I am DC Chapple from Essex Police,’ the officer said. ‘I am arresting you both on suspicion of being involved in the importation of controlled drugs.’
‘Has he fucking damaged my bumper?’ Steele shouted after the caution had been read out. One of the other officers put his hand on Steele’s shoulder as if to try and calm him down. Steele turned and fixed his gaze on the officer. ‘Take your fucking hands off me, boy,’ he said. The officer immediately removed his hand. Jackie Street remained silent throughout.
DS Sandford meanwhile had stopped the Transit van and run to the driver’s door. ‘You’re nicked,’ he said as he opened it. Peter Corry was then taken out of the vehicle and handcuffed. ‘You are under arrest for conspiracy to supply controlled drugs,’ he was told, then cautioned.
‘I don’t know what you mean, mate,’ countered Corry.
Steele, Street and Corry were put into police vehicles and transferred to Colchester police station. Jack Whomes was at his yard cleaning the boat Steele had left there when Customs officers and police, some of whom were armed, approached him.
‘OK, Jack,’ one of them said, ‘put down the power washer.’
‘Actually, it’s a pressure washer,’ Jack replied. As he turned, he saw armed police officers crouching down, their weapons pointing at him. ‘Fucking hell, this is a bit heavy, isn’t it?’
Jack was arrested, cautioned and transferred to Clacton police station. Nicholls meanwhile had been taken from Braintree police station to join Colin Bridge at Chelmsford. All the way there he was expecting his friend, DC Bird, to appear and tell the officers they had made a terrible mistake. Nicholls could imagine him saying, ‘No, this one’s OK, he’s on our side.’ But DC Bird was never going to come to his rescue: he too was going to be facing some awkward questions. Nicholls soon realised the only man who could save him now was himself. He decided he would give ‘no comment’ answers to all of the police questions until he knew exactly how strong their case was. Only then would he decide what path he was going to take. One thing was for sure: saving himself was top priority.
At 9.16 p.m., Nicholls asked if he could speak to a nominated police officer who was known to him, but DS Storey declined the request. At 11.26 p.m. on the day of his arrest, Darren Nicholls was interviewed for the first time about the importation of cannabis. He said ‘no comment’ to all of the questions that were asked. At the end of the interview, DC Winstone, who was asking Nicholls the questions, said, ‘I don’t intend to say any more about the possession with intent to supply at the moment. The time by my watch is 23.35 hrs and you’re now going to be arrested for being involved in the murders of Pat Tate, Craig Rolfe and Tony Tucker. Do you wish to make any comment to the fact you’ve now been arrested for those murders?’
After a pause, Nicholls replied, ‘No comment.’
The following day, as the extent of the evidence against him began to be revealed, Nicholls realised he was in a hopeless position, but he still refused to comment when each question was asked. In addition to all of the Customs and police surveillance records – which now included video footage and still pictures – the police had access to his phone records. Additionally, Nicholls was the only person who had been caught in possession of drugs. Colin Bridge had been released after just two or three hours because it was clear to police he had played no active part in the drug-smuggling operation. Nicholls had told the officers that everything in the van was his so prosecuting Bridge would have been impossible.
At the end of his second interview, DC Winstone said to Nicholls, ‘Last night you asked if you could speak to a police officer. Would you like to tell me who the police officer was?’