UK Law Articles
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Independent
15 February 2000
£5m drugs trial collapses after 'CPS failures'
Crown Prosecution Service lawyers and the police were
severely criticised by a judge yesterday for incompetence after the collapse of
a drugs trial that included an allegedly corrupt detective.
The trial, estimated to have cost up to £5m, was abandoned after the
prosecution failed to disclose hundreds of pages of evidence to defence lawyers.
Police had alleged that between 1996 and 1998 a drugs gang, which included a
corrupt officer from an élite police squad, had smuggled £12m of cannabis into
Britain from mainland Europe. The case involved Kent police's serious crimes
unit, the Scotland Yard anti-corruption team CIB3 and the National Crime Squad,
and took more than two years to bring to trial.
But Judge Crush, explaining his decision to discontinue the trial two weeks
ago, criticised what he described as a "cavalier attitude",
"careless advice", "error of judgement" and a "culture
of non-disclosure and non-compliance" rife in the prosecution. He also
criticised Kent police officers for offering inducements to a suspect to become
an informant and failing to record evidence, against police and court codes of
practices.
The CPS announced last night that it would be setting up a "thorough
review of the case".
The case involved an allegation of conspiracy to smuggle cannabis resin into
Britain hidden in consignments of detergent, spaghetti, cement mixers and shoes.
During the investigation 800kg of cannabis worth £1.5m were recovered.
The defendants included Detective Sergeant John Bull, a Metropolitan Police
officer on secondment with the National Crime Squad, his brother Peter, Paul
Humphreys, a Kent businessman, and five others. Det Sgt Bull is still suspended
and faces possible disciplinary charges.
The jury for the case was sworn in last November but then discharged without
hearing a word of the trial. The case was thrown out after 11 weeks of legal
argument.
Speaking at Maidstone Crown Court, Judge Crush said the collapse of the case
had mainly resulted from the prosecution's failure to disclose evidence relating
to the informant Richard Price, a roofer and wrestler. In particular, he said,
an interview with Price about his lifestyle and payments made to him and his
wife was never recorded.
In March last year, a Kent CPS official certified to defence lawyers that
they had received all the material on the case that might undermine the Crown's
case, as is required by the Criminal Procedure and Investigation Act 1996. When
the trial started, defence lawyers requested more papers so that they could test
the credibility of the informant. When challenged, the CPS started to release
more papers.
In summing up his judgment, Judge Crush said he thought there was a
"real danger" of the defendants not getting a fair trial if he had
allowed it to proceed.
