Andrew Pritchard, once described as Britain's biggest drug smuggler, has claimed he shipped more cocaine into the UK than Pablo Escobar. The 59-year-old former gangster said he used fake passports and bribed customs officers, police, and high-ranking officials to build an unrivalled smuggling network.
Pritchard revealed that large shipments were disguised using various methods, including turning off x-ray machines. He said he shipped cannabis and cocaine from Jamaica and South America to the UK. In 2004, he was arrested after the largest drug seizure in UK history: £100 million worth of cocaine hidden in coconuts outside Spitalfields market.
In his new book Empire of Dirt, Pritchard describes his descent into crime, starting as an unlicensed rave conductor during the acid house era. He initially joined a group of criminals but built his own empire as demand for ecstasy soared. He moved 500,000 pills a month with a Dutch couple who ran a lab processing up to a million ecstasy tablets per day. His empire launched through a company importing crates of apples from the Netherlands, which concealed ecstasy tablets.
Pritchard later progressed to shipping premium-grade cannabis and cocaine. One tactic involved swapping tourist rum with bottles of pure liquid cocaine via a washroom assistant. Another, dubbed 'the Stiff', involved repatriating a friend's body to England with a coffin containing 90 kilos of cannabis. He also corrupted customs officers who would put containers on hold, turn off x-ray machines, and issue clearance certificates.
During his criminal years, Pritchard lived in Jamaica and married a Miss World contestant. He was arrested in 2004 but acquitted after two juries failed to reach a verdict. The trial heard evidence of 86 customs officers allegedly involved in corruption.
