THE LONDON DRUG WARS by T J Walter

Author:T J Walter [Walter, T J]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2015-07-16T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

The Briefings

“When one faces a coup d’état, the first priority is to chop off the hand that holds the weapon. The head comes later.”

– William Breton

DAC Groves chaired the briefing. The Commissioner, John Weaver, attended as well as the heads of the Fraud and Drug squads, Special Branch, Press Bureau and a representative from the Crown Prosecution Service. The Commissioner listened carefully as Brookes detailed the events of the previous night, asking just a few questions for clarification.

When Brookes had finished, Weaver thanked him and DCI Bolton, commending them and their teams for their alertness and response. He then addressed the whole group. “You are all aware of the Prime Minister’s concern about the drug dealers. The events of the last few nights reveal how arrogant the gangs have become. Neither the Prime Minister nor I will tolerate bombers operating in our city. I want the person who ordered this attack brought to justice with despatch. All the forces’ resources are at your disposal; just tell me what you need.”

Groves responded, “I think we have access to all the police resources we need sir, but we could use some help from other agencies. I asked Mr. Gilchrist from CPS to join us this morning sir, as we are going to need their help in drawing up arrest and search warrants. I think we should also meet with London’s Chief Magistrate to acquaint him with the scale of the enquiry. And of course the media; we must control what is released to them.”

“Good; I agree. I’ll see the Chief Magistrate with you. I also think you should bring in Neil Mackenzie of SO 19.” He referred to the Met’s elite firearms branch. “If this thing continues to escalate, you may well need armed backup in your operations. How do you intend to approach the problem of the Russians?”

Groves said, “Superintendent Brookes has that in hand, perhaps I can let him answer.”

At a nod from Weaver, Brookes took the floor. ‘I’ve given this a great deal of thought, sir. It’s already clear that we are unlikely to catch him by our normal methods.” He smiled. “Most of the time we follow the clues in order to discover the culprit. Here we know who the culprit is but are starved of hard evidence against him. He’s too powerful. No-one will come forward to give evidence against him. His power base is fear and money.”

He continued, “I think we should attack that power base. Starve him of his income, take out those who are loyal to him and he will lose his power. Without that, people will no longer be frightened of him. I think we should hit him in the pocket and keep hitting him until he bleeds. I’ve already started, as you know, by closing his string of brothels. I have other ideas that are being looked at now. At the same time we should look into his past; find out everything about him.”

Weaver nodded as he considered the proposal. “That makes sense; tell me more.

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