Operation Seal Bay: How village nosiness uncovered drug ring

Forty years agone "the antheral with the rubber face" was caught successful agrarian westbound Wales aft misjudging the powerfulness of section curiosity.

Operation Seal Bay successful 1983 broke up an planetary cause smuggling ringing aft discovering a concealed bunker.

Robin Boswell, from London, and a Danish actor, Soeren Berg-Arnbak, had been connected the tally for 11 years.

Known arsenic a maestro of disguise, Berg-Arnbak was 1 of the Europe's astir wanted cause dealers astatine the time.

His apprehension followed reports from farmers and fishermen of antithetic enactment astatine the bay.

In 1983, the 35-year-old lived a millionaire manner connected a luxury yacht, and owned villas successful Italy and Switzerland. But connected the run, helium relocated to Pembrokeshire.

Don Evans was a detective main inspector with Dyfed-Powys Police, and jointly led the incidental country for Operation Seal Bay - the codification sanction fixed to the probe - with Det Supt Derek Davies.

Speaking 40 years later, Mr Evans said the the gang's downfall came from the inquisitive quality of the radical of the Pembrokeshire coastal municipality of Newport.

"These villains wholly underestimated the section radical and however observant they were," helium said. "In each we took 540 statements from radical surviving successful the area."

Sue Warner and her parents, who lived connected a workplace overlooking the seashore adjacent Newport, informed constabulary of suspicious enactment adjacent to the bay, arsenic the pack archetypal drew attraction to themselves by spending ample amounts of wealth successful a section pub.

"There were guys staying successful Dinas Cross and spending an atrocious batch of money," she said.

"Paying for drinks with £50 notes and tons of partying going on. Lots of wealth and bully large cars - radical conscionable started to enactment things together.

"So, 1 nighttime my dada decided to campy connected the cliff apical with neighbours. They recovered 2 men sleeping adjacent to the tract of wherever the pack were readying connected keeping the drugs and past things started to unravel."

Lobster fishermen besides spotted enactment astatine the bay, and informed the Newport inshore rescue crew, fearing the radical connected the formation mightiness beryllium poachers.

The cause pack members told the vessel unit they were grooming for an expedition to Greenland to movie whales and seals. But erstwhile the unit did not judge them, they returned with Dyfed-Powys Police officers.

The constabulary carried retired a hunt of the bay with a farmer, who picked up a chromatic and threw it into the cave. It deed the crushed and made a hollow sound.

Officers cleared the crushed of pebbles and rocks, and discovered a hatch starring to an underground bunker.

Don Evans could not judge what they had found.

"It had evidently taken a agelong clip to build. It was held up with timber and wholly lined with fibre solid resin," helium said.

"It would person taken ages to excavation retired the soil and stone and physique and they would person brought each the materials successful by boat."

Police uncovered £80,000 worthy of equipment, including almighty outboard motorboat engines, ample inflatable ribs, and gathering equipment.

At archetypal officers thought it could person been linked to the IRA and weapon running, but months earlier a ample bale of cannabis resin had washed up connected the formation successful Newport.

Therefore, constabulary believed it indispensable beryllium linked to the bunker.

The Operation Seal Bay squad believed the waterproof bunker would beryllium capable to store astir £7m-worth of drugs.

Working alongside Berg-Arnbak was Robin Boswell, who was described arsenic the mastermind of the drugs ring.

Police caught Boswell aft a alien matching his statement was spotted by 2 young boys and their mother.

"Robin Boswell was arrested: a antheral who gave america 17 mendacious names and addresses, helium was a enigma antheral and intelligibly not up to immoderate good," said retired detective Mr Evans.

"It transpired aft arresting Boswell, that helium wasn't going to archer america anything. But what was unique, helium was wearing walking boots with specs of fibre solid resin.

"We thought that's what we needed to nexus him to the bunker astatine the cave."

Berg-Arnbak was besides arrested the adjacent time aft being spotted by constabulary officers connected patrol adjacent Fishguard.

When helium spotted the police, helium ditched his rucksack and fled crossed fields. He past jumped implicit a hedge and barbed ligament fence, without realising determination was a 70ft (21m) driblet into a quarry connected the different side.

He lone survived by grabbing a protruding histrion basal to interruption his autumn and was arrested astatine the bottommost of the aged quarry. This ended his 11 years connected the run.

Police seized his rucksack, containing a high-powered vigor which was being utilized arsenic portion of the immense cause smuggling operation.

On a hunch, officers past acceptable up the vigor connected a cliff apical that night. After hours of waiting, they yet heard a communication.

"The vigor instrumentality came to beingness and the words 'Mother, mother. I privation to travel successful to get the ungraded disconnected my hands' were heard," said Mr Evans.

"That connection was enough. We knew determination was a vas retired successful the bay wanting to travel successful to get escaped of the drugs that were connected board."

Police officers said they ne'er thought Operation Seal Bay would agelong truthful far.

"It was a planetary operation. From the findings connected the beach, it became a tapestry that dispersed from Newport, crossed London, crossed France, Spain, and Scandinavia," said erstwhile Det Sgt John Daniels.

"It was wide we had netted the large drugs trafficking squad operating astatine that time.

"We didn't get to the yacht but it's similar the classical lawsuit of solving a execution without a body. To beryllium thing erstwhile you haven't got the carnal evidence.

"It was a coup for the smallest constabulary unit successful the state to instrumentality connected the biggest drugs pack astatine the time."

The Operation Seal Bay squad followed the wealth Boswell had been banking each the mode to the Isle of Man.

"In December 1982, Boswell carried 2 suitcases into a slope connected the Isle of Man and banked £757,000, each successful notes," recalled Mr Evans.

"We asked the slope manager wherefore didn't helium deliberation of reporting it to the authorities? His look reddened and helium said, 'Mr Evans it's not antithetic for radical to travel successful carrying a buying container with £50,000 successful cash.'"

Police besides seized cars worthy £100,000 successful 1983 including a Ferrari, a Range Rover, and a Rolls-Royce.

Berg-Arnbak was sentenced to 8 years and Boswell to 10 years successful prison. Six different members of the pack were besides jailed.

The proceedings justice commended the constabulary and the radical of Newport for bringing the pack to justice.

And keeping a keen oculus retired for antithetic goings connected was praised by the prosecution, who said: "These greedy schemes were brought to airy due to the fact that of the neighbourliness oregon nosiness of section people, the involvement and curiosity shown by decent people."