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The incredible story of Dave Tomkins, a small-time English criminal who rose from humble working-class origins to become a leading international arms dealer and mercenary.
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00:00:00A CIDADE NO BRASIL
00:00:30A CIDADE NO BRASIL
00:01:00A CIDADE NO BRASIL
00:01:04A CIDADE NO BRASIL
00:01:19Take the gun!
00:01:49Se inscreva no canal.
00:02:19Se inscreva no canal.
00:02:49Se inscreva no canal.
00:03:19Se inscreva no canal.
00:03:49I was rolling in clover.
00:03:53But it was too good to be true.
00:03:58And it all went wrong.
00:03:59Okay, Dave.
00:04:11So, where was the beginning of the end for you?
00:04:15In Miami?
00:04:18We went to an aircraft hangar at Opaloka Airport, Miami,
00:04:46to view an A-37B Dragonfly bomber.
00:04:52It was going to be used to bomb a target to assassinate a specific person.
00:04:58It's use was a low-level attack bomber.
00:05:04It flew directly at the target and released the bombs,
00:05:10and they just kept going when the plane pulled away.
00:05:13There was two sellers.
00:05:19One was a technical guy if I needed any technical advice on the aircraft.
00:05:25It was supposedly a collector's item that was being sold.
00:05:34Their selling price was $800,000.
00:05:38I inspected the plane from front to back.
00:05:44It was in perfect mint condition, like it had come out of a showroom.
00:05:50I actually got in the aircraft and had my photograph taken in it.
00:05:57The price was too cheap.
00:06:01I'm looking at a plane that should be several million dollars.
00:06:06I was suspicious.
00:06:09May of 1991, I received a call from a confidential source
00:06:18that some British individuals wanted to meet with him
00:06:22to purchase an A-37B jet fighter plane.
00:06:25This jet fighter is U.S. military equipment,
00:06:30and therefore we determined that this was an illegal purchase.
00:06:39Yeah, I have a sixth sense about things.
00:06:41It smelled wrong, tasted wrong, and it was wrong.
00:06:48Every move that I made throughout that inspection,
00:06:52I was getting deeper and deeper in the ship, and I knew it.
00:06:55I'm a professional mercenary, and I am a criminal.
00:07:22Make no buck in bones about that.
00:07:25Now I've retired, and I miss it.
00:07:27Now I've retired, and I miss it.
00:07:32I was born in the Blitz in London, Victoria, 1940.
00:07:34I was born in the Blitz in London, Victoria, 1940.
00:07:38I was born in the Blitz in London, Victoria, 1940.
00:07:50My mother was as hard as iron.
00:07:52She was a real cockney lady.
00:07:53She was a real cockney lady.
00:07:57My father was an Irishman who was drunk most of the time.
00:08:04He gambled every penny he earned, pawned the bedsheets or anything else he could get his hands on to get a few quid to get other dogs.
00:08:11My mother and father were constantly arguing, violently arguing.
00:08:18It traumatized me.
00:08:19It traumatized me.
00:08:20My mother tried to commit suicide.
00:08:21My mother tried to commit suicide.
00:08:22put her head in the ovens.
00:08:23and might have made a mistake.
00:08:24I was just a real old man, and I had a real heart.
00:08:25It was a real life.
00:08:26It was a real house, and it was a real life.
00:08:27It was a real life.
00:08:28I was a real life.
00:08:29I had a real life.
00:08:30It was a real life.
00:08:31I thought it was a real life.
00:08:32Minha mãe e meu pai estavam constantemente argumentando,
00:08:39violentamente argumentando.
00:08:43Traumatizei-me.
00:08:47Minha mãe tentou fazer suicídio,
00:08:50colocou a cabeça no fogo,
00:08:52e fez me assistir.
00:08:54E eu estava tendo um sonho,
00:08:56e eu estava morrendo de casa.
00:09:02Eu terminava em um hospital de psiquiatra.
00:09:07Eu continuava morrendo,
00:09:09eu costumava muita problema.
00:09:11Minha mãe e meu pai se divorciou.
00:09:16Na escola, eu era um filho de problema.
00:09:19Eu lutava.
00:09:23Eu marcava meu território.
00:09:25Eu deixava eles saber,
00:09:27se você quiser ir comigo,
00:09:28eu vou voltar para você com tudo que eu vou voltar para.
00:09:31o que eu estou aqui,
00:09:32o que eles me deixavam.
00:09:38Eu era plantado de escola,
00:09:41até 13 anos,
00:09:42e eu era apenas um gestão.
00:09:48Era uma criança difícil, eu não tinha uma criança, como eu entendo que as crianças devem ter.
00:10:08Você ainda tem muita dor daquela época?
00:10:12Eu não quero responder isso, porque eu não sei completamente.
00:10:21Você está tentando me milhar com uma emoção que eu não estou preparada para mostrar.
00:10:32Mas minha criança foi uma experiência valiosa.
00:10:37Isso criou a vida que eu depois tive.
00:10:42Tudo começou em 1976.
00:10:51Eu estava morto.
00:10:54Eu tinha 56 pence para o meu nome.
00:10:58E eu fui encontrar um amigo de mim em um clube chamado Ragamuffins.
00:11:03O bãozinho chegou e disse,
00:11:05E ele disse,
00:11:07E ele disse,
00:11:08E ele disse,
00:11:09E ele disse,
00:11:11E ele disse,
00:11:13E ele disse,
00:11:14E ele disse,
00:11:15E ele disse,
00:11:16E ele disse,
00:11:18E ele disse,
00:11:19Os retour rapido foram,
00:11:22E ele disse,
00:11:23Ele disse,
00:11:24E ele disse,
00:11:26e ele disse sim, e ele tirou um grande quadro de 10-lb notes
00:11:30e eu disse, eu sou seu para a noite, pelo menos.
00:11:34Eu saí de casa, peguei a sua casa,
00:11:37minha esposa me acordou e me perguntou onde eu estava indo,
00:11:40e eu disse, Angola.
00:11:56A guerra civil tem dividido o país em três áreas de controle.
00:12:21Todos os três grupos lutam a guerra de liberdade.
00:12:26Eu estava em Angola.
00:12:28Foi brutal e foi uma espécie de galerão para os grandes poderes.
00:12:48Onde estava Jonas Savimbi, Unita,
00:12:51para o sul de Luanda, que tinha apoio de South Africa.
00:12:56Em centro, o MPLA foi voltado por os Cubans e a União Soviética.
00:13:04O MPLA quer que a sua vitória,
00:13:06e eles parecem ter o apoio, ambos diplomáticos e militares, para fazer isso.
00:13:10Castro subiu as troupes, e a União Soviética subiu as armas.
00:13:19O MPLA é um fluxo constante de matéria de guerra,
00:13:22que foi derrubado por os Cubans em convois de unmarque lourdes.
00:13:26Em alguma medida, isso é um guerra de lourdes.
00:13:28Eles são muito uma força de opressão.
00:13:31Eles deprimam os Angolais de sua liberdade de atingir freely.
00:13:36Eles intimidam e engajam em atos de repressão.
00:13:41A Comunista plan foi ter uma Comunista state
00:13:46sobre a whole of Angola,
00:13:48e isso foi apenas o início da expansão de soviétia influência
00:13:52sobre o sul de África.
00:13:54In North Angola,
00:14:01the FNLA was controlled by Holden Roberto.
00:14:06An Angolan, under European influence,
00:14:08with a lot of backing from the United States,
00:14:11the Americans were trying to ensure
00:14:13that the newly independent Angola
00:14:16did not fall into Soviet hands.
00:14:18Our objection has been
00:14:19to the imposition of a minority government
00:14:23by what is now 12,000 Cuban troops
00:14:26and nearly $300 million worth
00:14:30of Soviet equipment in January alone.
00:14:35The Angolan War
00:14:36is the classic proxy war
00:14:39between East and West.
00:14:43The FNLA's principal instrument
00:14:46they hoped was British and American mercenaries.
00:14:53In the post-colonial era,
00:14:55from the 1950s onwards,
00:14:56essentially,
00:14:57many African states and governments
00:14:59are trying to hold on to power.
00:15:06So they turn to the superior fighting skills,
00:15:09they turn to the superior weaponry
00:15:11of foreign mercenaries
00:15:13to support their endeavours in gaining power.
00:15:18The classic mercenary
00:15:20is usually someone
00:15:22who has military experience.
00:15:24They have perhaps retired
00:15:26from the armed forces.
00:15:27They may also have had a background
00:15:29in the police force
00:15:30or the security services.
00:15:31And when they leave that role,
00:15:35they have all these skills.
00:15:38And there's a demand
00:15:40for their skills with weapons,
00:15:42their tactical skills,
00:15:43their combat skills.
00:15:44In most of the wars
00:15:51I've been in,
00:15:51it's about 18 now.
00:15:53The one in which mercenaries
00:15:54were most used
00:15:55was the one in Angola.
00:16:00Mercenaries first started
00:16:01to arrive in 1975.
00:16:04They were lured
00:16:05into this conflict
00:16:06by the promise
00:16:08of easy pickings,
00:16:09quick victory,
00:16:10lots of money,
00:16:11go home.
00:16:14There'd been a total
00:16:18of about 200
00:16:19British mercenaries
00:16:20involved in the war
00:16:21paid to fight
00:16:23against the MPLA.
00:16:25Within 24 hours
00:16:27I was actually in Angola.
00:16:31I'd be driven
00:16:31in a dirty, rotten old bus
00:16:33in and out of the bush.
00:16:36Every mile or two
00:16:38there was checkpoints.
00:16:41We eventually got through them.
00:16:43We were a real
00:16:44rag-tag,
00:16:45bob-tail mob.
00:16:51When we were kitted out
00:16:53with our equipment
00:16:54we looked even worse.
00:17:00Uniforms didn't fit,
00:17:01boots didn't have laces.
00:17:04Nobody really knew
00:17:05what it was all about
00:17:06but we were soon
00:17:07to find out.
00:17:08The standards of the guys
00:17:13was very mixed.
00:17:15Young guys
00:17:16who'd never soldiered before,
00:17:17people who'd been
00:17:18in the British Army
00:17:19or the Territorial Army
00:17:20and professional soldiers.
00:17:22I was unimpressed
00:17:26with the military qualities
00:17:28of the rag-tag mercenaries.
00:17:31They were, to my mind,
00:17:33no kind of a match
00:17:34for the Cubans.
00:17:35They were led,
00:17:36if leadership is the right word,
00:17:38by a character
00:17:39who styled himself
00:17:40Colonel Callan,
00:17:42although he'd never been
00:17:43more than a large corporal.
00:17:44Colonel Callan
00:17:47was an ex-parachute
00:17:48regiment soldier.
00:17:50Costas Georgiou
00:17:52was his real name.
00:17:53He was a Greek Cypriot.
00:17:55Initially,
00:17:56his career
00:17:57looked as if
00:17:58it was going places.
00:17:59But he went
00:18:00to Northern Ireland
00:18:01and got bored with it,
00:18:04took a submachine gun,
00:18:06went and robbed
00:18:06a post office.
00:18:08And of course,
00:18:08he was court-martialed
00:18:09and sentenced
00:18:10to five years in prison.
00:18:11When he came out,
00:18:12you know,
00:18:12he was dishonorably discharged.
00:18:14Well, that left him
00:18:15with nothing to do.
00:18:19He went out to Angola,
00:18:21initially,
00:18:21to serve as a medic.
00:18:24Callan was driving
00:18:25an ambulance
00:18:25into the front lines,
00:18:27picking up the wounded.
00:18:29And he showed
00:18:30amazing,
00:18:31immense courage.
00:18:33And got such a reputation
00:18:35in a short space of time
00:18:37that he was promoted
00:18:38from being an ambulance driver
00:18:40to being the commander-in-chief
00:18:43of the whole of the FNLA.
00:18:48The first time I saw
00:18:50Colonel Callan,
00:18:52he came and inspected us
00:18:55with total disgust
00:18:57and disdain.
00:19:01He was the boss out there.
00:19:03He ruled Northern Angola.
00:19:06He could do absolutely
00:19:07anything he wanted.
00:19:09Callan enforced discipline
00:19:11at the point of the gun.
00:19:12He actually assassinated
00:19:13some who disputed
00:19:15his leadership.
00:19:16He never knew
00:19:17what was going to be
00:19:18round the corner.
00:19:20A man turned up late
00:19:22for must have prayed
00:19:22one morning.
00:19:24He shot him
00:19:24for being late.
00:19:27He'd go out
00:19:27to get some bread
00:19:28with Callan
00:19:29and he'd find it
00:19:30and shoot the baker.
00:19:33He had an M79 grenade launcher.
00:19:37He shot the butcher
00:19:38with that
00:19:38to see what
00:19:40it would be like.
00:19:42And that was
00:19:42the sort of manic
00:19:43thing we were
00:19:45going through daily.
00:19:46It takes a lot
00:19:51to make me frightened.
00:19:54But in the case
00:19:55of Callan,
00:19:56I was very,
00:19:58very wary.
00:20:02He posted me
00:20:03to a place
00:20:04called San Antonio
00:20:05Desire
00:20:05where I met
00:20:09a guy called
00:20:09Brummie Barker
00:20:10who I'd served
00:20:11in the parachute
00:20:11regiment with.
00:20:12He told me
00:20:16that Callan
00:20:17was talking
00:20:17about executing me
00:20:18and I said,
00:20:20why?
00:20:21He says
00:20:21he didn't like
00:20:22competition.
00:20:27I became
00:20:28Callan's
00:20:28explosive man.
00:20:31Whenever we went
00:20:32out,
00:20:32I travelled
00:20:32in his land
00:20:33rolling
00:20:34and I got
00:20:34to know him
00:20:35probably better
00:20:36than most
00:20:37because he used
00:20:38to call me
00:20:38explosive.
00:20:42My job
00:20:43was to blow
00:20:44things up.
00:20:45Bridges,
00:20:47old buildings,
00:20:49somebody's mud hut
00:20:50that he didn't like.
00:20:57So Dave,
00:20:59how did you end up
00:21:00going from
00:21:01the streets
00:21:02of London
00:21:03to being
00:21:04an explosives
00:21:05expert
00:21:06in the Angolan
00:21:07Civil War?
00:21:09Oh.
00:21:121956,
00:21:16I decided
00:21:17I'd go
00:21:17into the
00:21:18Merchant Navy
00:21:19and I was
00:21:20so pleased
00:21:20to get away
00:21:21from home.
00:21:23By the time
00:21:24I was 18,
00:21:25I'd been to
00:21:26New Zealand,
00:21:28Durban,
00:21:29Panama,
00:21:30all around
00:21:30Africa,
00:21:31Mombasa,
00:21:32Lorenco Marks
00:21:34and I loved it.
00:21:37I stood
00:21:38at a bus
00:21:38stop one night
00:21:39after I'd
00:21:40come home
00:21:40on leave
00:21:41and a cop
00:21:42who knew me
00:21:43took one look
00:21:44at me
00:21:44as he went
00:21:45past,
00:21:46turned round,
00:21:47got out,
00:21:49strutted up
00:21:49and said,
00:21:50what are you up
00:21:51to,
00:21:51Tompkins?
00:21:52And I said,
00:21:53it looks like
00:21:53I'm catching
00:21:53a fucking
00:21:54bust on it.
00:21:55What do you
00:21:55think I'm doing?
00:21:56He said,
00:21:57I'm arrested you
00:21:58for using
00:21:59abusive language.
00:22:01So I smacked
00:22:01him in the mouth
00:22:02and punched him
00:22:03all the way
00:22:03up the road.
00:22:04I ended up
00:22:07getting six
00:22:08months imprisonment
00:22:09for that.
00:22:12I was fascinated
00:22:13with all the stories
00:22:14I heard
00:22:15from the other
00:22:16cons.
00:22:18I learnt
00:22:19all the
00:22:20prison lingo,
00:22:22got prison
00:22:23tattoos
00:22:23and
00:22:25came out
00:22:27and I had
00:22:27a different
00:22:28outlook on life
00:22:29then.
00:22:31I decided
00:22:32I'd become
00:22:32a criminal.
00:22:36There's a sort
00:22:37of pecking order
00:22:37in criminals.
00:22:39The top of the range
00:22:40was the safe player.
00:22:43Money
00:22:44was in safes
00:22:46and I wanted
00:22:47to know
00:22:48how to open them.
00:22:51I went to
00:22:51shops that sold
00:22:53safes,
00:22:54I went to
00:22:54crime exhibitions
00:22:56and I'd
00:22:57go round
00:22:58and soak up
00:22:59all the information
00:23:00I could.
00:23:01Then I started
00:23:02to teach myself
00:23:04the technical
00:23:05knowledge of
00:23:06the explosive
00:23:07because that
00:23:08was the bit
00:23:08that was going
00:23:09to matter.
00:23:11The first
00:23:12robbery I ever
00:23:13did with it
00:23:14I did a
00:23:15laundrette.
00:23:16You know,
00:23:16I was flying
00:23:17by the seat
00:23:18of my pants
00:23:18really
00:23:19and I blew
00:23:20into it
00:23:21and lo and
00:23:22behold
00:23:23it came
00:23:23open.
00:23:25From that
00:23:26moment on
00:23:26my whole
00:23:28ambition
00:23:29in life
00:23:30was
00:23:31explosives
00:23:32and safes.
00:23:36And I
00:23:36started using
00:23:37nitroglycerin.
00:23:38That became
00:23:39my signature
00:23:40explosive.
00:23:41It's never
00:23:42been used
00:23:43in England
00:23:43except
00:23:44by me
00:23:45and my crew
00:23:46because
00:23:46you can't
00:23:47buy
00:23:47nitroglycerin
00:23:48you can't
00:23:49steal it
00:23:50you have
00:23:51to make
00:23:51it
00:23:51and believe
00:23:52me
00:23:52you need
00:23:53big balls
00:23:54to make
00:23:55it
00:23:55because
00:23:55it is
00:23:55dangerous.
00:23:57I can
00:23:57have that
00:23:58door
00:23:58off
00:23:59and
00:23:59laying
00:23:59on the
00:23:59deck
00:24:00in
00:24:0090
00:24:00seconds.
00:24:04We blew
00:24:04where I
00:24:05lived apart
00:24:06the Royal
00:24:07Military
00:24:07Academy
00:24:08Sandhurst
00:24:09I even
00:24:09broke
00:24:10in a
00:24:10prison
00:24:10and blew
00:24:11their
00:24:11safe
00:24:11pissed
00:24:12off
00:24:13the
00:24:13old
00:24:13bill
00:24:13completely.
00:24:16We
00:24:17were
00:24:17the
00:24:17first
00:24:18and
00:24:18as far
00:24:19as I'm
00:24:19aware
00:24:19still
00:24:20the
00:24:20only
00:24:21people
00:24:21in
00:24:21the
00:24:22United
00:24:22Kingdom
00:24:23ever
00:24:24to be
00:24:24tried
00:24:25in
00:24:25court
00:24:25for
00:24:25using
00:24:26nitroglycerins
00:24:27to blow
00:24:28safes
00:24:28and
00:24:28strong
00:24:29rooms.
00:24:30It
00:24:31was an
00:24:31exciting
00:24:32way
00:24:33of life.
00:24:34I
00:24:34took
00:24:34real
00:24:35chances
00:24:36you know
00:24:37and it
00:24:37was the
00:24:38challenge
00:24:38as well
00:24:39to
00:24:39beat
00:24:40the
00:24:40police
00:24:40because
00:24:41they
00:24:42knew
00:24:42in
00:24:42the
00:24:42end
00:24:42that
00:24:43every
00:24:43safe
00:24:43that
00:24:43got
00:24:44blown
00:24:44that
00:24:44was
00:24:44the
00:24:44first
00:24:45one
00:24:45they
00:24:45come
00:24:45to.
00:24:50I
00:24:50got
00:24:50acquitted
00:24:51at the
00:24:51Old
00:24:52Bailey
00:24:52courtesy
00:24:52of a
00:24:53second
00:24:54hung
00:24:54jury.
00:24:56My
00:24:56barrister
00:24:56said
00:24:57Mr.
00:24:58Tompkins
00:24:58what do
00:24:59you do
00:24:59for a
00:25:00living?
00:25:00I
00:25:00said
00:25:00I'm
00:25:01a
00:25:01professional
00:25:01safe
00:25:02breaker.
00:25:04And
00:25:05the judge
00:25:05called for
00:25:06silence.
00:25:06He
00:25:06said
00:25:07is
00:25:07that
00:25:07an
00:25:08admission
00:25:08of
00:25:08guilt?
00:25:09and I
00:25:10said
00:25:10no
00:25:11I
00:25:11don't
00:25:11work
00:25:12in
00:25:12England
00:25:12anymore
00:25:13I
00:25:13work
00:25:13in
00:25:13Europe.
00:25:15He
00:25:16said
00:25:16you've
00:25:17no
00:25:17compunction
00:25:18about
00:25:18blowing
00:25:19safes
00:25:19it's
00:25:20just a
00:25:20matter
00:25:20of
00:25:21geographical
00:25:21location
00:25:22is that
00:25:22what we're
00:25:23arguing
00:25:23about?
00:25:24I said
00:25:24yes
00:25:24it is.
00:25:25the jury
00:25:27loved
00:25:28it
00:25:28and when
00:25:30I saw
00:25:31the police
00:25:31outside
00:25:32I
00:25:34said
00:25:34to
00:25:34the
00:25:34senior
00:25:35officer
00:25:35I've
00:25:36now
00:25:37retired
00:25:37and
00:25:38they
00:25:38went
00:25:39good.
00:25:39you've
00:25:54got
00:25:54married
00:25:55by
00:25:55this
00:25:55time
00:25:55Dave
00:25:56can
00:25:57you
00:25:57talk
00:25:58about
00:25:58your
00:25:58wife
00:25:58Mary
00:25:59my
00:26:01wife
00:26:01is
00:26:01a
00:26:02very
00:26:02private
00:26:02person
00:26:03she's
00:26:04not
00:26:04in
00:26:04this
00:26:05documentary
00:26:06at
00:26:06all
00:26:06and
00:26:08in
00:26:08many
00:26:08ways
00:26:09we're
00:26:09a
00:26:10mismatch
00:26:10but
00:26:11yeah
00:26:11I mean
00:26:12she is
00:26:12she's
00:26:13my
00:26:14rock
00:26:14I
00:26:17met
00:26:17her
00:26:1856
00:26:19years
00:26:19ago
00:26:20something
00:26:20like
00:26:21that
00:26:21I'm
00:26:21not
00:26:21very
00:26:22good
00:26:22on
00:26:22the
00:26:22date
00:26:22she
00:26:24was
00:26:24the
00:26:24manageress
00:26:25of
00:26:25a
00:26:25laundrette
00:26:26and
00:26:27she
00:26:28was
00:26:28going
00:26:29up
00:26:29the
00:26:29stairs
00:26:29and
00:26:29I
00:26:29said
00:26:30that's
00:26:30nice
00:26:31over
00:26:33the
00:26:33years
00:26:33we
00:26:34saw
00:26:34each
00:26:34other
00:26:34and
00:26:35eventually
00:26:36got
00:26:36married
00:26:36she's
00:26:39very
00:26:39patient
00:26:39with
00:26:40me
00:26:40we
00:26:42had
00:26:42her
00:26:43ups
00:26:43and
00:26:43downs
00:26:44at
00:26:44times
00:26:44but
00:26:45I
00:26:46try
00:26:47my
00:26:47best
00:26:48and
00:26:48she
00:26:48knows
00:26:49that's
00:26:49as far
00:26:50as I
00:26:50can
00:26:50go
00:26:51you
00:26:51know
00:26:51oh
00:26:54she's
00:26:54put up
00:26:55with so
00:26:55much
00:26:55you
00:26:56wouldn't
00:26:56believe
00:26:56I
00:26:56go
00:26:57off
00:26:57at
00:26:57a
00:26:57moment's
00:26:58notice
00:26:58never
00:26:59knowing
00:26:59when
00:26:59I'm
00:26:59going
00:27:00to
00:27:00come
00:27:00back
00:27:00she's
00:27:03been
00:27:03to
00:27:03court
00:27:03give
00:27:04evidence
00:27:04for
00:27:05me
00:27:05gone
00:27:05to
00:27:05see
00:27:05the
00:27:06judge
00:27:06and
00:27:06she's
00:27:07talked
00:27:07them
00:27:07into
00:27:07letting
00:27:08me
00:27:08out
00:27:08you
00:27:09know
00:27:09so
00:27:09she's
00:27:09been
00:27:10brilliant
00:27:10she never
00:27:14tried to
00:27:15change me
00:27:16she knew
00:27:17what I was
00:27:18she understood
00:27:19me
00:27:20and she just
00:27:21accepted me
00:27:22for me
00:27:23being me
00:27:23we had
00:27:26children
00:27:27I became
00:27:28a father
00:27:28and I knew
00:27:29that I had
00:27:30to change
00:27:31my ways
00:27:32or
00:27:32at least
00:27:33or at least
00:27:33try
00:27:33and I
00:27:36tried
00:27:36but honest
00:27:37labour
00:27:38didn't
00:27:39eventually
00:27:39work out
00:27:40the way
00:27:40it should
00:27:41have
00:27:41done
00:27:41but life
00:27:46takes over
00:27:47me
00:27:47something
00:27:49comes along
00:27:50I can't
00:27:51resist
00:27:51like
00:27:53going to
00:27:53fight
00:27:54a war
00:27:54John Banks
00:27:57and his
00:27:57associates
00:27:57maintain
00:27:58the main
00:27:58reason
00:27:59why men
00:27:59become
00:27:59mercenaries
00:28:00is not
00:28:00for money
00:28:01nor to
00:28:01escape
00:28:02the shambles
00:28:02of their
00:28:03personal
00:28:03lives
00:28:03why
00:28:04shouldn't
00:28:04we fight
00:28:04against
00:28:05communism
00:28:05whether it
00:28:06be for
00:28:06money
00:28:06or for
00:28:07a cause
00:28:07we believe
00:28:08in
00:28:08was that
00:28:09true
00:28:10not
00:28:11necessarily
00:28:11no
00:28:12it was
00:28:13a reason
00:28:14but I
00:28:15went
00:28:15for the
00:28:15money
00:28:16we
00:28:25would
00:28:25go
00:28:26out
00:28:26on
00:28:26patrols
00:28:27probing
00:28:28into
00:28:28enemy
00:28:29territory
00:28:30looking
00:28:35for
00:28:35ambush
00:28:36positions
00:28:36ourselves
00:28:37to
00:28:38confront
00:28:39the
00:28:39enemy
00:28:39there
00:28:43was
00:28:43an
00:28:44adrenaline
00:28:44rush
00:28:45every
00:28:45day
00:28:45i know
00:29:03there's
00:29:03a
00:29:04moral
00:29:04issue
00:29:04here
00:29:05thou
00:29:05shalt
00:29:05not
00:29:06kill
00:29:06but
00:29:09it
00:29:10was
00:29:10a
00:29:10war
00:29:10zone
00:29:11we
00:29:17raided
00:29:18the
00:29:18town
00:29:19out
00:29:20there
00:29:2020
00:29:22people
00:29:23natives
00:29:24died
00:29:24behind
00:29:25the
00:29:25church
00:29:26they
00:29:26got
00:29:27slaughtered
00:29:28it was
00:29:32a sorry
00:29:32state
00:29:32of affairs
00:29:33a lot
00:29:38a lot
00:29:38of people
00:29:38died
00:29:39that
00:29:40shouldn't
00:29:41have
00:29:41and a lot
00:29:42of people
00:29:43survived
00:29:43who should
00:29:44have died
00:29:45one
00:29:56one day
00:29:57i was
00:29:58laying
00:29:58a mine
00:29:59i laid
00:30:01about
00:30:01probably
00:30:0260
00:30:02of these
00:30:03and i was
00:30:07moving to
00:30:08a rain
00:30:08gully
00:30:09i got to
00:30:10about
00:30:11six feet
00:30:12from the
00:30:12rain gully
00:30:13holding
00:30:14the next
00:30:15mine
00:30:15i'm gonna
00:30:16lay
00:30:16and
00:30:18boom
00:30:19the
00:30:34blast
00:30:35of it
00:30:35and the
00:30:36shrapnel
00:30:36blew a
00:30:37hole
00:30:37in my
00:30:38ass
00:30:38that
00:30:39big
00:30:39i went
00:30:44to the
00:30:44worst
00:30:44hospital
00:30:45in the
00:30:45world
00:30:46and
00:30:47they
00:30:48removed
00:30:48the
00:30:49shrapnel
00:30:50in my
00:30:51pelvis
00:30:51i was
00:30:52awake
00:30:53for all
00:30:53this
00:30:53by the
00:30:54way
00:30:54they
00:30:54didn't
00:30:54have
00:30:54anaesthetic
00:30:55that's how
00:30:57bad it
00:30:57was there
00:30:58i mean
00:30:59you cannot
00:30:59believe
00:31:00it was
00:31:01like a
00:31:01slaughterhouse
00:31:03i got
00:31:06flown home
00:31:07eventually
00:31:08mary tended
00:31:10to my
00:31:10wounds
00:31:11every day
00:31:12and it
00:31:12used to
00:31:13hurt me
00:31:13like a
00:31:14bugger
00:31:14oh
00:31:15she said
00:31:16it stinks
00:31:17it's like
00:31:17you're on
00:31:18the border
00:31:18line of
00:31:19gangrene
00:31:19i said
00:31:20well
00:31:20fix it
00:31:20you know
00:31:22and she
00:31:23did
00:31:23years later
00:31:26she said
00:31:26i got my
00:31:27own back
00:31:28on you
00:31:28for all
00:31:29the worry
00:31:29you caused
00:31:30me
00:31:30i made it
00:31:32painful
00:31:32when i could
00:31:33have been
00:31:34a bit
00:31:34easier
00:31:35i was lucky
00:31:43to get blown
00:31:45up when i
00:31:45did
00:31:46because i
00:31:46knew there
00:31:46was going
00:31:47to be
00:31:47big trouble
00:31:48callum
00:31:48callum's
00:31:51methodology
00:31:52and
00:31:52paranoia
00:31:54started to
00:31:55permeate
00:31:56through the
00:31:56ranks
00:31:57and some
00:31:58of our
00:31:58guys
00:31:59were actually
00:32:00becoming
00:32:00like
00:32:01callum
00:32:01the rest
00:32:04of them
00:32:04were riddled
00:32:05with fear
00:32:06callum
00:32:07believed
00:32:07a number
00:32:08of his
00:32:08men
00:32:09had
00:32:10deserted
00:32:10so
00:32:11after he
00:32:11caught
00:32:12them
00:32:12he lined
00:32:13them
00:32:13up
00:32:13you call
00:32:15yourselves
00:32:15men
00:32:16cowards
00:32:17only shot
00:32:22one guy
00:32:22and then
00:32:32he told
00:32:33sammy copeland
00:32:34to take
00:32:35them away
00:32:35and execute
00:32:36them
00:32:3613 men
00:32:43in all
00:32:43were executed
00:32:44i was
00:32:47stationed
00:32:47in the
00:32:48west coast
00:32:49and
00:32:50home
00:32:50roberto
00:32:51flew in
00:32:51to see
00:32:52me
00:32:52he
00:32:54explained
00:32:54to me
00:32:55that
00:32:55callum
00:32:57had
00:32:57gone
00:32:57mad
00:32:58that
00:32:58was
00:32:58his
00:32:58words
00:32:59and
00:33:00they
00:33:00wanted
00:33:01me
00:33:01to
00:33:01go
00:33:01sort
00:33:02out
00:33:02the
00:33:02situation
00:33:03and
00:33:06i drove
00:33:06there
00:33:06the driver
00:33:09knew
00:33:09roughly
00:33:09where
00:33:09it
00:33:09was
00:33:10and
00:33:10i
00:33:10said
00:33:10stop
00:33:12here
00:33:12because
00:33:14i could
00:33:14smell
00:33:14the death
00:33:15i got
00:33:16out
00:33:16and there
00:33:17was
00:33:1713
00:33:17men
00:33:18lying
00:33:18dead
00:33:18they were
00:33:20scattered
00:33:20all over
00:33:20the place
00:33:21there was
00:33:23a guy
00:33:24holding
00:33:24onto a
00:33:24bush
00:33:25he was
00:33:26still
00:33:26half
00:33:26kneeling
00:33:26and his
00:33:28brains
00:33:28were blown
00:33:29out
00:33:29from the
00:33:29back
00:33:30and i
00:33:32said to
00:33:32myself
00:33:32who
00:33:32could
00:33:33british
00:33:33soldiers
00:33:34possibly
00:33:35do this
00:33:36to their
00:33:36own
00:33:36people
00:33:36but
00:33:38they
00:33:38were
00:33:38all
00:33:38scared
00:33:39they
00:33:39had
00:33:39to
00:33:40do
00:33:40what
00:33:40they
00:33:40were
00:33:40told
00:33:40and they
00:33:41would
00:33:41have
00:33:41probably
00:33:42joined
00:33:42a group
00:33:42that
00:33:42was
00:33:43getting
00:33:43executed
00:33:43couldn't
00:33:50believe it
00:33:51could not
00:33:53fucking
00:33:53believe
00:33:54what i
00:33:54was
00:33:54hearing
00:33:55the
00:34:00massacre
00:34:00had
00:34:00ended
00:34:01the
00:34:01white
00:34:01mercenaries
00:34:01involvement
00:34:02in
00:34:02angola
00:34:03the
00:34:04lucky
00:34:04mercenaries
00:34:05were the
00:34:05ones
00:34:06who
00:34:06managed
00:34:06to
00:34:06escape
00:34:07the
00:34:07advancing
00:34:07MPLA
00:34:08and
00:34:09Cuban
00:34:09troops
00:34:10the
00:34:12unlucky
00:34:13ones
00:34:13were
00:34:14those
00:34:14who
00:34:14stood
00:34:14the
00:34:15ground
00:34:15and
00:34:15tried
00:34:16to
00:34:16take
00:34:16the
00:34:16Cubans
00:34:17on
00:34:17some
00:34:18of
00:34:18them
00:34:18were
00:34:18killed
00:34:18and
00:34:19others
00:34:19were
00:34:20captured
00:34:20including
00:34:21Colonel
00:34:21Callan
00:34:22and
00:34:23at
00:34:24the
00:34:24end
00:34:2412
00:34:25of
00:34:25them
00:34:26faced
00:34:26a
00:34:27show
00:34:27trial
00:34:27in
00:34:28loranda
00:34:28in
00:34:29june
00:34:29of
00:34:291976
00:34:30they
00:34:31were
00:34:31charged
00:34:32variously
00:34:32with
00:34:32acting
00:34:33as
00:34:33mercenaries
00:34:33killing
00:34:34soldiers
00:34:34and
00:34:35civilians
00:34:35and
00:34:36in
00:34:36two
00:34:36cases
00:34:36with
00:34:37killing
00:34:37other
00:34:37mercenaries
00:34:38the
00:34:39phenomenon
00:34:39of
00:34:40mercenarism
00:34:41seen
00:34:42in a
00:34:42global
00:34:43and
00:34:43international
00:34:44perspective
00:34:45as a
00:34:46practice
00:34:46deeply
00:34:47against
00:34:48the
00:34:48interests
00:34:48of
00:34:49peace
00:34:49freedom
00:34:50and
00:34:50independence
00:34:51of
00:34:51the
00:34:51peoples
00:34:52I
00:34:52was
00:34:52there
00:34:53in
00:34:53the
00:34:53courtroom
00:34:53I
00:34:54was
00:34:54aware of
00:34:54the
00:34:54huge
00:34:55anti-mercary
00:34:56demonstrations
00:34:57outside
00:34:58the
00:35:01past few
00:35:01days
00:35:01in
00:35:02Luanda
00:35:02in quick
00:35:02succession
00:35:03we have
00:35:04seen
00:35:04mercenary
00:35:04activity
00:35:05denounced
00:35:05displayed
00:35:06and
00:35:06demonstrated
00:35:07against
00:35:07they
00:35:09organized
00:35:10by the
00:35:10government
00:35:11the
00:35:11people
00:35:11were
00:35:12happy
00:35:12to
00:35:12join
00:35:12in
00:35:13but
00:35:13it
00:35:13was
00:35:13part
00:35:14of
00:35:14the
00:35:14stage
00:35:14management
00:35:15of
00:35:15the
00:35:15show
00:35:15trial
00:35:16throughout
00:35:17the
00:35:17proceedings
00:35:18Callan
00:35:19or
00:35:19Georgiou
00:35:19kept
00:35:20up
00:35:20a
00:35:20tough
00:35:21he-man
00:35:21attitude
00:35:22all
00:35:23all
00:35:23all
00:35:23my
00:35:23men
00:35:23which
00:35:24had
00:35:24captured
00:35:25the
00:35:26so-called
00:35:26mercenaries
00:35:27they were
00:35:28pulling
00:35:28my
00:35:29orders
00:35:29they were
00:35:30just
00:35:30soldiers
00:35:30that's all
00:35:32I want to say
00:35:33and I don't want to answer no more questions
00:35:36I thought from the start
00:35:38that this trial would have only one conclusion
00:35:41which was the conviction
00:35:42of all the defendants
00:35:44and it happened very quickly
00:35:45this made headlines
00:35:49around the world
00:35:50it smashed
00:35:51the image
00:35:53of the romanticized
00:35:54mercenary
00:35:55the majority of them
00:35:58were sentenced to long
00:35:59terms in prison
00:36:01four
00:36:02were sentenced to death
00:36:04including
00:36:04Colonel Callan
00:36:05the court has now served its purpose
00:36:07Callan is by all accounts
00:36:09mentally quite unstable
00:36:11the day after the trial ended
00:36:13they were taken out to the prison yard
00:36:15and shot
00:36:16I think Callan got what he deserved in the end
00:36:29and he knew he was going to die for what he did
00:36:33he was defiant
00:36:36I think he saw himself as something of a great leader
00:36:40he felt he had nothing to apologize for
00:36:43Callan would have killed everybody in Africa
00:36:50to win
00:36:50our side
00:36:51their side
00:36:52didn't matter to him
00:36:53as long as he was the last man standing
00:36:55it was a mistake
00:37:00for mercenaries to be there in the first place
00:37:02it was just a lot of guys
00:37:05running about
00:37:06doing their own thing
00:37:07the legacy that we left behind
00:37:20was terrible one
00:37:23I'm very ashamed of some of the things that happened in Angola
00:37:28they should never happen in any theater of war whatsoever
00:37:32the mercenaries did their cause no good
00:37:38not only were they very far from victory
00:37:41but they committed the most appalling
00:37:43atrocities on innocent Angolan villagers
00:37:47and on each other
00:37:49it was alleged there had been a mass murder of 36 people by the FNLA and UNITA
00:37:5412 of the dead had been MPLA supporters
00:37:57the local MPLA commander said
00:38:00the caliber of the weapons used suggested a UNITA or FNLA origin
00:38:04the Americans withdrew their funds
00:38:10because they didn't want to have anything to do with it
00:38:13ultimately the FNLA lost the war
00:38:21and the MPLA came out on top
00:38:23Angola was my rite of passage
00:38:30it was a valuable experience
00:38:33it taught me how not to do it
00:38:36I wanted more
00:38:42I wanted the buzz
00:38:43from then on my life changed dramatically
00:38:49I came back from Angola
00:38:54and I needed a job
00:38:56I knew I wanted to get into some form of security business
00:39:04whether that be military or paramilitary
00:39:07the military contacts that I'd made over the year or so after Angola
00:39:14led me into a situation where I was contacted with a serious operation
00:39:19the operation was to kill Etienne Nazingbe Iadema of Togo
00:39:28who was the president of Togo
00:39:30once again the moral compass
00:39:36may be a bit off if you like
00:39:40but he assassinated the previous president
00:39:45outside the US embassy
00:39:47shot him in the head
00:39:48he used to wake up in the morning and go and beat his political opponents
00:39:55to bits in the prison that he'd got them chained up in
00:39:58morality
00:40:00only stretches so far I'm afraid
00:40:04I asked for an introduction to the client
00:40:09who was currently living in exile in Paris
00:40:13I met the client and I asked him
00:40:17will you allow me to do a feasibility study
00:40:22and find a way to remove your problem
00:40:25and he said
00:40:26I'll give you $1,500 to go to Togo
00:40:30find a way
00:40:32bring it back here and tell me
00:40:34and I'll tell you whether I'll let you take it on
00:40:36and I was skint
00:40:37so I was looking for anything
00:40:39I got a visa to Ghana
00:40:45I went from Ghana to Togo
00:40:48with some difficulty
00:40:50because they closed the border
00:40:52I bluffed me way through
00:40:54I watched his convoy every day go to work
00:41:05where he went home
00:41:06I filmed it
00:41:08I found a way to kill him
00:41:14without having a team of gunmen in there
00:41:17I was going to blow him up
00:41:24my plan was to put explosive charges
00:41:30under a bridge that he drove over twice a day
00:41:34I knew when I had to hit that button
00:41:37and he would have gone fucking 90 foot up in the air
00:41:41he might have had an armoured car
00:41:44but it would have been fucking flying
00:41:46I came back
00:41:51drew up a detailed plan
00:41:53measurements
00:41:55times
00:41:56I knew Togo better than I knew Basingstoke
00:42:00I laid it out for him
00:42:05and he said
00:42:06this is brilliant
00:42:07my people can do this on their own without you
00:42:12I said well thanks a lot
00:42:15so I went home
00:42:20fucking gutted
00:42:22blown another deal
00:42:24it didn't happen
00:42:25a few weeks later
00:42:33the ambassador to Togo
00:42:34in Belgium
00:42:36contacted me
00:42:38hello
00:42:42the president wanted me to know
00:42:45that he wanted me to work for him
00:42:48and debrief on all the material that I had
00:42:53pertaining to his assassination
00:42:55and suddenly the little light bulb went off
00:43:00that now I can earn some money
00:43:03I said 250 grand
00:43:06he said my master wants to pay you in person
00:43:10in Togo
00:43:11I said yeah I fucking bet he does
00:43:14fucking roasting over coals I suppose
00:43:17so me being me
00:43:19he said well let's suck it and see
00:43:20I'm going to Togo
00:43:22I took some precautions
00:43:28met with president Iodema
00:43:32in his palace
00:43:33we did a debrief
00:43:40I got my film
00:43:41from a cine 8 camera
00:43:44my Nikon pictures
00:43:47gave him all to them
00:43:50he looked me in the eye
00:43:55we shook hands
00:43:59and he paid me my money
00:44:04Togo was my first
00:44:20financial success
00:44:23in the business
00:44:24it put me in a
00:44:25whole different category
00:44:27for the first time in my life
00:44:31I actually felt rich
00:44:33I realised there was serious money to be made
00:44:39in the arms industry
00:44:41so I became a broker of weapons
00:44:44illegal and legal
00:44:45the illegal arms market has a devastating effect
00:44:52across the world
00:44:53it causes thousands of deaths
00:44:55it is used to fuel the drugs industry
00:44:59it's used to fuel serious crime
00:45:01illegal operators can steal weapons
00:45:07from the military
00:45:08they can steal them from the police
00:45:10and these weapons are often smuggled
00:45:12across borders
00:45:13where they can then be proliferated
00:45:15across criminal gangs
00:45:17peace does not generate money
00:45:27when there's a war and chaos
00:45:31there's billions and billions of dollars to be made
00:45:35I just wanted a little piece of the action
00:45:37once I started researching the business as a whole
00:45:49and studied it in depth
00:45:52I got the hang of it very quickly
00:45:54and I saw the weaknesses in the system
00:45:58and I exploited them
00:46:01to construct a deal completely
00:46:07from its inception to its completion
00:46:10takes the corruption of either airline pilots
00:46:15or a ship skipper
00:46:17so there's a whole myriad of criminal activity going on
00:46:22behind the scenes
00:46:24the end user certificate
00:46:27was the most valuable part of the whole of my operation
00:46:31it's a very simple document
00:46:33but it is very valuable
00:46:35without it the goods don't move anywhere
00:46:38money is absolute king in this business
00:46:44it's a very expensive business
00:46:47if you're in it seriously
00:46:48I had a contact in Nigeria
00:46:52he was a senior ammo tech officer
00:46:54and for the price of a Rolls Royce
00:46:57or whatever he decided at the time
00:46:59he would sign off
00:47:01a legitimately issued end user certificate
00:47:05to my requirements
00:47:07the arms side of deals was going very well
00:47:14I was getting business
00:47:17I was successful
00:47:18and it took me into other areas of the business
00:47:23all kinds of crazy things
00:47:26like overthrowing a country
00:47:29or assassinating a president
00:47:31my reputation was growing
00:47:36saying that if you deal with him
00:47:37he's straight
00:47:38at that time
00:47:43did you ever think about the victims in war
00:47:46yeah I'd considered it
00:47:49but if I didn't sell them
00:47:51somebody else would
00:47:52so it was going to be me
00:47:55well we're here in Mayfair
00:48:04this was the centre
00:48:06of the arms and private military companies
00:48:10in the 70s and 80s
00:48:12top of Curzon Street was MI5
00:48:16Deanery Street
00:48:18there's a Georgian house there
00:48:20that you would never believe
00:48:22in the basement
00:48:23was the showroom
00:48:24of the Directorate of Supply and Procurement
00:48:27of the Yugoslav arms industry
00:48:30go back down to Piccadilly
00:48:31you've got Heckler and Koch in another unmarked building
00:48:35the US Defence Intelligence Agency
00:48:40worked out of Roebuck House, Victoria
00:48:42Adnan Khashoggi
00:48:45the Saudi billionaire arms dealer
00:48:47he had offices here
00:48:49everybody who wanted to get in this game
00:48:51in a serious manner
00:48:53who could afford it
00:48:55lived or worked here
00:48:57the minute they see that address
00:49:00they know that you're probably rich
00:49:03successful
00:49:04and they want to do business with you
00:49:06without ever having been in
00:49:08this is it
00:49:1422 South Audley Street
00:49:16that's 22 SAS
00:49:18this was the offices
00:49:21and workplace of Sir David Stirling
00:49:24the founder of the Special Air Service
00:49:27is he was one of the forerunners
00:49:30of what's today
00:49:31commonly known as private military companies
00:49:33and he used to run his private military operations from here
00:49:39the millions of people walk by
00:49:42and never realise
00:49:43what that address represents
00:49:46this building here
00:49:53was the Grosvenor House apartment
00:49:56and this was the heart of my business
00:49:59from here
00:50:00I was on the fifth floor
00:50:0295% of all my weapons deals
00:50:06and other skullduggery
00:50:07emanated from this building
00:50:09earned a lot of money out of here
00:50:12and there's some real villains works
00:50:15in other offices as well
00:50:17in the 1980s
00:50:28I was making
00:50:29certainly hundreds of thousands of dollars a year
00:50:32I bought a 52 foot yacht
00:50:37I had a Rolls Royce
00:50:39I built two big houses
00:50:42because I was proud to be a criminal
00:50:45it gave me everything that I've ever had
00:50:49the 1980s were a time of great geopolitical upheaval
00:50:58with a lot of armed conflicts emerging
00:51:00and it created a strong demand for mercenaries around the world
00:51:04the Cold War was buzzing
00:51:08Iran-Iraq was fighting
00:51:10PLO were fighting the Israelis
00:51:12and Druze militia
00:51:14and everybody else in their country
00:51:16it was a time of conflict everywhere
00:51:19the whole world was looking for weapons
00:51:22it was a bad time for the world
00:51:29but good for me
00:51:31the war in Afghanistan
00:51:36was going strong against the Russian invasion
00:51:39the Defense Intelligence Agency
00:51:44had an operation going from London
00:51:47using ex-special force operatives
00:51:50to go into Afghanistan
00:51:52with the Mujahideen
00:51:54in the hopes of recovering
00:51:56new weaponry
00:51:58and new equipment
00:51:59that the Soviets were using
00:52:02and bring them back for analysis
00:52:04by the United States
00:52:05I went to Pakistan
00:52:08and I got myself involved in this program
00:52:12and it was a dangerous place
00:52:14you know
00:52:15Peshawah
00:52:16and the tribal lands of Pakistan
00:52:18are fucking bandit areas
00:52:20and of course
00:52:22there was Russian operatives
00:52:24operating in Peshawah as well
00:52:26if you got too close to something
00:52:29and they knew about it
00:52:30you ended up fucking being disappeared
00:52:32my situation was
00:52:35create connections
00:52:37find my way around
00:52:40get to know
00:52:41who I should talk to
00:52:42how I should talk to them
00:52:44and try and achieve the aim
00:52:47we managed to recover
00:52:51from the Hindu Kush
00:52:53a vital piece of equipment
00:52:55that the American DIA wanted
00:52:58which was the AK-74
00:53:00Soviet assault rifle
00:53:03it was sent back to the UK
00:53:06and then on to America
00:53:07eventually
00:53:10Pakistan authorities
00:53:12decided
00:53:13that the game
00:53:15that we were playing
00:53:16in the Kush
00:53:16and the tribal lands
00:53:18was too hot
00:53:19politically for them
00:53:21and I got a polite knock on the door
00:53:27arrested
00:53:28and told
00:53:30you're out
00:53:31finished
00:53:31done
00:53:32goodbye
00:53:32you're deported
00:53:33I was working for whoever came to the door at the time
00:53:46flying all around the world
00:53:48meeting various people
00:53:50brokering deals
00:53:52Iraqis, Iranians
00:53:54the PLO
00:53:55Somalia
00:53:56Sierra Leone
00:53:58my passport shows me
00:54:00to have been
00:54:01in all the hot spots
00:54:03where there's a war
00:54:04in the world
00:54:05it was the perfect timing
00:54:10for me
00:54:10I mean
00:54:11London alone
00:54:12thousands of Iranian
00:54:14purchasing agents
00:54:15were out with shopping lists
00:54:17worth billions
00:54:18and billions of dollars
00:54:20I've worked for all kinds of people
00:54:24for other bigger dealers
00:54:25governments
00:54:27defense intelligence agencies
00:54:29they need
00:54:30people like me
00:54:32if they know that I'm doing it
00:54:35and they're not going to get into trouble
00:54:36they'll let it go
00:54:37can be
00:54:40they go
00:54:41and they'll be
00:54:44honest
00:54:44what are they
00:54:49going on
00:54:49in the
00:54:50why are they
00:54:53waiting for you
00:54:54to hear
00:54:55what are they
00:54:57going on
00:54:58in the
00:54:58estaban
00:54:58COME
00:55:00in
00:55:00the
00:55:01the
00:55:03the
00:55:04of
00:55:05the
00:55:05At that time, I always had a video camera and videoed everything, especially the team.
00:55:27We had Brits, South Africans, Rhodesians, Australians, we had two or three ex-SAS guys, Marine Commandos, two Foreign Legion Air guys, Alex had been Parachute Regiment, 3-2 Battalion, South African Army.
00:55:50Being a freelancer, I used my skills and gave to the highest bidder. Anything was up for grabs. Assassination, murder, they asked me if I'd get involved in a political, whatever the client wanted. If we could do it and the money was right, we would do it.
00:56:20As a mercenary, I was involved personally in operations in Colombia, in Africa, also Middle East. It definitely gave you the opportunity to travel and see the world.
00:56:36I was on the dole, I was getting no money, everything was going wrong, I was destitute, but I'm here now. I'm glad I'm here because the money's there, I'm now making more money than I ever have in my life before.
00:56:47The wages of being a mercenary or a contract soldier can be very, very good.
00:56:54Twice as much, maybe close on three times as much as you'd earn doing a day's work in the UK.
00:56:59If you don't raise a few dollars to the poor, that could be me because I'm fucked.
00:57:07Depends at which level you were, whether you were management or you were just a grunt in the field.
00:57:14You know, the average going rate was perhaps $10,000 a month.
00:57:21Our ship's coming!
00:57:23I liked the lifestyle that went with being a mercenary.
00:57:27There weren't so many rules.
00:57:28If you were in the British Army or something, we were given a pretty free reign.
00:57:35Women, drink, a lot of things.
00:57:39It was just an exciting way of life.
00:57:41You're a pair of dirty coyotes.
00:57:48I did get a buzz out.
00:57:49I did get a kick out of it.
00:57:50I didn't particularly enjoy killing people, but I enjoyed soldiering the build up to you.
00:58:03Everything that goes in there, ground, situation, mission, execution, admin, log, command and signals.
00:58:09You know, the briefings that build up to what you're actually doing.
00:58:11The amount of work that goes into it.
00:58:13All right, that one should go up instantaneous.
00:58:15This one should go along the air.
00:58:17Then when you pull the pin out, the teap should hold the pin.
00:58:25Who's the guy that pissed him with the lights?
00:58:27I don't think I thought about the morality of it.
00:58:30None of us came out and out of murderers or anything.
00:58:34But it's probably true to say that some of us, most of us, ended up killing people.
00:58:39I was a very selfish person, greedy for money and power.
00:58:54I love the adrenaline of action.
00:58:57I love the adrenaline of danger.
00:58:59I was like I lived on the knife edge all my life.
00:59:06And to kill a man was just business.
00:59:09Dave Tompkins is a very unique kind of personality.
00:59:20For a man that had never been a professional soldier,
00:59:29he didn't like anything.
00:59:31He didn't like guts.
00:59:32You know, he was up for it the whole time.
00:59:35Let's dive for M60.
00:59:37How goes Alex?
00:59:38He had the ideas and he had the criminal way of deviously doing something.
00:59:44He really did know his stuff.
00:59:46And if he didn't know it, he fucking bluffed really good.
00:59:50The officer's mess.
00:59:52Luxury court.
00:59:55He does things which make money that we wouldn't even consider.
00:59:59I sell weapons for a living, but this is something that is not going to come up to us.
01:00:06I have chased this dream for the last ten years.
01:00:10I was guilty as sin.
01:00:16I contributed to the death of many, I'm sure of it.
01:00:22Somewhere along the line, there's a list of fucking thousands that maybe one day I'll pay for.
01:00:27But I look at it that I have got to survive.
01:00:34My family need to be taken care of, but I wasn't responsible for the wars.
01:00:41I assisted in them, yes.
01:00:43I can't be sorry for everybody in the world.
01:00:46The world is what it is.
01:00:49Give us a smile, sir.
01:00:56Bring it home for you, Billy, if I'm good.
01:01:00But I'm not allowed.
01:01:03Police won't let me.
01:01:04At the end of the 1980s, the situation started to change.
01:01:29It was the gold rush days.
01:01:31Anything went, everybody was at it.
01:01:36All the arms dealers in the world turned up to London.
01:01:40Shippers, buyers, sellers.
01:01:46I operated as a wildcat broker, doing my deals without any legal restrictions.
01:01:54People were doing basically what they wanted in relation to arms deals,
01:01:58getting kickbacks, bribes, and acting as illegal agents in a deal.
01:02:04That period in my life was going really well.
01:02:13Something had to go wrong at some stage, and it did.
01:02:19The government started to clamp down.
01:02:25Legislation passed.
01:02:26Now to operate as a broker,
01:02:28you must register with the Department of Trade and get a licence to operate,
01:02:34or you will get arrested and you'll go to jail.
01:02:37I saw the writing on the wall.
01:02:46The Iran-Iraq war finally ended,
01:02:49and the client base shrunk.
01:02:52So, I got involved in paramilitary operations,
01:03:08working for the Kalik cartel.
01:03:11My name is Jorge Salcedo,
01:03:35E no ano de 1991, eu fui parte do Cali Quartel
01:03:40como a Secretaria de Segurança para as famílias.
01:03:45Agora, eu moro nos Estados Unidos no Programa de Proteção de Proteção.
01:03:50Medellín, a segunda cidade de Colombia e a sua riqueza.
01:03:55A morte chegou aqui em uma escala imensa.
01:04:05Central para o conflito é Pablo Escobar, líder do cartel de Medellín e o criminoso mais esperado.
01:04:14Pablo Escobar era um criminoso que se face.
01:04:18Ele usava as bombas,
01:04:22assassinaia pessoas de forma de forma a criar uma panela na população.
01:04:30O governo de Colombia estava desesperado para o que Pablo Escobar estava em prisão.
01:04:35Escobar acreditou a surreender
01:04:43se ele pudesse construir uma prisão de acordo com os seus desejos.
01:04:49Então, ele construiu uma prisão de novo para ele próprio,
01:04:52chamada La Catedral.
01:04:56Ele foi uma grande oportunidade.
01:04:58Antes, ele estava movendo todo o tempo todo.
01:05:00Nós agora conhecemos onde ele estava todos os dias.
01:05:03O policial cartel, o que ele queria chegar agora,
01:05:06já queri-se rir de ele.
01:05:11Os mercenários são uma ferramenta útil para organizações criminosas.
01:05:18Nós temos que ensiná-los.
01:05:20Eles já vem com um set de habilidades,
01:05:22e nós podemos utilizar essas habilidades.
01:05:24Eu já sabia o David Tompkins, então eu pedi ele para liderar a missão.
01:05:33Jorge me contou, ele disse,
01:05:36Pablo Escobar está agora em prisão.
01:05:39Você pode fazer uma equipe para matar ele na prisão de Catedral.
01:05:47Os guardas eram os amigos de Envigado,
01:05:51que era a cidade que era onde ele era.
01:05:53Todos os inimigos, que não eram tão poucos,
01:05:57eram todos os seus escolhidos escolhidos.
01:06:02Ele tinha seu próprio príncipe de casa,
01:06:05com arte de arte na piscina e jacuzzi.
01:06:11Ele podia trazer álcool, prostituta, o que ele queria.
01:06:16Era como um resorte de luxo.
01:06:21Ninguém estava permitido perto disso.
01:06:23O militares ring-fenceded a área,
01:06:26mas eles não permitiam chegar em 2.5 quilômetros.
01:06:32O plano foi voar um fighter jet
01:06:36sobre o Laca de Catedral.
01:06:37Nogged 2.5lb bombas through Escobar's cell window.
01:06:45E blowed the whole place up.
01:06:46500lb bombas through Escobar's cellul.
01:06:49500lb bombas through Escobar's cellul.
01:06:51Ele definitivamente tinha um problema.
01:06:55Se alguém puder encontrar o o ovo,
01:06:57ele seria David Toggins.
01:06:58Eu pedi a palavra para todos que eu conheço.
01:07:05Falei-me um A-37B Dragonfly Bomber.
01:07:09Private ownership, for sale, eu quero comprar.
01:07:12A-37B Dragonfly Bomber.
01:07:13A-37B Dragonfly Bomber.
01:07:15A-37B Dragonfly Bomber.
01:07:17Eventually, I got a call.
01:07:20We found one.
01:07:22It's here in Miami.
01:07:28David Tompkins wanted to see the plane.
01:07:31So we set up various cameras
01:07:33and listening devices around the plane.
01:07:37We were able to hear him talk about
01:07:39what he needed,
01:07:41how much fuel it could hold,
01:07:43the military hardware armaments.
01:07:47David showed he had knowledge
01:07:52of the export laws.
01:07:54He knew what he was doing was illegal.
01:07:58This was one important thing
01:07:59that we needed to get on that tape.
01:08:04The plan was to get Dave
01:08:08to pay the full amount for the plane.
01:08:11And once he did that,
01:08:12we would then arrest him.
01:08:17There was no registration markings
01:08:19on the plane of any description whatsoever.
01:08:22It had a GEC minigun sticking out of the nose,
01:08:25which I know you can't buy anywhere.
01:08:31It just reinforced my gut feeling
01:08:36that this was a sting operation.
01:08:38During the whole meeting,
01:08:44he did look nervous,
01:08:45as if he thought something was going to happen.
01:08:51I secretly took photographs
01:08:54of the two guys I was dealing with.
01:08:56I wanted to find out who they were,
01:09:02and I played along
01:09:05until I could get out of the airport.
01:09:10When Dave left,
01:09:11we were surprised and disappointed
01:09:15because we couldn't arrest him.
01:09:20We had the photographs developed
01:09:22and sent off to my client,
01:09:26who subsequently had them checked
01:09:28and came back within 24 hours
01:09:30and said, they're dirty.
01:09:32I told Dave, this is a setup.
01:09:35You have to go out of America.
01:09:36They were all U.S. agents.
01:09:42They were part of a group called Exodus,
01:09:45which is Export of Defense U.S.
01:09:49And they called it Operation Dragonfly,
01:09:53of all bloody things.
01:09:55I'd have been arrested at the moment
01:09:57that I handed over the money.
01:10:00All I could think of
01:10:01was getting back to my wife Mary and my kids.
01:10:06Their mistake was
01:10:10they hadn't put a no-fly on me at the airport.
01:10:14I got out at the very last minute.
01:10:18We were disappointed it didn't go through.
01:10:20We were very close,
01:10:22and somehow he was tipped off,
01:10:24and he fled the country.
01:10:29Once the plan had been rumbled
01:10:31by U.S. Customs, we had to stop.
01:10:33We never thought
01:10:35that we would ever see David again.
01:11:05The security of the world
01:11:09requires disarming Saddam Hussein now.
01:11:16During the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan,
01:11:19we see the private sector
01:11:22taking a new direction
01:11:23with the development of private military
01:11:25and security companies.
01:11:26This offered opportunities
01:11:29for mercenaries
01:11:30to go out
01:11:32and be armed security contractors,
01:11:35working for government agencies
01:11:37or multinational corporations.
01:11:43That was another opportunity
01:11:45for me to go to a war zone.
01:11:47but it was conditional on me
01:11:52going to the United States
01:11:54and taking a chemical warfare course.
01:11:58It had been a decade
01:11:59since I'd been there.
01:12:02I do this course,
01:12:04I get issued a Department of Defense card,
01:12:07and I can work in Iraq.
01:12:08I flew to Houston, Texas,
01:12:15to George Bush International Airport.
01:12:22As I got off the plane,
01:12:24I was stopped by security people.
01:12:27They informed me
01:12:32I was a fugitive from justice
01:12:34based on an arrest warrant
01:12:36that was issued in Miami
01:12:37by a grand jury.
01:12:40But that was a decade ago.
01:12:43The statute of limitations,
01:12:45as far as I was concerned,
01:12:47expired five years before.
01:12:52They put me in handcuffs
01:12:54and they took me
01:12:55to a federal detention center
01:12:57in Houston.
01:13:01I was really surprised
01:13:03to hear that David
01:13:04had tried to come
01:13:05into the United States
01:13:06since he knew
01:13:07we were looking for him.
01:13:16I was held in a cell overnight
01:13:18and the following day
01:13:20I was sent to general population
01:13:22in the prison.
01:13:25The conditions were crap.
01:13:30One minute I'm in an airport
01:13:31and the next minute
01:13:32I'm in a cell.
01:13:34No idea what's happening.
01:13:36No bedding
01:13:37and a fucking cold cell
01:13:39and I've got to stay there
01:13:40till they decide
01:13:41to let me out.
01:13:45The US justice system
01:13:47closed in on me
01:13:48big time.
01:13:49and it took about a year
01:13:52for me to get to court.
01:13:58It was a very good feeling
01:14:00that we were able
01:14:02to get another crack
01:14:03at David.
01:14:05All rogers.
01:14:06David was charged
01:14:11with a violation
01:14:13of Title 18
01:14:14United States Code
01:14:15Section 371
01:14:17which is a general conspiracy
01:14:18against the United States.
01:14:22Their case
01:14:23in a nutshell
01:14:24was that I had not
01:14:25applied
01:14:26to the Department
01:14:27of Defense
01:14:28for an export license
01:14:30to export this aircraft.
01:14:34We had enough violations
01:14:36to show intent
01:14:38of exporting that plane
01:14:41and that's what
01:14:42the US attorney needed.
01:14:47Dave, you were guilty.
01:14:50Yes, I was guilty
01:14:52of wanting to buy the plane
01:14:53and would have bought it
01:14:54if it was legitimately
01:14:55for sale
01:14:56and not a sting operation.
01:15:01The conspiracy laws
01:15:02in the US
01:15:03will punish you
01:15:04for coming to an agreement
01:15:06on doing an illegal thing
01:15:08and taking steps
01:15:10in furtherance
01:15:11of that agreement.
01:15:12I think it's clear
01:15:13that David took steps
01:15:14in furtherance
01:15:14of this conspiracy
01:15:15to purchase the jet.
01:15:18Dave,
01:15:19you were essentially
01:15:20attempting to assassinate,
01:15:22to kill somebody.
01:15:23and even your own lawyer
01:15:25said that the US government
01:15:27had a very solid
01:15:28case against you.
01:15:29Yes, I was morally guilty.
01:15:31I'm morally guilty
01:15:32of a thousand
01:15:33different things,
01:15:35but
01:15:35I didn't buy
01:15:37the fucking plane.
01:15:42They said,
01:15:44I swanned around
01:15:45the world
01:15:45like a one-man
01:15:47State Department
01:15:48causing chaos
01:15:49everywhere I went.
01:15:53The maximum amount
01:15:56of sentence
01:15:57that I could get
01:15:58was five years.
01:15:59If I pled guilty,
01:16:01I would get
01:16:0233 months.
01:16:05He knew that
01:16:06there was a risk
01:16:07that he could get
01:16:07the maximum sentence
01:16:08if we went to trial,
01:16:09and he decided
01:16:10to cut his losses
01:16:11and plead guilty.
01:16:17The judge said,
01:16:19Mr. Tompkins,
01:16:20I'll sentence you
01:16:21to 33 months
01:16:22in prison.
01:16:27Dave was breaking
01:16:28the law.
01:16:29He got what he deserved.
01:16:32We're very elated
01:16:33at the fact
01:16:34that we were able
01:16:35to catch
01:16:35another arms dealer
01:16:37and put him
01:16:38in jail.
01:16:45I was 63 years old
01:16:47and I was back
01:16:48in prison.
01:16:51It was one of the worst
01:16:52possible times
01:16:54in my life.
01:16:55Not only did
01:16:56they sentence me,
01:16:57in a way,
01:16:58they sentenced
01:16:58my family as well.
01:17:00I went to
01:17:06FCI Miami.
01:17:09Well,
01:17:10like any prison,
01:17:11if you're in there,
01:17:13your freedom's gone.
01:17:15It's devastating.
01:17:17I was pissed off.
01:17:19I just wanted
01:17:20to do my time
01:17:21as quickly as possible
01:17:22and get out.
01:17:30In 2005,
01:17:33I was released
01:17:34and finally got home.
01:17:36My son met me
01:17:37at the airport
01:17:37and it was just
01:17:39another event
01:17:40for me
01:17:41that was over.
01:17:45A waste of my life
01:17:47caused pain
01:17:49to my family,
01:17:51but nothing
01:17:52I could do
01:17:53about it now.
01:17:54It was done.
01:18:00Just a wee look
01:18:01in our way.
01:18:03Don't light up
01:18:03if you can't see me.
01:18:06It's a bit wide.
01:18:09In 2021,
01:18:12I was diagnosed
01:18:15with bladder cancer.
01:18:16Can you be back?
01:18:17Yes, you're right.
01:18:20Do you have any problems?
01:18:22No, whatsoever.
01:18:23No?
01:18:24If it got clear
01:18:26that I had five years
01:18:27was the normal
01:18:29survival rate.
01:18:39I'm coming
01:18:40to the end
01:18:41of my days anyway.
01:18:50Time runs out.
01:18:56My ball's got to
01:18:57stop in a number
01:18:58at some time
01:18:59and that'll be it.
01:19:05And it's just
01:19:05a fact of life,
01:19:06isn't it?
01:19:07And death.
01:19:08is it?
01:19:21If...
01:19:21the cancer diagnosis,
01:19:26some people might say
01:19:27after everything
01:19:27that you've done
01:19:28in your life,
01:19:30that that's something
01:19:30that you deserve.
01:19:32It is what it is
01:19:34and I've got to
01:19:36live with it
01:19:36or die with it.
01:19:38I don't give a fuck.
01:19:39getting old sucks.
01:19:48in my mind,
01:20:08I'm 35,
01:20:09but my body knows
01:20:10I'm 83.
01:20:11I don't have much of a
01:20:14earning capability
01:20:16at the moment.
01:20:17I rely on gambling
01:20:19to an extent.
01:20:23You know,
01:20:23money goes
01:20:24if you don't invest it.
01:20:25And I did invest some,
01:20:26but those investments
01:20:28were bad investments.
01:20:30Consequently,
01:20:31we don't live as well
01:20:32as we'd like to.
01:20:34I'd find it very difficult
01:20:40living a quiet,
01:20:43retired life.
01:20:45Not a domesticated animal.
01:20:50Mowing the bloody lawns
01:20:51and trimming bushes here.
01:20:56If you could, Dave,
01:20:58would you try
01:20:58and get back in the game?
01:21:01Absolutely, yeah.
01:21:02still open for business.
01:21:05But the game's changed a bit
01:21:07and I'd have to
01:21:08obviously change with it
01:21:09and health limitations,
01:21:11age is also
01:21:13going to be a problem,
01:21:15but I wouldn't expect
01:21:16to be on the front line,
01:21:18but I've got a role
01:21:20to play, I know.
01:21:21when Ukraine came up,
01:21:36I had a couple of friends
01:21:38went out there
01:21:38and I wanted to go as well.
01:21:40I mean, the money wasn't good,
01:21:42but it was back
01:21:43in the action again,
01:21:44or at least in a war zone
01:21:46where there's some adrenaline flowing.
01:21:48but my mind says
01:21:51you can go
01:21:52and my body says
01:21:54you can't.
01:22:04I've gambled all my life
01:22:05with my liberty,
01:22:07with my life
01:22:08and with my money.
01:22:10That's my life.
01:22:13One big gamble.
01:22:14This is what it's all about.
01:22:21I got away with everything for years,
01:22:33but the wheels fell off
01:22:34in Miami.
01:22:40I'm very bitter
01:22:41about that period.
01:22:44It sounds like,
01:22:44to be honest,
01:22:45like you got what you deserved.
01:22:47Yes, I did get what I deserved,
01:22:49if you look at it
01:22:50from a moral aspect.
01:22:54Come on then, Mary.
01:22:55Give us a smile.
01:22:56Do you have regrets
01:22:58about what you've put Mary through?
01:22:59I've put her through
01:23:01an awful lot
01:23:02of pain and misery.
01:23:05It's where she's had
01:23:06to fend for herself
01:23:08and try and look after me
01:23:11wherever I may be,
01:23:13you know.
01:23:14Yeah, and I'd like to give my wife
01:23:16something more
01:23:17than I've given her.
01:23:18I can reflect back
01:23:33on specific incidents
01:23:35that I've either partaken in
01:23:38or been an observer of
01:23:41and could feel ashamed about it.
01:23:44I have obviously contributed
01:23:58to the deaths
01:24:00of people perhaps
01:24:07who shouldn't have died,
01:24:09but if you sell weapons,
01:24:12weapons kill.
01:24:13and I'm not ignorant.
01:24:24I don't see the world
01:24:25through rose-tinted glasses.
01:24:28I've got my own moral code
01:24:30that I live by.
01:24:35Fuck off.
01:24:43What's upsetting you?
01:24:47You are.
01:24:49With these questions
01:24:50about emotions,
01:24:52I'm getting fucking angry
01:24:54and that's the biggest emotion
01:24:57that I've got is anger.
01:25:00But we're going to put a stop
01:25:02to all this bollocks.
01:25:03I know what you want to do.
01:25:05You want to portray
01:25:06how repentant I am.
01:25:08I wouldn't swap
01:25:09one day of my fucking life
01:25:11for you or anybody else.
01:25:12I live for me
01:25:14and my family only.
01:25:16That's the end of the story.
01:25:18Done.
01:25:18I love you.
01:25:29Okay.
01:25:31Okay.
01:25:31Okay.
01:25:31Okay.
01:25:33A CIDADE NOVA
01:26:03A CIDADE NOVA
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