US Politics | I was one of the world’s biggest drug smugglers and worked for all the cartels – until my incredible secret was revealed
HARDMAN Guy Stanton was a smuggler who ran his own ship to move consignments of cannabis, cocaine and heroin for some of the world's most ruthless drug cartels. The no-nonsense South Londoner, who wore a £175,000 Rolex watch and designer suits, spent so much money travelling the globe to meet drug barons that American Express gave him its ultra-exclusive credit card. 
Guy Stanton in the early days of his role, with ponytail and shades to look the part 
GettyA warehouse packed with machine guns and packets of cocaine '/ ' 
In an exclusive Sun interview Guy reveals how he was shot at, threatened and had to wear a disguise in a Netherlands court, above, to convict a notorious drug lord As the cartels' go-to shipper he was under scrutiny by UK police and HM Customs and on the radar of law enforcement agencies worldwide. But Guy was not your typical Mr Big. He was an undercover Customs officer working for a secret unit that infiltrated drug gangs at home and abroad to stem the flow of narcotics that threatened to flood Britain. For ten years he went to huge lengths to infiltrate and cultivate some of the most dangerous criminals on the planet, from Turkish London gangs to firms in South America, Mexico, Afghanistan and Africa. Now he has written the story of his incredible life undercover in The Betrayer, a real-life yarn that reads like a thriller. In an exclusive Sun interview he reveals how he was shot at, threatened and had to wear a disguise in a Netherlands court to convict a notorious drug lord. Now 65, Guy says: "Our unit, Beta Projects, was set up by HM Customs and Excise to target the biggest illicit drug smugglers in the world. Warehouse full of money "You won't find references to it in newspaper archives or online because almost no one knew we existed. "Throughout my decade undercover, even my mum, dad and siblings thought I worked in a quiet customs policy office." Most read in The US Sun REVENGE! Khloe shows off thin figure in thong bathing suit as Tristan parties with models KIMYE BACK ON? Kim Kardashian drops Instagram clue she's back together with ex Kanye West GUNNED DOWN Mom, dad and six-year-old girl are shot dead in horror attack at campground KIM-LOVE Pete's 'real' feelings for Kim revealed by body language & it's embarrassing BAD TASTE I'm an interior designer – the tacky decor touches you'll NEVER find in my house HAIR RAISER! Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo is unrecognizable in MAJOR transformation The unit trained a small, hand-picked group of men and women to enter the underworld and bring back intelligence. They were embedded with the gangs for as long as it took, and could be away from friends and loved ones for years. Those selected were given "legends", fake identities, offices, homes, vehicles and documents. There was Keef, a VAT investigator who posed as a money launderer. Ex-Special Forces soldier Big Pete ran the unit's boats, including a trawler and yachts, while Charlton was an HGV driver, hauling drugs all over Europe. Guy was a middleman who "owned" a fleet of boats to transport narcotics and could also move containers filled with drugs from ports and airports. He says: "My character Stanton was nasty, rude and arrogant and could explode at any moment. "I dressed well, never scruffy. My choice of suit was a black collarless number by Hugo Boss, often worn with a black polo shirt. "Prior to a meet, my wife Jo, who also worked for HM Customs, would lay out all my kit for me and always check the pockets. "The worst terror for a UC — an UnderCover investigator — was being caught with documents or identification. You're never going to talk your way out of that. "I drove a black E500 Mercedes Sport on Netherlands plates, a real beast that had been seized by Dutch customs and loaned to us. "I switched between two gold Rolex watches that had been confiscated on other investigations. One was £175,000-worth of solid block sapphire and 18-carat gold, with square diamonds all around, apparently one of only five made. The other was worth £75,000, with a black onyx face set with pavé diamonds. "Criminals never fail to be impressed by a good 'kettle'. The top men always looked at your watch and your shoes. If your footwear is scruffy they will dismiss you as a cheap clown." Guy's first mission was to infiltrate gangs of Turks, Kurds and Cypriots importing vast quantities of heroin from Afghanistan into the UK. His handlers teamed him up with one of their best informants, a ruthless Greek Cypriot casino owner nicknamed Keravnos — Thunderbolt. In North London he was a long-standing godfather, a survivor of four assassination attempts and suspected of major crimes. But the intelligence he gave to Customs investigators led to the seizure of hundreds of kilos of drugs and many smugglers being caught. Guy says: "He was an out-and-out rogue but choirboys don't make good informants. ...He'd worked for one of the world's biggest cocaine smugglers and had been at war with the Krays." Through Keravnos, Guy began working with drug barons worldwide, including Colombian master criminal Pablo Escobar's cousin Vittorio, who blindfolded Guy and took him to a warehouse in South America filled floor to ceiling with paper money. Guy says: "The cartel had no idea how much was there and they wanted me to get the money into the banking system for them. "When I walked around the warehouse, millions of dollars had turned to green mush due to a leak in the roof. ...In the end that meeting cemented our friendship. He turned out to be a likeable guy." The Colombian accepted a gift of a satellite phone so he could keep in touch with Guy and those calls were an intelligence goldmine that led to the seizure of a large shipment of cocaine hidden in a cargo of fruit pulp on a ship in Belem, Brazil. But the tip-off was never traced back to Guy, who knew that while Vittorio was very pleasant, he would hurt you if needed. The most violent team Guy helped to bring down was led by William, a 35-year-old hood from Surinam, in South America, who wanted Guy to ship vast amounts of high-grade cocaine from Belem to Holland. For their first meeting, Guy booked a posh hotel suite in London's West End and ordered two £250 bottles of Dom Perignon champagne. His head exploded When William wanted to take the bottles to dinner, rather than leave them, Guy called him a cheapskate. He says: "He got the message. I was a man who could sip expensive wine then chuck the bottle without a second thought. "But William was a murderous individual. He would not have hesitated to kill you." It was on this job that Guy faced the most dangerous moment of his career. He had flown to the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao and agreed to meet William's team in daylight in a wasteground car park to flesh out the details of the deal to ship up to 750 kilos of cocaine. Guy says: "Five of us talked out in the open. ...They were calm and businesslike. As we talked, a beaten-up, beige Oldsmobile slowed and cruised towards us. ...The front passenger was staring hard at us. I saw his Uzi submachine gun. He raised it and let rip. I dived down and my face hit the ground. "Bullets punched the tarmac and slammed into cars. I heard the shouts and groans of injured men. "A police car flew into view and rear-ended the Olds with a crunch. The Uzi man stopped firing and turned with a look of shock. ...Then his head exploded in a haze of red. "My great fear had been that it would end like this, far from my home and family, the truth of my parallel life dying with me." Guy's handlers booked him on the first flight out but the information he provided meant the shipment was seized. William and seven of his team stood trial at The Hague in Holland, where Guy gave evidence wearing a wig, false teeth, make-up and a badly-fitting suit. The court president asked William if he saw an undercover British officer in court. When the president pointed to Guy and said: "That's him there," William said: "No, it isn't, I'd recognise him." Guy said: "They must have done a good job with the make-up. There was a priceless moment when the court adjourned for lunch. ...I had to stay in the room, while the gang were manacled. "William banged on his screen and made the throat-slitting gesture at me. I responded by miming a man hanging from a noose. "He went berserk and the guards had to quieten him. They all got long sentences." Guy, who received an MBE for his services to Customs and Excise, escaped with his life when he narrowly avoided a trap set for him while arranging a deal in Kenya, East Africa, to ship the highest-quality heroin he had ever seen. He says: "If I am truthful to myself I was undercover too long. ...Thankfully, my handler suspected I was in real danger and refused to allow me to go into a meeting where I'm sure now I would have been murdered." But ten years undercover took its toll. He suffered from leukaemia and he was wrongly accused by the police of taking bribes from his underworld contact Keravnos. After two years the investigation was dropped because there was no evidence. Read More on The Sun 
BUMPING ALONG I'm pregnant my bump is so big people say I must have a grown man inside 
KID YOU NOT Man asks parents to 'control their kids' on a flight - and people are divided Guy says: "I was proud of being a deep uncover operative but Stanton became too notorious and he had to die. ...Now at last his incredible story can be told." The Betrayer, by Guy Stanton with Peter Walsh, (Milo Books) is out next week, £8.99. 
GettyA drug dealer examines the quality of a class A drug before it is sent off on its journey around the globe '/ ' 
Guy, a no-nonsense Londoner, spent so much money travelling the globe to meet drug barons that American Express gave him its ultra-exclusive credit cardAlamy
Guy Stanton in the early days of his role, with ponytail and shades to look the part GettyA warehouse packed with machine guns and packets of cocaine '/ ' In an exclusive Sun interview Guy reveals how he was shot at, threatened and had to wear a disguise in a Netherlands court, above, to convict a notorious drug lord As the cartels' go-to shipper he was under scrutiny by UK police and HM Customs and on the radar of law enforcement agencies worldwide. But Guy was not your typical Mr Big. He was an undercover Customs officer working for a secret unit that infiltrated drug gangs at home and abroad to stem the flow of narcotics that threatened to flood Britain. For ten years he went to huge lengths to infiltrate and cultivate some of the most dangerous criminals on the planet, from Turkish London gangs to firms in South America, Mexico, Afghanistan and Africa. Now he has written the story of his incredible life undercover in The Betrayer, a real-life yarn that reads like a thriller. In an exclusive Sun interview he reveals how he was shot at, threatened and had to wear a disguise in a Netherlands court to convict a notorious drug lord. Now 65, Guy says: "Our unit, Beta Projects, was set up by HM Customs and Excise to target the biggest illicit drug smugglers in the world. Warehouse full of money "You won't find references to it in newspaper archives or online because almost no one knew we existed. "Throughout my decade undercover, even my mum, dad and siblings thought I worked in a quiet customs policy office." Most read in The US Sun REVENGE! Khloe shows off thin figure in thong bathing suit as Tristan parties with models KIMYE BACK ON? Kim Kardashian drops Instagram clue she's back together with ex Kanye West GUNNED DOWN Mom, dad and six-year-old girl are shot dead in horror attack at campground KIM-LOVE Pete's 'real' feelings for Kim revealed by body language & it's embarrassing BAD TASTE I'm an interior designer – the tacky decor touches you'll NEVER find in my house HAIR RAISER! Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo is unrecognizable in MAJOR transformation The unit trained a small, hand-picked group of men and women to enter the underworld and bring back intelligence. They were embedded with the gangs for as long as it took, and could be away from friends and loved ones for years. Those selected were given "legends", fake identities, offices, homes, vehicles and documents. There was Keef, a VAT investigator who posed as a money launderer. Ex-Special Forces soldier Big Pete ran the unit's boats, including a trawler and yachts, while Charlton was an HGV driver, hauling drugs all over Europe. Guy was a middleman who "owned" a fleet of boats to transport narcotics and could also move containers filled with drugs from ports and airports. He says: "My character Stanton was nasty, rude and arrogant and could explode at any moment. "I dressed well, never scruffy. My choice of suit was a black collarless number by Hugo Boss, often worn with a black polo shirt. "Prior to a meet, my wife Jo, who also worked for HM Customs, would lay out all my kit for me and always check the pockets. "The worst terror for a UC — an UnderCover investigator — was being caught with documents or identification. You're never going to talk your way out of that. "I drove a black E500 Mercedes Sport on Netherlands plates, a real beast that had been seized by Dutch customs and loaned to us. "I switched between two gold Rolex watches that had been confiscated on other investigations. One was £175,000-worth of solid block sapphire and 18-carat gold, with square diamonds all around, apparently one of only five made. The other was worth £75,000, with a black onyx face set with pavé diamonds. "Criminals never fail to be impressed by a good 'kettle'. The top men always looked at your watch and your shoes. If your footwear is scruffy they will dismiss you as a cheap clown." Guy's first mission was to infiltrate gangs of Turks, Kurds and Cypriots importing vast quantities of heroin from Afghanistan into the UK. His handlers teamed him up with one of their best informants, a ruthless Greek Cypriot casino owner nicknamed Keravnos — Thunderbolt. In North London he was a long-standing godfather, a survivor of four assassination attempts and suspected of major crimes. But the intelligence he gave to Customs investigators led to the seizure of hundreds of kilos of drugs and many smugglers being caught. Guy says: "He was an out-and-out rogue but choirboys don't make good informants. ...He'd worked for one of the world's biggest cocaine smugglers and had been at war with the Krays." Through Keravnos, Guy began working with drug barons worldwide, including Colombian master criminal Pablo Escobar's cousin Vittorio, who blindfolded Guy and took him to a warehouse in South America filled floor to ceiling with paper money. Guy says: "The cartel had no idea how much was there and they wanted me to get the money into the banking system for them. "When I walked around the warehouse, millions of dollars had turned to green mush due to a leak in the roof. ...In the end that meeting cemented our friendship. He turned out to be a likeable guy." The Colombian accepted a gift of a satellite phone so he could keep in touch with Guy and those calls were an intelligence goldmine that led to the seizure of a large shipment of cocaine hidden in a cargo of fruit pulp on a ship in Belem, Brazil. But the tip-off was never traced back to Guy, who knew that while Vittorio was very pleasant, he would hurt you if needed. The most violent team Guy helped to bring down was led by William, a 35-year-old hood from Surinam, in South America, who wanted Guy to ship vast amounts of high-grade cocaine from Belem to Holland. For their first meeting, Guy booked a posh hotel suite in London's West End and ordered two £250 bottles of Dom Perignon champagne. His head exploded When William wanted to take the bottles to dinner, rather than leave them, Guy called him a cheapskate. He says: "He got the message. I was a man who could sip expensive wine then chuck the bottle without a second thought. "But William was a murderous individual. He would not have hesitated to kill you." It was on this job that Guy faced the most dangerous moment of his career. He had flown to the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao and agreed to meet William's team in daylight in a wasteground car park to flesh out the details of the deal to ship up to 750 kilos of cocaine. Guy says: "Five of us talked out in the open. ...They were calm and businesslike. As we talked, a beaten-up, beige Oldsmobile slowed and cruised towards us. ...The front passenger was staring hard at us. I saw his Uzi submachine gun. He raised it and let rip. I dived down and my face hit the ground. "Bullets punched the tarmac and slammed into cars. I heard the shouts and groans of injured men. "A police car flew into view and rear-ended the Olds with a crunch. The Uzi man stopped firing and turned with a look of shock. ...Then his head exploded in a haze of red. "My great fear had been that it would end like this, far from my home and family, the truth of my parallel life dying with me." Guy's handlers booked him on the first flight out but the information he provided meant the shipment was seized. William and seven of his team stood trial at The Hague in Holland, where Guy gave evidence wearing a wig, false teeth, make-up and a badly-fitting suit. The court president asked William if he saw an undercover British officer in court. When the president pointed to Guy and said: "That's him there," William said: "No, it isn't, I'd recognise him." Guy said: "They must have done a good job with the make-up. There was a priceless moment when the court adjourned for lunch. ...I had to stay in the room, while the gang were manacled. "William banged on his screen and made the throat-slitting gesture at me. I responded by miming a man hanging from a noose. "He went berserk and the guards had to quieten him. They all got long sentences." Guy, who received an MBE for his services to Customs and Excise, escaped with his life when he narrowly avoided a trap set for him while arranging a deal in Kenya, East Africa, to ship the highest-quality heroin he had ever seen. He says: "If I am truthful to myself I was undercover too long. ...Thankfully, my handler suspected I was in real danger and refused to allow me to go into a meeting where I'm sure now I would have been murdered." But ten years undercover took its toll. He suffered from leukaemia and he was wrongly accused by the police of taking bribes from his underworld contact Keravnos. After two years the investigation was dropped because there was no evidence. Read More on The Sun BUMPING ALONG I'm pregnant my bump is so big people say I must have a grown man inside KID YOU NOT Man asks parents to 'control their kids' on a flight - and people are divided Guy says: "I was proud of being a deep uncover operative but Stanton became too notorious and he had to die. ...Now at last his incredible story can be told." The Betrayer, by Guy Stanton with Peter Walsh, (Milo Books) is out next week, £8.99. GettyA drug dealer examines the quality of a class A drug before it is sent off on its journey around the globe '/ ' Guy, a no-nonsense Londoner, spent so much money travelling the globe to meet drug barons that American Express gave him its ultra-exclusive credit cardAlamy
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