Summary
Highlights
Peter grew up in Stroud, UK, in a 'hippy' household where drug use, particularly cannabis, was common from a young age. He recalls passively inhaling smoke as a baby and being accidentally given hash cake at four. His family's financial struggles and his parents' separation led him to live with his mother and her new partner, whose sons introduced Peter to the rave scene and drug dealing. He quickly realised the ease of selling drugs at parties, accessing various substances through his stepbrothers.
Peter escalated his drug dealing, handling large quantities of pills, LSD, and hash. Despite being caught by the police during his sixth form, which resulted in probation and expulsion from college (though he was allowed to sit exams), he continued dealing. At university, seeking financial independence from his student loan, he found a ready market for drugs among frustrated students. He describes the 'addiction' of dealing, driven by adrenaline, challenge, and the financial rewards.
Peter's involvement with cocaine began when a student requested high-quality product. Utilising his stepbrothers' connections, he found a supplier. The scale of his operations quickly grew, leading him to direct contact with individuals importing large quantities from the Medellín cartel. He recognised the increasing risks but continued, driven by the profits.
In May 2000, Peter was arrested while making drops in the Cotswolds. He was driving a van containing a briefcase filled with various drugs. He had been under surveillance as part of a major operation (Operation Dreadnought) targeting his cocaine suppliers, who were connected to a larger network. Despite his previous paranoia, he was shocked. He received a five-year sentence, the highest among his co-defendants, and was subjected to intrusive prison monitoring at Gloucester, then Parkhurst prison.
While in Parkhurst, Peter read an article about cocaine being impregnated into plastic chairs, a method largely undetectable at the time. He saw this as the future of drug trafficking and discussed it with co-defendants. Upon release, despite trying legitimate work, he found himself drawn back to dealing. He contacted his previous associate to explore this new method and was introduced to Colombian and Chilean contacts already using impregnation in tents.
Peter personally trafficked the first tent from Ecuador, containing five kilos of cocaine. He describes the anxiety of verifying the cocaine's presence by tasting the impregnated rubber before flying. At Quito airport, excess baggage fees nearly exposed him, forcing him to discard gifts. During a transit stop in Holland, he was questioned by drug agents but, due to the novelty of the impregnation method, they failed to detect the drugs, convincing Peter of the method's effectiveness.
Peter and his associates began using 'mules' to carry tents, each containing 3-5 kg of pure cocaine. After cutting the purity, each trip generated £250,000-£300,000. Mules were paid £10,000-£12,000 per trip, with all expenses covered. Not a single mule was lost. The plan was to upscale significantly, importing 100 kilos of cocaine by forming legitimate-looking companies. However, this fell apart when his Colombian contact in London was arrested after a police raid on a lab.
The Colombian became an informant, leading to Peter's arrest in Ecuador in September 2005. He and his girlfriend were apprehended at their hotel by masked, machine-gun-wielding officers who knew exactly where the impregnated tent was. Threatened with a 25-year sentence by British police, Peter bribed judges to reduce his sentence to 12 years, hoping to reduce it further and be released quickly. However, he ended up spending nine years and two months in Ecuadorian prisons.
Peter vividly describes the extreme and unpredictable violence in Ecuadorian prisons, contrasting them with British facilities. He witnessed countless killings—electrocutions, stabbings, shootings, decapitations—and endured the constant fear of death. He describes the scent of blood as unforgettable. After five years, he contracted TB, losing significant weight, and became involved in selling drugs and alcohol for the powerful Choneros gang in Guayaquil prison. The prison itself was run by gangs, with guards often outmatched and corrupted. Foreign prisoners were routinely extorted, with families often paying large sums to prevent torture or death.
To survive, Peter made himself 'essential' to the gangs, using his network and experience. He recounts a particularly harrowing incident when a rival gang, the Cubanos, attacked his wing to eliminate the Choneros leadership, including Jorge Luis Zambrano (Rasquiña), with whom Peter was friendly. During the two-hour gun battle, Peter witnessed his friend Gato shot in the face. Bullets and hand grenades flew, with prisoners facing the choice of being burnt out or shot if they didn't open their cells. Peter narrowly survived this encounter.
The escalating violence, particularly against British nationals, and his family's desperation led to his eventual repatriation after nine years and two months. His family paid an £8,000 fine attached to his sentence, a prerequisite for repatriation. Returning to Wandsworth prison felt like a 'holiday camp' compared to Ecuador. Upon his eventual release, he experienced a massive culture shock, disoriented by a world transformed by the internet, Facebook, and WhatsApp. Peter now speaks in schools, warning others away from drug trafficking, believing in destiny but acknowledging the choices that led him down this path.