Cannabis smuggler jailed in us for 25 years freed to return home

13 April 1995
The Guardian
Duncan Campbell

Howard Marks, the former Balliol student jailed for 25 years in the United States in 1990 for cannabis smuggling, has been released and has returned to England. His sentence had earlier been reduced to 20 years and at the end of last month he was granted parole. 

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, Informers, IRA, MI6

Spies defect from MI6 (1998)

Spies defect from MI6 for shadowy careers in the City.
Nicholas Rufford
15 November 1998
The Sunday Times
BRITAIN'S spies are coming out of the shadows to make a killing in the City. Former officers of MI6, the overseas intelligence service, have found a more lucrative way to make a living than espionage. They are setting up consultancies to help British companies get the edge over foreign rivals and avoid the hazards of turbulent Third World markets. Oil companies, banks and defence contractors have signed up the new firms which charge a minimum fee of about #10,000 per assignment.

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Hamilton McMillan, Howard Marks, IRA, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, MI6

Jim McCann

Jim McCann

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, IRA, Ireland, Jim McCann, McCann, Northern Ireland

Hamilton McMillan MI6 (1999)

Hamilton McMillan was named by Howard Marks (drug trafficker) as the intelligence officer who recruited him into MI6.

The reason MI6 wanted Howard Marks was due to his known association with James Joseph McCann, the IRA man who was part of Mark's drug smuggling operations into Ireland.

Continue Reading... Labels: British Special Forces, Dennis Howard Marks, Douglas Hogg, Drugs, Hamilton McMillan, Hogg, Howard Marks, IRA, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, McCann, MI5, MI6, Real IRA, Special Branch

James Joseph McCann

Howard Marks - writing about James Joseph McCann aka Jimmy McCann aka Jim "the Fox" McCann

Page 78 onward

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, McCann, MI6

Ireland's cocaine coast (2007)

Ireland's cocaine coast
A recent bust in the 'Irish box' shows drug smugglers are ruling over the Cork shore
Henry McDonald and Mark Townsend
Sunday July 8, 2007

It is known as the 'Irish box' - 7,500 miles of water and coastline stretching from the republic's Atlantic seaboard around to Dublin in the east. Vast expanses of these waters are subject to freak and often rapid weather changes that, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, make them 'nearly impossible to patrol' and an ideal launch pad for drug smugglers to penetrate the lucrative UK market.

Continue Reading... Labels: British Special Forces, Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, MAOC, McCann, MI6, Northern Ireland, Portugal

Marijuana ring - 22 charged (1988)

22 CHARGED IN MARIJUANA RING
26 July 1988
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Twenty-two people were charged Monday with running the biggest Asian-based marijuana ring ever uncovered, an operation that shipped tons of the contraband at a time, federal authorities said.  The man alleged to be the leader of the ring is a British citizen, Dennis Howard Marks, 42, said interim U.S. Attorney Dexter Lehtinen. Previously, Marks was acquitted of drug charges in England after claiming he worked for British counterintelligence. 

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, MI6, Portugal

Hashish Ring Case (1988)

THREE BRITONS ARRESTED IN MAJORCA IN HASHISH RING CASE
26 July 1988
Reuters News

Three Britons suspected of involvement in one of the world's biggest marijuana smuggling rings have been arrested on the Mediterranean island of Majorca after an extradition request by the United States.  Dennis Howard Marks, 43, his wife Judith, 33, and Geoffrey Kenyon, 46, were arrested on Monday and would be held in custody pending the extradition process, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, IRA, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, McCann, MI6, Portugal

Drugs Ring Swoop (1988)

ENGLISH, SPANISH POLICE ARREST SUSPECTS IN DRUGS RING SWOOP
26 July 1988
Reuters News

British police said on Tuesday they arrested four people in connection with one of the world's biggest marijuana smuggling rings whose suspected head once worked for British intelligence.  A police spokesman said the action was related to the arrest of three Britons on Monday by police on Spain's Mediterranean island of Majorca. Among those detained, according to Spanish radio, was Dennis Howard Marks, the ring's alleged leader.

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, MI6

Smuggling Ring Is Broken (1988)

Global Drug-Smuggling Ring Is Broken, U.S. Officials Say; Suspect Called `Marco Polo' of Narcotics
Michael Isikoff
26 July 1988
The Washington Post

U.S. officials yesterday said they had broken up an international narcotics smuggling ring headed by Dennis Howard Marks, a flamboyant trafficker who once beat drug charges in Britain by claiming to be working for British intelligence. Marks, an Oxford-trained physicist, was arrested in Spain yesterday as federal prosecutors in Miami unsealed an indictment charging him and 21 alleged co-conspirators with operating a worldwide ring that smuggled marijuana from Thailand and hashish from Pakistan into the United States and Europe. 

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, IRA, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, MI6, Portugal

Briton - leader of hashish ring (1988)

BRITON IS CALLED LEADER OF HASHISH RING
26 July 1988
The Record

The alleged leader of what police called the world's biggest hashish ring was arrested Monday as part of an international drug sweep that involved U.S., British, and Spanish authorities.  In a midday raid at a seaside mansion on the Mediterranean island of Majorca, police arrested three Britons, including Dennis Howard Marks, the suspected leader of the gang.

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, MI6

22 people charged - 15 tons hashish (1988)

22 people charged and 15 tons of hashish seized in coordinated operation with Spain and UK.
26 July 1988
The Times

Mr Howard Marks, director of Hong Kong Travel International, and IRA man Mr Jimmy McCann ("The Fox") were arrested in Majorca. Mr Marks is believed to be the leader of the biggest drug smuggling ring worldwide, in operation for 18 years. Mr Marks was aquitted seven years ago of smuggling 15 tons of cannabis, when he claimed to be an MI6 agent. The US Drug Enforcement Agency, who coordinated the operation, hope for a trial in the US of all those arrested.

(Note: The British Government later admitted that Marks WAS an informer, recruited by MI6.)

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, Informers, IRA, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, McCann, MI6

Three Britons Arrested (1988)

THREE BRITONS ARRESTED IN MAJORCA IN HASHISH RING CASE
26 July 1988
Reuters News
Three Britons suspected of involvement in one of the world's biggest marijuana smuggling rings have been arrested on the Mediterranean island of Majorca after an extradition request by the United States. Dennis Howard Marks, 43, his wife Judith, 33, and Geoffrey Kenyon, 46, were arrested on Monday and would be held in custody pending the extradition process, a police spokesman said on Tuesday. Marks, alleged leader of the group and described by a U.S. drug enforcement official in Miami as the "Marco Polo of the drug trafficking world ", had arrived in Palma last Thursday from Zurich. He and his wife were arrested at their house in Palma, the island's capital, while Kenyon was detained at the restaurant he runs nearby, the police spokesman said.

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, IRA, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, McCann, MI6, Portugal

Drug Figure Seized (1988)

DRUG FIGURE SEIZED IN MAJORCA RAID
Chronicle Wire Services
26 July 1988
The San Francisco Chronicle
The alleged leader of what police called the world's biggest hashish ring was arrested yesterday as part of an international drug sweep that involved U.S., British and Spanish authorities. In a raid at a seaside mansion on the Spanish island of Majorca, police arrested three Britons, including Dennis Howard Marks, the gang's suspected leader. The arrests followed a weekend raid on a cove and villa along Spain's northeastern Mediterranean coast during which authorities recovered 17 tons of Morocco-grown hashish worth $33 million - the biggest drug seizure in European history, a regional government spokesman. Most of the hashish was destined for sale in Europe, and camouflaged in sacks marked "Coffee from Brazil."

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, MI6

Four Britons Among 22 (1988)

Four Britons Among 22 Arrested In Large Asia-Based Drug Smuggling Ring
26 July 1988
The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) _ One of 22 people charged with running the largest Asian-based marijuana ring ever uncovered appeared in court Tuesday for a hearing to expedite his extradition to the United States.
Nick Jordan, a spokesman for Scotland Yard, the London police force, identified the prisoner as Chi Chueun Lo, a 29-year-old travel agent. Neither Scotland Yard nor the court would give Lo's nationality or the identity of three other men arrested in Britain Monday.

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Howard Marks, IRA, Ireland, James Joseph McCann, Jim McCann, McCann, MI6, Portugal

2 September 1996

NO DOPE - HOWARD MARKS.
2 September 1996
The Guardian
At the height of his career Howard Marks had 43 aliases, 89 phone lines, and crossed customs with countless different passports. He owned 25 companies trading throughout the world - travel agencies, bars, boutiques, massage parlours, carpet shops, and an offshore banking consultancy. All were money-laundering outfits for his main concern: dope dealing.

Continue Reading... Labels: Dennis Howard Marks, Drugs, Hamilton McMillan, Howard Marks, Informers, IRA, Ireland, Littlejohn Brothers, McCann, MI6, Northern Ireland, Real IRA