"That was all a script," a close-cropped Dawes, wearing faded jeans and a long sleeve black and grey T-shirt, told the specially composed court consisting only of judges. "I spoke about airports, shipping ports, like I was involved in something," Dawes said of his meeting with a Colombian associate, Fernando Cepeda. Dawes, from a town outside Nottingham, central England, has a long record of convictions since his teenage years, but has never been found guilty of drug trafficking charges. At the time of his arrest, Spanish police said Dawes "headed up the biggest criminal organisation in Britain and Europe devoted to drug trafficking, money laundering and murder". Asked about one recording in which Dawes discusses a real estate deal in Colombia, he said "it was just chit-chat."

Source: Standard Digital December 19, 2018 08:19 UTC