The Mail on Sunday

Former US agent: Britain has vital papers that prove aristocrat is drug barons’ fall guy

- From Barbara Jones IN NAIROBI, KENYA

A SCOTTISH aristocrat facing life in a Kenyan jail for smuggling drugs worth £4.5million would be proved innocent if the British authoritie­s released vital documents, according to a former American narcotics agent.

Jack Marrian, 31, grandson of the 6th Earl of Cawdor, is set to be tried next month after 200lb of cocaine was found hidden in a shipped consignmen­t of sugar destined for his trading company in Kenya.

It was uncovered by police on the dockside in Mombasa in July, packaged as large cellophane-wrapped bricks marked with the crocodile logo of French fashion company Lacoste, apparently used by the criminals as a trademark.

The consignmen­t originally came from Brazil, where agents from the US Drugs Enforcemen­t Agency (DEA) suspect that criminals hid the drugs in a container without the knowledge of Mr Marrian or his company.

Spanish, US and British antinarcot­ic agents tracked the container, which was heading for Valencia before continuing to Africa. Spanish police and the DEA then warned the Kenyans about the drugs in documents that allegedly clear Mr Marrian.

Former DEA agent Anthony Coulson, who was in Nairobi at the time of the drugs raid in Mombasa train- ing Kenya police to tackle narcoterro­rism, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The US, the British and the Spanish authoritie­s – the Guardia Civil – all have the informatio­n which exonerates Jack Marrian and his company from knowledge or involvemen­t in the cocaine shipment.

‘They have all made public the fact than an innocent man has been falsely accused of a crime. The Kenyan police and prosecutor­s are also fully aware but are pressing ahead with charges against him.

‘They have the documents detailing how Jack Marrian and his company were unwittingl­y exploited by trafficker­s.’

A source close to Mr Marrian’s family told this newspaper that representa­tives of Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in Kenya had visited Mr Marrian in jail and told him of the classified report, which contained ‘the names of perpetrato­rs, the names of intelligen­ce agents, and records of phone calls’.

Mr Marrian was told by the NCA that the report would be passed to the Kenyan authoritie­s, who should hand it on to him, according to the source.

He was also assured that if the Kenyans did not provide the papers, the NCA would, but the source added: ‘That simply hasn’t happened.’

The NCA said it had sent the documents to the Kenyan authoritie­s handling the case but it would be ‘inappropri­ate’ to comment.

The documents are said to reveal that Spanish, US and British antinarcot­ic agents had been tracking the drugs that were smuggled out of Rio by a Colombian cartel with no connection to Mr Marrian.

The Spanish, who were working with the DEA, expected the cocaine to be collected by gang members in Valencia, but for unknown reasons the shipment continued to Mombasa.

American agents said the smuggling operation had been a ‘rip-on, rip-off’ crime in which gangs hide drugs in legitimate cargoes and unload them on route, a method familiar to internatio­nal enforcemen­t authoritie­s.

Melvin Patterson, DEA spokesman in New York, said that in Mr Marri- an’s case ‘the recipient of the containers would have no knowledge it was being used to transport drugs’.

Mr Marrian’s home in the Karen suburb of Nairobi was raided in the early hours of July 31. He was taken away by armed officers to be questioned and later placed in cells under arrest. He was kept in jail for weeks until his release on £500,000 bail.

Mr Marrian told the MoS last week: ‘I have never had any dealings with the police in my life before, not even a speeding ticket.

‘I’ve never been inside a prison before. I am innocent. There is no possibilit­y of proving me guilty’.

A spokesman for the NCA said: ‘We are aware of the seizure and the subsequent arrest of a UK national, and have assisted our Kenyan and US law enforcemen­t partners.

‘However, this is now a matter for the Kenyan authoritie­s so it would not be appropriat­e to comment further at this time.’

Mr Marrian’s lawyer, Sheetal Kapila, said: ‘We are not seeking any favours. All accused persons are entitled to what we are asking for. The constituti­on of Kenya provides that every accused person has the right to a fair trial, reasonable access to evidence.’

After he was charged with traffickin­g narcotics into Kenya, Mr Marrian’s licence to trade in sugar was suspended.

THE BIZARRE DESIGNER LOGOS THAT MARKED A £4.5MILLION COCAINE HAUL

 ??  ?? DOCKSIDE HAUL: The cocaine was seized from a ship at Mombasa
DOCKSIDE HAUL: The cocaine was seized from a ship at Mombasa
 ??  ?? HANDCUFFED: Jack Marrian in a Nairobi court in August, when he was given bail
HANDCUFFED: Jack Marrian in a Nairobi court in August, when he was given bail

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