Putting my life on the line as an undercover cop
Ex-officer’s incredible story of how he brought villains to justice:
MANCHESTER United hooligans were packed into the Grey Parrot pub in Hulme. The huge, and seemingly well organised ‘firms’ had an infamous reputation.
It was derby day, February 3, 1990, and they would soon be seeking City fans.
As they boozed before kick-off an undercover police unit had them in their sights.
Operation Mars had been set up after Bolton Wanderers thugs had been successfully infiltrated and prosecuted.
Detective Constable Garry Rogers had been selected to become a United hard case by GMP’s then secret Omega Unit.
But one of the targets had a friend who Garry knew from his schooldays. It was too risky to use him in the pack, so Garry got stuck into filming United hooligans on match days.
He was doing just that when they spilt from the Grey Parrot on that day.
“We had two covert officers deployed among the troublemakers. They seemed to be well integrated with the hooligan element, known as The Red Army, along with groups such as The Men in Black. They were drinking with them, getting ready to go down to the ground.” Suddenly the pub emptied.
The thugs started pouring out. At the front was a bloke called Tony O’Neill, who was known as ‘The General,’ and has since written books about his time as a football hooligan.
“They made their way ‘marching’ through estates, and we carried on filming them, but the streets were like a rabbit warren and at times we could not observe them, Garry says.
“Suddenly they all came to a standstill and the shout went up that they had a couple of ‘sweets’ with them – which we later discovered referred to the two undercover officers – and at this point they were attacked. They weren’t happy, and both men got a real good hiding.
“Having been excluded from this operation myself as a undercover officer, due to me knowing one of the targets, it hit me hard that it could have been me in that estate, being attacked.
“I can honestly say it frightened me to death and made me seriously question if this was for me.”
It was a brutal introduction to his new post as one of six full-time undercover officers with Omega, run by an inspiring boss, ‘DCI Henri’ – not his real name – and based on the top floor of the then Prestwich Police Station on Bury New Road.
But Garry didn’t quit, and went on to serve for five years, putting his life on the line as a key member of an elite team who were seen as the last resort when conventional police investigations had failed.
Now the former Salford Grammar School lad has written a book, lifting the lid on his dangerous, and nerveshredding work, which earned him a string of commendations.
After his success with Omega targeting Greater Manchester hooligans, Garry was seconded to Operation Atlas, and in June 1990 flew to Sardinia and the World Cup.
His ‘legend’ – the undercover styling and character he created – hit every stereotype of an England football yob of the era.
He was 17 stone, shaved his head, dressed in an array of shellsuits, and had an earring in each ear.
It meant he was regularly stopped at airports by officials as a menacing looking thug worth checking out.
Garry was in Italy for four weeks until England lost on penalties in the semi-final against West Germany, and Paul Gascoigne’s tears flowed.
He got caught up in running street battles in Rimini between English and Italian fans which triggered brutal intervention by police and saw hundreds of England fans arrested and deported.
“The Carabinieri’s armed riot squads effectively charged the rampaging English fans and due to the mayhem, confusion, and tear gas I became isolated from my group,” he says.
“I did not know where to go for the best as any English fan was fair game for the authorities as by this time they had had enough of the way they continually behaved and this was their attempt at regaining control.
“I just stood against a wall whilst all this was going on around me to gather my thoughts and I saw the lad at the side of me get hit in the face by a rock and he fell to the ground
“I realised I could be next and the Carabinieri were closing in so I just ran and then ended up being attacked by them and forced to lay flat on a garage forecourt where, crazy to say, I then felt safer.
“I’d been arrested, and mistreated by Italian police, simply for being
with the English fan group in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“During that time I witnessed and experienced some of the worst outbreaks of premeditated violence I had ever seen.
“Despite those major, but relatively isolated scenes the operation was deemed to be a significant success.”
Garry received a commendation from the then-Chief Constable James Anderton on his return.
Omega’s success in football prompted GMP to rethink its approach to undercover work and it became the Covert Operations Department.
It meant Garry was sent on a series of high risk operations targeting drug dealers, robbery teams - and a killer.
On New Year’s Day in 1991 Norman David Clarke, aged 63, was found dead in Princess Road, Moss Side.
It was assumed it had suffered a heart attack. But a post-mortem examination revealed a shocking truth.
He had a hole in his ear, through which some kind of weapon had penetrated his brain.
Garry was given the task of infiltrating a violent gang of travellers from Ancoats and Cheetham Hill to try and discover if one of them was responsible for the murder.
This time Gary, posing as a villain, and armed robber, worked with a second undercover cop - ‘Danny’ who posed as his brother.
In an astonishing twist of fate, as they got acquainted with the target and his associates, there was an appeal on BBC’s Crimewatch programme. And the two men whose e-fit images were shown had an uncanny resemblance to the undercover officers.
“It was a very difficult job. We let the target think we were responsible for shooting dead a victim in an armed robbery.
“That gave him an instant bond with us. When we were out and about in pubs he was drawn to us, because like him, we had killed someone.
“He really believed that as murderers we were kindred spirits.”
Eventually the suspect took Garry to a derelict house and showed him where he had burnt his clothes after killing Mr Clarke.
His version was that, drunk, on New Year’s morning he asked Mr Clarke for a light, but he had said ‘f*** off’ and gone to push him.
So he punched him - except he had
He really believed that as murderers we were
kindred spirits
Garry Rogers on forming a bond with one of his criminal targets
a Philips screwdriver in his hand at the time. He claimed self-defence.
The target was later arrested, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, and jailed for six years.
Garry was commended again, by then Chief Constable, David Wilmot, for his ‘tenacity, determination, and courage shown in infiltrating a gang of violent criminals, thereby identifying and arresting a man subsequently convicted of manslaughter.’
In one sting to catch Manchester drug dealers he posed as ‘Garry McAlinden,’ a criminal who was opening a new wine bar under a railway arch near the city’s legendary Hacienda Club.
It worked a treat and the targets were busted. But drugs squad officers who did the arrests had not been told what Garry looked like and grabbed him as he ran off down the street – breaking his jaw.
Meanwhile, to buy crack cocaine from dealers in Liverpool’s Toxteth district he set himself up as a rough and ready landscape gardener.
He drove a shabby old Rover car, which was pulling a caravan ‘held together by cobwebs.’ The caravan was stuffed with gardening tools, and fitted out with cameras. The targets fell for the front and were filmed selling him rocks of crack.
Garry, who joined GMP as a 16-year-old cadet, said: “The ‘Omega’ unit broke down a lot of barriers and secured convictions on operations where ‘normal’ policing failed.
“This type of policing technique is the last tool in the police toolbox and was only used when all other options had been exhausted.”
Garry’s book, written with Keith Potter: ‘Undercover Policing And the Corrupt Secret Society Within’ is due out in October.
In a forthcoming piece the M.E.N. will look at how Garry’s decorated career ended - amid dramatic allegations of a Masonic plot.