New photo British version of DEA tells UK story of drugs war in Colombia Tom in Chandler Narco Wars

While everyone knows about the US war on drugs in South America, not everyone is aware that the British were there too.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was formed in the 1970s and fought for decades trying to quash cocaine production in countries like Colombia.

Thousands of American officials were killed at the hands of Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel and his rivals the Cali Cartel.

But very few know that Tom Chandler and his team from HM Customs and Excise were taking the same deadly risks in the name of the drugs war.

Tom Chandler (pictured in front of exploding Colombian cocaine jungle) fought the drugs war in South America for the British alongside the Americans, but few knew they were even there 

Very few people knew that Tom Chandler and his team of other Brits from HM Customs and Excise were taking the same deadly risks as the Americans in the name of the drugs war in Colombia. File image of cocaine seizure in Colombia used 

Mr Chandler, not his real name, grew up in Seaham, County Durham and joined HM Customs and Excise after studying languages in a bid to see the world. But he ended up working as a VAT inspector in Birmingham instead.

His luck changed however, when his bosses offered him the job of drugs liaison officer in Bogota, Colombia in 1994.

Mr Chandler, now in his 60s, led his team to seizing £3billion in illegal drugs - but kept it quiet for fear of bloody reprisals.  

He told The Mirror: 'We were the British equivalent of Narcos. Everyone's heard of the DEA and the US agencies doing their stuff in Colombia.

'They would say after a seizure that it was down to the DEA in Bogota and straight away the bad guys would go looking for the informant.

Thousands of American officials were killed at the hands of Pablo Escobar's (pictured portrayed by Wagner Moura in the Netflix series Narcos) Medellin Cartel and his rivals the Cali Cartel

'We never claimed a single result. No one even knew the Brits were there.

'Our idea was to let others take the credit and keep our heads down. The DEA were looking for glory. This is the first time the British story has been told.' 

Mr Chandler is telling the British story of the war against the King of Cocaine and his successors in his book Narco Wars.

The American equivalent has been sensationalised by the Netflix drama Narcos starring Wagner Moura and Boyd Holbrook.  

Mr Chandler ended up with a network of 50 informants who managed to confiscate 300 tonnes of drugs - one of the highest records for seizures ever.

But with Pablo Escobar responsible for as many as 15,000 killings, until his death at the hands of US police in 1993, the Brits kept their achievements very quiet.

Deadly: a Colombian Army helicopter patrols Bogota with a gun loaded with bullets 

Informants were often killed soon after a US drugs victory was declared, with Mr Chandler forced to watch several of his friends meet the same sad end.

But the UK team continued to focus on intercepting speed boats that jetted large stashes of cocaine from Colombia to Florida - while keeping under the radar.

Tom Chandler is telling the British story of the war against the King of Cocaine and his successors in his book Narco Wars (pictured)

It recently emerged the drugs lord Escobar raped his wife when she was 14 and forced her into an abortion.

In her memoir, Mi Vida y Mi Carcel con Pablo Escobar (My Life and My Jail with Pablo Escobar) due November 15, Victoria Eugenia Henao details how she has come to terms with the fact that she was assaulted by her husband, 25 years after his death. 

News also broke recently of how Escobar's four hippos that he kept outside his mansion in Doradal have bred to become a group of 60 - and may even be sterilised because their numbers are increasing at an uncontrollable rate. 

Mr Chandler adds that the war on drugs has failed, with the Mexican drug lord El Chapo currently on trial in the US for similar operations.

He told the Mirror: 'A lot of [my] friends have died. Was it worth it? No, because we are no better off.' 

The Mexican drug lord El Chapo (pictured flanked by police in January 2017) is on trial in the US for similar operations to Escobar 

 

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News Pictures British version of DEA tells UK story of drugs war in Colombia Tom in Chandler Narco Wars

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