Undercover hero

Brave cop spent SIX years fighting deadly war on crime

By Lewis Panther & Carl Fellstrom

ONE of the country's top undercover cops has revealed the sensational inside story of the secret war being waged to crush the thugs and gangsters terrorising Britain.

Millions of TV fans thrill to the gut-wrenching exploits of James Nesbitt in hit drama Murphy's Law—but courageous detective Garry Rogers is the real thing.

He spent a gruelling six years in the shadowy world of undercover operations. Time and again he put his life on the line to collar an awesome gallery of violent, desperate villains. His riveting record reveals how he:

NAILED a vicious killer by posing as a murderer and joining his gipsy clan,

SMASHED a hardnut gang of ram-raiders by convincing them he was a flash, Maserati-driving spiv,

BUSTED an evil drugs empire by setting up a wine bar to lure them in,

FINGERED over 50 football hooligans by masquerading as a skinhead, complete with earring, and FOILED a massive heroin deal by laughing off a deadly challenge from a shotgun-toting mobster.

Racketeer

Garry, 46, who has just retired from the Greater Manchester force with the Queen's Police Medal after 30 years in the job, is writing a book of his exploits and proudly admitted: "I enjoyed fooling villains. It gave me a buzz."

Garry's scariest moment came when he found himself staring down the barrel of a pump-action shotgun wielded by 25-stone drugs gangster Michael Carpenter.

They were in a scrapyard awaiting a shipment of heroin and 600,000 ecstasy tablets from Spain.

Garry had spent weeks convincing Carpenter's mob that he too was a racketeer. Now they were about to do business—with a secret radio mike sending damning evidence to a recorder in Garry's nearby car.

But when the drug delivery was delayed Carpenter got wary, aimed his weapon and snarled: "I'm gonna shoot you if you're a cop!"

As the crook's sidekicks scanned the area with binoculars, Garry knew he was completely on his own and had to bluff for his life. With the tension mounting he stayed ice-cool—until the pot-bellied gunman let out a snort of approval and backed off. "You have to blank out nerves when people threaten you like that," recalled Garry.

"If you thought about all the times you could end up dead you'd never go out on the job."

And that sting—which involved setting himself up as an ex-armed robber in Cornwall who commuted back to Manchester for drug deals—paid off. Carpenter landed four years and main target Arthur Donnelly—part of an infamous crime family—got eight.

Garry's cover was so convincing on another occasion that he was "taken down" by fellow officers on the final drugs raid—and ended up behind bars with a broken cheekbone and tooth missing!

The operation involved him opening up a trendy city wine bar as a lure. "I'd been introduced to this gang of convicted drug dealers who hadn't been out long," said Garry. "They were so suspicious that the first test purchase at their house was touch and go. But once I got them into the bar with me they were only too pleased to tell me how I could shift the stuff through the place, giving me their expert knowledge.

"They were also going to return with another four kilos of pure amphetamine, and it was all on camera.

"On my signal our officers rushed in and I legged it. But all of a sudden I've got four or five coppers jumping me. I had to go to the cells and keep up the pretence until the others had been questioned and charged."

Yobs

Garry's elite Omega undercover team was set up to tackle soccer yobs. "We'd mix with fans, pick up whispers, target ringleaders and tip off officers when we knew something was going to kick off," he told us.

This was when Garry and his crew honed their undercover skills—building up false identities, disguising themselves, creating a pool of safe addresses and untraceable cars.

"Once while infiltrating the football hooligans I was posing as an armed robber," said Garry. "We were entertaining a bunch of Spurs louts out on the lash in Manchester when one of them upset local yobs who said, ‘You're on our patch—you better get out!' I'm supposed to be this armed robber so I can't let them get away with it or my credibility's gone.

"With the others behind me I faced up the locals and said, ‘Look, we're not f***ing moving! And if you know what's good for you you'll shut it and leave us be!'

"They took one look, realised we were a bit tasty and just backed off."

Garry said setting up the stings was the hard part.

"One gang we targeted was involved in ram raids and nicking top-of-the-range cars," he said.

"To grab their attention I got a gold Maserati and started going to the gym they used, parking the car right outside as bait. Using the name Quinn I began selling audio stuff and clothes, acting like a fence for stolen gear, and soon I was in with them.

"When they rammed a motorcycle shop and stole helmets and leathers I sprang the trap, using an estate car with a hidden camera in the back. As the raiders loaded up for me I got a snap of each of them!"

Garry's most chilling role came after a man was found dead in the street, stabbed through the head with a screwdriver.

Top suspect was gipsy Michael Ryan. Garry and a colleague were ordered to infiltrate his community. "I posed as an armed robber who'd killed but got away with it," said Garry. "Ryan accepted me after I told him my ‘guilty secret'.

Angel

"He'd sometimes say ‘I can see the Angel of Death over you, Garry.' Then he said he saw it over himself—and confessed. He went down for manslaughter."

But despite rap sheet successes and commendations, the strain of Garry's double life, and what he sees as lack of support by some senior officers, hit him hard.

He is now being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder and is suing the Manchester force.

"At times I risked my life and my marriage to nick the bad guys," he said. "And I'm inevitably a changed man. It's taken a huge toll on me and my family."