Top West Midlands cop planned cruise ship drug money murder

Feb 8 2010 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

POLICE investigating the murder of property developer Thomas Bennett have boarded a luxury liner and arrested eight people.

They are probing links with an international money laundering ring using world cruise passengers to carry cash to drug cartels in the Far East.

Leading the team is Detective Chief Inspector Terry Brown, 58, formerly of the West Midlands Police Drug Squad.

And he knows more than he is letting on – because he PLANNED the murder down to the last detail.

Because Terry has gone from catching criminals to making a killing.

The former top cop from Solihull, who spent two years as an Aston Villa right back, now runs murder mysteries and advises TV cop shows such as David Jason’s Touch Of Frost.

He has just returned from a world cruise on P&O ship Arcadia, where he challenged passengers to crack the Bennett case as they sailed from Southampton to Mexican playground Acapulco, en route to San Francisco.

Using video evidence, forensic findings, pathology reports and interviewing suspects, they turned ‘tec.

Born and bred in Solihull to parents who worked at the old Rover plant in Lode Lane, Terry joined Birmingham City Police in 1970, moving up through the ranks as the force became part of West Midlands Police.

Leaving Lyndon School with no qualifications at the age of 15, he landed up at Acocks Green Police Station as a rookie, moving up to Detective Constable investigating a murder.