Overview
The operation produced no arrests or evidence leading to a criminal prosecution. A prosecution that was eventually brought in connection with the Rettendon Triple Killings was wholly based on police operations subsequent to the abandonment and closure of Operation Century. The tactics deployed by Essex and Royal Ulster Constabulary Special Branch while Operation Century was under way increasingly led to police voicing serious threats against the suspects in question. The operation was also carefully timed to coincide with the 1996 Docklands bombing of Canary Wharf on the evening of 9 February, which marked the ending of the previous mainland Republican bombing campaign cease fire. Any persons involved as witnesses during the triple killings were all successfully entered in to a relocation and witness protection programme. One of the targeted Essex suspects received a call from Belfast within minutes of the Canary Wharf explosion. The Rettendon Triple Murders had absolutely no Irish connection in themselves or with the bombing. Irish affairs were introduced solely by police as part of the underlying leverage for their undercover operation.
Transcripts of these phone calls became available (see later and "sources" footnote) and police eventually had to acknowledge that they were made by Belfast based Special Branch officers. These calls were repeatedly made to the Essex suspects from Ireland by RUC Special Branch posing as Republican drug runners ("Irish Billy" and "Irish John") making it clear that they could rely upon organisational back up, and additionally claiming that they had funded the criminal activities of one of the Rettendon murder victims who they were still demanding repayment from. This ruse failed to result in the suspects agreeing to any meetings.
There was a problem in trying to accurately portray what levels of threat and abuse Essex Police/Special Branch descended to during the course of this operation - the language was extremely foul-mouthed and threatening (and could have been taken by the suspects as amounting to death threats - see "documents" sources link below). It is clear from the Sun newspaper and (Essex Basildon Echo) reports referred to below that this aspect of the police operation was taken very great exception to.
In one such call on 26 February 1996 undercover Special Branch threatened: "I've got (expletive deleted) A levels ... A levels in (expletive deleted) whacking (expletive deleted) people ... "it's time you did (expletive deleted) take these calls seriously ... as far as you're concerned you're (expletive deleted) cease fire's going ... I'll be in touch with you very (expletive deleted) soon ..... I've got a way, see what I (expletive deleted) do ... you watch your (expletive deleted) car".
One of the suspects victimised in this manner was the live-in partner of one of the murdered men by whom she had a young child. She claims to have had no knowledge at the time that these threatening tactics were not being deployed by Belfast-based Republicans and so she sought the assistance of Essex Police who, after appearing to have investigated the matter, informed her that the calls were made from Belfast, there were Republican connections and that the latter had now crossed to mainland Great Britain where they had had since been lost track of by police. The effect of these torture tactics upon an already distraught and grieving mother has been deplored.
In addition, an end of Rettendon Murder trial "Operation Century" had been "bizarre and intimidatory" for having "bombarded (victims name deleted) with death threat calls from Northern Ireland claiming they were owed money by one of the Rettendon victims".
Details concerning this undercover police operation came to light when persons were subsequently brought to trial towards the end of 1997 in connection with the Rettendon killings. Dated/timed tape recordings of the threatening police phone calls, recorded by one of the Operation Century "suspects" were produced in evidence by defence counsel and were played in court. They showed that the undercover police calls were increasingly threatening as Operation Century unraveled because the suspects disbelieved that Belfast Republicans had ever funded Essex criminal enterprises and so did not conform as the undercover officers had hoped.
The highly controversial nature of this Operation occasioned journalists to take matters up with the senior officer (Detective Superintendent Ivan Dibley) who deployed and developed it. As a result it came to light that it had been considered an appropriate tactic by Dibley because a recent earlier (Metropolitan Police) undercover “honey trap” sting operation (Operation Edzell. 1993/1994) against Colin Stagg in the Rachel Nickell murder case had not actually been described as “illegal” by the Stagg trial judge, Mr Justice Ognall, although he had scathingly dismissed the prosecution because police had used such disgraceful tactics of the grossest kind.
Read more about this topic: Operation Century