The former tour manager of the 90s UK band the Happy Mondays was busted in Turkey over a massive $100 million cocaine haul, according to a report.
Anthony Murray, 52, was one of 15 arrested after sniffer dogs found more than 500 pounds of the Class A drug hidden inside bags of fertilizer on a ship arriving from coke-capital Colombia, The Sun said.
Murray — a longterm close friend of Mondays’ singer Shaun Ryder — was nicknamed the “doctor” and is accused of being “management level” in the drug operation, sources told the UK paper.
“This is incredibly serious,” a source told the paper. “It’s a massive amount of coke — all pure super-strong South American stuff.
“When they arrested him, the police thought his drugs gang was called the Happy Mondays — they mistook the group for the gang,” he said of the legendary “Madchester” band known for its drug-heavy lifestyle.
The drugs shipment was seized on Sept. 30 and Murray is one of nine suspects still in custody, the paper said.
“He’s been thrown in a cell in Turkey — the absolute last place you’d want to be. They’re not for the faint-hearted,” the source said, saying the nation takes drug offenses “seriously.”
“If he’s found guilty he won’t be coming home any time soon,” the source said.
Murray — who toured with the “24 Hour Party People” band during the 80s and 90s — was in 2014 sentenced to three years’ prison over a deal involving 64 pounds of cannabis, The Sun said.
His son Joel, 23, has also been jailed for supplying drugs for the notorious Manchester party scene, while his daughter, Poppy, 28, got a suspended term as a go-between, the UK paper said.
The Happy Mondays were a major part in the “Madchester” scene along with The Stone Roses, mixing the rave scene with indie rock.
After huge hits including the album “Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches” they broke up in 1993, re-forming several times for later tours and shows.