Ex-Happy Mondays tour manager held in tough Turkish prison over £80m cocaine haul
A FORMER tour manager for the Happy Mondays is being held in a tough Turkish prison over an £80million cocaine haul.
Anthony Murray, 52, part of the “Madchester” scene, was among 15 suspects detained when sniffer dogs found 228kg of drugs.
It was hidden inside 3,500 bags of fertiliser on board a ship from Colombia — the world’s cocaine capital.
Murray, previously jailed for three years over a huge cannabis deal, was arrested at a port in Istanbul last week.
Turkish police claim he was nicknamed the “doctor” and was in charge of the shipment along with two local men.
Security sources allege he was at the “management level” of the organisation.
Murray is a long-term pal of Shaun Ryder, frontman of the Happy Mondays, who were famed for prolific drug-taking.
Sources said Turkish officers mistakenly thought the alleged drugs gang were called the Happy Mondays after investigating Murray.
He is now believed to be in a prison similar to the one in terrifying 1978 drug-smuggling flick Midnight Express.
The source said: “This is incredibly serious. It was a very thorough investigation.
“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. It’s all very Midnight Express. The Turks take drug offences seriously.
“It’s much stricter than anywhere else in Europe. It’s such a key route in. If he’s found guilty he won’t be coming home any time soon.
“It’s a massive amount of coke — all pure super-strong South American stuff. The plan is usually to ship it in wholesale and then sneak it back in to the UK to sell on.
“But the Turks had a tip-off and knew exactly what they’d find when the vessel docked in port. They acted swiftly.
“When they arrested him, the police thought his drugs gang was called the Happy Mondays — they mistook the group for the gang.”
Murray is one of nine suspects remanded in custody while the others were released under judicial supervision.
Photographs show cops and sniffer dogs standing next to the huge haul of cocaine, seized on September 30.
Murray enjoyed the high life touring in the 1980s and 1990s with the Happy Mondays.
Ryder and dancer Bez were famed for their narcotic intake, including a mammoth crack bender in Barbados recording flop album Yes Please!
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Murray and the band also met Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs at his Brazilian hideaway in 1990.
In 2014 Murray was jailed for three years at Manchester crown court over a 29kg cannabis deal.
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Son Joel, 23, has also been jailed for supplying drugs for the Manchester party scene. Daughter Poppy, 28, got a suspended term as a go-between.
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