Stalkers may pay for expert investigators

If a client asks a private investigator to trace someone, might it be for stalking purposes?

Peter Heims reports.

Revenge Attack on Nigeria’s most wanted

In July 1984, acting on a tip-off Essex Police went to Stansted Airport where they found Alhaji Umaru Dikko in a Nigerian Airways Boeing 707 shoved in a packing case en-route by air to Nigeria. There were rumours that he had been abducted by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service or the Nigerian security organisation. Both denied it.

Mr Dikko, a former transport minister in the Nigerian Government, earlier in the year had escaped from Nigeria after a coup. He was considered Nigeria’s ‘most wanted man’ and was known as ‘Mr Corruption’.

Four persons (two were Israelis), mercenaries and bounty hunters, were arrested and went on trial. Each received prison sentences varying from 10-14 years, and it was recommended at the trial that all four men be deported. This did not however happen because Reg Kray, in his book Way of Life, published by Sedgewick & Jackson, tells how he met the two Israelis in Parkhurst Prison.

Chelsea firm

This attempt at kidnap as one would imagine created a lot of press reporting. However only one newspaper, The Independent, discovered the fact that private investigators had been instructed to find out where Mr Dikko was living: in Porchester Terrace, west London. The American sources say he hired a New York security firm who then contracted out the job to a firm of private detectives in Chelsea, who in the past had worked closely with the South African security police. It was as a direct result of their report that the abductors knew exactly where to kidnap Mr Dikko.

I was able from this information to realise who this private investigator, John Fairer-Smith (now deceased) of Argen Investigations, Chelsea, was, and purely by co-incidence regarding another matter, I had lunch with him some months later. He admitted that he had been completely conned by his client X (who he would not name) into believing that he had been hired to locate the private address of Mr Dikko for legitimate purposes, and to report on his movements. He pointed out that there but for the grace of God went I and any other private investigator. The caution was heeded by myself and all future investigations received by my company are vetted before they are accepted.

Jill Dando

In April 1999 Jill Dando, the television presenter, was murdered. In 2001 Barry George was convicted of murdering Dando. Police had been advised by I-CD Publishing UK that their UK Infodisk program had been accessed by someone looking for Jill Dando’s private address.

The incident made it very clear to the members of the Association of British Investigators (ABI) that they could unsuspectingly accept instructions from a stalker to trace his or her victim. Bearing this in mind the point was raised at the Annual General Meeting in 2000 of the association putting forward the following three points to be debated:

• To stop accepting instructions from the public and only accept them from solicitors and commercial concerns.
• To ask prospective clients why he or she needs that person traced and if the investigator is not satisfied with the reply then that member is asked not to act for that prospective client.
• To advise the prospective client that if and when the person is traced, the investigator will approach that person and ask for permission to pass his or her name to the investigator’s named client, so that no crime might be committed. Practice however shows that this may not always be practical, when tracing a debtor.

Care

Due to the shortage of time there was little discussion, but the general consensus of opinion was that we should exercise a great deal of care in accepting such instructions particularly via the internet. It was felt that wherever possible the prospective client should actually be interviewed. This discussion was reported in the Sunday Telegraph on April 23, 2000.

Imagine my surprise when some 12 days later I received the following e-mail from Clara of Canada. I have deleted the name of the English TV actor she was interested in; however he is well known.

I would like to locate British actor xxxxx. I know he lives in England or Ireland, I’m not sure. I know his date of birth, marital status and how many children he has as well as their names. What I would like is to have his private phone number, at home and a cellular number (if he has one) or a number that belongs to him only (you have to understand he’s married so I want to be discreet). Basically a way to contact him private. You have to understand that my intentions are not to destroy Mr X’s marriage but to secretly get in touch with him without his wife knowing anything. I am deeply attracted to him since many years now and for me to get in touch with him is extremely important. I would like to know how much it would cost me for you to help me locate Mr X, and believe me the money is not a problem as I am a woman of instinct and I am just following my heart. I sincerely have trust in you and I believe you are a very discreet man, and you can help me with this matter.

Precautions

My reply to her.

Yes, we can assist you, but have to take precautions that you are not a stalker. My condition of accepting this assignment would be to ask Mr X if I can pass his phone number etc on to you. If he agrees I will; if he does not, then I will not report to you.

And would you belive I received no reply!

Mt next decision was whether I should take any further action and I was in a quandary as to what to do. Should I report it to the British police, the Canadian police, and indeed should I advise Mr X of Clara’s interest in him? I eventually decided that I would report the matter to the Metropolitan Police at New Scotland Yard. As a result I received a letter from DCS John McDowall, OCU Commander of SO10/11 Branch, Criminal Intelligence Branch, who wrote as follows:

Dear Mr Heims, I write in response to your letter and attachment of May 2, 2000 which has been passed to me by the Deputy Commissioner’s Office. Thank you for referring the issue to the Metropolitan Police Service, I appreciate the position which you are trying to adopt among your member investigators. I think the approach you have adopted is entirely sensible and can only add to the integrity of your membership. The fact that there has been no response to your approach in this case speaks volumes.

I have had occasion to write to SO10/11 on two other cases. I do not know how many other members of my association have made similar reports. What would you have done if you had been in the same position?

PI advice

Where practical arrange to see a client face to face before accepting the job.

You need to be very sure of your ground before tracing people, and not just because you could be putting the target in danger by passing on their details; the scenario can work both ways. For instance, if court injunctions have to be served at short notice, are the details correct? A person given an injunction in error at night may be annoyed.

This article has been reproduced from Professional Security, March 2006.

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Peter Heims