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    I’m UK’s most notorious football hooligan – but I went from fighting on terraces to bestselling author & cult movie icon

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    A MAN who was once one of the UK’s most notorious football hooligans turned his life around to become a bestselling author and cult movie star.Carlton Leach, 64, built up an infamous reputation for fighting on the terraces at West Ham in the 1980s and ’90s, but now leads a life far away from crime.
    Carlton has left the world of gangs and football hooliganism far behind himCredit: Twitter/Carlton Leach
    Carlton Leach gave up his criminal life in 1995 after his friends were killed in a drug-related shooting
    Leach, who was born in Canning Town, East London, got involved in crime at an early age, after joining the brutal Inter City Firm (ICF), who follow West Ham FC, known as the Hammers.
    The gang got its moniker from using InterCity trains to travel to away matches and start fights with the opposition’s fans.
    The ICF became notorious for leaving a business card on the bodies of those they attacked that read: “Congratulations, you’ve just met the ICF.”
    While he was a part of the gang, Leach met drug dealers Tony Tucker, Craig Rolfe, and Pat Tate.
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    The four men later became members of the notorious Essex Boys gang which sparked a savage drug war in the 1990s.
    Leach was one of Britain’s most feared faces during his 20-year career as a criminal.
    However, he decided to turn his back on a life of crime after three of his best friends and gang mates were murdered in a drug-related shooting.
    Tucker, Rolfe, and Tate were all shot during the 1995 Range Rover shooting.
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    The three drug dealers were shot in their car on a small farm track in Rettendon, Essex.
    Leach started telling his story in the hope it would deter others from following in his criminal footsteps.
    In 2003, he wrote his first autobiography called “Muscle” about his experiences as a criminal.
    The ex-footie thug then wrote his second memoir in 2009, titled, “Rise of the Footsoldier: In My Game, the Choice Is a Jail or a Grave,” which detailed his stories of violence, gang crime, and the loss of his best friend.
    In October 2021, Leach released his final, bestselling autobiography, entitled, Carlton: The Final Say.
    The book details his early and criminal life, as well as the two most recent decades of his life since.
    His first memoir was turned into a film in 2007, entitled, Rise Of The Footsoldier by Bafta-award nominated director Julian Gilbey.
    It starred actor Ricci Harnett, who played Leach.

    The British crime and gangster film grossed £220,868 and had a second part made in 2015, that followed Leach in the aftermath of the Rettendon murders.
    The 64-year-old also inspired the 2015 film, Essex Boys: Law of Survival, which detailed the Essex boys gang and Range Rover murders of 1995.
    Carlton was previously a member of the football hooligan gang InterCity FirmCredit: Exclusivepix Media
    Carlton has penned three books about his lifeCredit: Twitter/Carlton Leach More

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      Ecuador’s leading scorer is arrested and thrown in jail on suspicion of being in murderous drug-trafficking gang

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      ECUADOR’S leading goalscorer has been arrested and thrown in jail on suspicion of belonging to a criminal gang accused of murder and drug-trafficking.Gabriel Cortez, the country’s top marksman so far this season with seven goals in nine games, was held at his home in the early hours on Friday and flown by helicopter to the coastal city of Esmeraldas for a court hearing.
      Gabriel Cortez has been arrested on suspicion of belonging to a criminal gang accused of murder and drug-traffickingCredit: Getty
      The 26-year-old, who plays for Barcelona Sporting Club in Ecuador’s top-flight Serie A league, was languishing behind bars today after being remanded in prison along with 17 other suspects arrested in the police operation.
      Cortez’s lawyer insisted the arrest of his client, who played on Thursday in a 1-0 home defeat against Gualaceo, was “unjust”.
      But Ecuador’s Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo, confirming three serving police officers were also among those held in the operation against a gang called Los Tiguerones, said of the footballer: “We don’t think he just belongs to Los Tiguerones.
      “We also believe he was the person that ordered and received the information about the people hitmen had deprived of life.”
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      Barcelona Sporting Club, the most successful football team in Ecuador with a record 16 league wins, said in a statement after Cortez was pictured after his arrest alongside heavily-armed police officers: “In light of what has occurred with one of our players, we will respect the procedures and investigations carried out by the organs of justice.
      “We would also stress that activities players, staff and executives carry out in their private lives are separate to the institution and therefore the club has no responsibility in this matter.
      “We will continue to closely follow this process and await the decisions taken by the judiciary with a view to taking the corresponding measures at an opportune time.”
      Weapons, ammunition, three vehicles and drugs were seized during 29 searches carried out in Esmeraldas and other locations.
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      Police chief Carlos Cabreras described Los Tiguerones as a criminal gang whose illegal activities include drug and weapons trafficking, murder and extortion.
      He also said they had links to a shadowy group responsible for killing journalists.
      Cortez, better known by his nickname Loco Cortez – which literally means Madman Cortez, was filmed being escorted in handcuffs by police officers as he was led away from the chopper that flew him to his court hearing.
      THe four-capped international said nothing as he kept his head down under a baseball cap. His mugshot photo was later made available to local press.
      Cortez’s lawyer said after his arrest: “State prosecutors asked for an arrest warrant for investigative reasons, indicating that my client was the suspected manager of a criminal organisation so they could proceed with his detention.
      “However when it came to the court hearing following his arrest, they changed their story completely and said he wasn’t the leader but had simply received two telephone calls and listened to what was said.
      “They are not phone calls in which he gives an order and it can be established that he has committed a crime.”
      Midfielder Cortez has also played for Brazilian top-flight side Botafogo as well as Independiente del Valle and Emelec in his homeland.
      He was suspended from Ecuador’s Serie A league, also known as the Liga Pro, in 2017 for calling a referee a “son of a b***h” during a barrage of insults. 
      He also got himself into trouble at Rio de Janeiro-based Botafogo for insulting the team during an Instagram Live and praising the club’s eternal rivals Flamengo. More