A notorious drugs baron has revealed how he went on to dominate one of the world’s most notorious prisons after smuggling the largest haul of black market steroids in Spanish history.
Chet Sandhu, from Hartlepool, was arrested at gunpoint in Alicante Airport by Spanish police in November 1999.
Chet – real name Gurchettan Sandhu – masterminded the steroid-smuggling operation with a market value of more than half a million dollars.
Now in a new book Chet chronicles his life and time inside the notorious Spanish prison Fontcalent, famed for its tough conditions and high-profile inmates.
Chet Sandhu is pictured here holding two baby caimans whilst on holiday in Thailand
The drugs baron relaxes with a female companion while on a visit to a lapdancing club
Chet – real name Gurchettan Sandhu – at a shooting range during a holiday in Thailand
Chet, pictured here with his ‘Self made’ knuckle tattoos, has told his story in a new book
Images from ‘From King of Karachi to Lockdown in the Costa del Crime: Meet the International Smuggler Who Dominated Europe’s Worst Prison’ show Chet posing with a rifle at a shooting range and holding two caimans as he relaxes in a club.
In another shot from the book a police evidence tray full of confiscated drugs can be seen in a cutting from a Spanish newspaper.
Chet can also be seen partying with several different girls.
When he was sent to Fontcalent, incarcerated with murderers, rapists and terrorists, he began to climb to the top of the prison’s hierarchy.
‘This is a story I never wanted to write down,’ he says in the book.
‘It started from messages between me and friends on my Facebook page. As things turned out they liked my stories and encouraged me to write more, so I did.
‘This book will offend some people, those I know and others who I have never met.
‘I’m not bothered. This is my story and if anyone has a problem with it they should come and see me. I’m not hard to find. ‘
A Spanish newspaper story shows some of the drugs confiscated following Chet’s arrest
Chet rose through the ranks at the notorious Spanish prison Fontcalent (pictured)
Seen here enjoying a cruise in Thailand, Chet says he rose to the top of the hierarchy in the prison
The drugs kingpin is pictured here looking out to sea after his release in Palma
FROM NIGHTCLUB DOORMAN TO DRUGS KINGPIN
Chet, pictured right, with his friend Aman while partying in Tenerife
Gurchettan Sandhu – or Che – was sentenced to 11 years in prison in two countries for drugs offences.
The father-of-four worked as a doorman at Newcastle clubs and pubs but said he began using steroids at this time and it ‘went pear-shaped from there’.
He served two-and-a-half-years in a Spanish jail, from a four-and-a-half-year sentence handed down for trafficking pharmaceutical drugs into the country from Pakistan and India.
He was then caught with a quarter of a kilogram of cocaine in Newcastle, and was jailed for six-and-a-half years for conspiracy to supply a class A drug.
He served four years – in HMPs Durham and Wealstone, in Yorkshire – before being released in 2007.
During his time in prison, he cut up his bedsheets and used them as canvases, using art as a ‘way out’.
The story details how Chet, a former nightclub doorman, was able to establish a drugs route from the steroid capital of the world in Karachi, Pakistan, by establishing a local alias, Jet Khan.
There he consorted with prostitutes, forged alliances with corrupt police and airport officials, and recruited British tourists as drugs mules.
He was only caught after he was betrayed by one of his associates.
While behind bars Chet took part in knife fights and rose to becoming the head of a loan shark ring.
He also ‘protected’ vulnerable prisoners and was involved in a successful prison escape.
He spiralled into a downward slide of drug addiction before turning to bodybuilding and winning an unofficial inter-wing weightlifting tournament.
While behind bars Chet took part in knife fights and rose to becoming the head of a loan shark ring
Chet, who was a nightclub doorman in the north of England, was able to establish a drugs route from the steroid capital of the world in Karachi, Pakistan, by establishing a local alias
While behind bars Chet took part in knife fights and rose to becoming the head of a loan shark ring. He is pictured here in Spain after his release
‘You also need to know that as you read these pages you’re not going to learn about how I survived one of the most extreme prisons on the planet,’ said Chet.
‘Instead, you’ll know how I came to dominate the hellhole I was thrown into.
‘Everyone left me when I was in jail. I know for a fact the people I asked for help were thinking: don’t involve me in this.
‘Out of all the gangsters and killers that I’ve been with, given the choice of one person to stand by me, I choose my Ma. She puts all the others to shame.’
- ‘From King of Karachi to Lockdown in the Costa del Crime: Meet the International Smuggler Who Dominated Europe’s Worst Prison’ is published by Media Drum World.