Six Irish Guards Arrested as Part of UK Drugs and Money Laundering Probe

A warrant officer of the 1st battalion Irish Guards inspects them prior to a visit by the Duke of Cambridge in the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle on May 17, 2022.Richard Pohle/The Times/PA

Six British Army soldiers with the Irish Guards regiment and a former member of the Coldstream Guards have been arrested on suspicion of drugs and money laundering offences.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a statement that said: “As part of a planned operation the Royal Military Police arrested six Irish Guards soldiers and a Coldstream Guardsman veteran from across the UK on suspicion of conspiracy to supply drugs and money lending and laundering offences.”

The MoD stressed that none of the soldiers under investigation would be participating in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee parades next month.

The Irish Guards and the Coldstream Guards are two of the British Army regiments trained for ceremonies such as the Trooping of the Colour, the others being the Welsh Guards, the Scots Guards, and the Grenadier Guards.

This year the Irish Guards—a regiment that dates back to 1900—have been given the honour of participating in the Platinum Jubilee parade in London on June 2.

The MoD’s statement said: “The Army does not tolerate any type of illegal or fraudulent behaviour. As this is now the subject of an independent Royal Military Police investigation, it is inappropriate to comment further.”

The Daily Mirror claimed the seven men were detained on Wednesday during co-ordinated raids in  Hampshire, Berkshire, North Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The Irish Guards has been the most operationally active unit in the British Army in recent years, notably in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The regiment has the Duke of Cambridge as its royal colonel. It also guards royal palaces including Windsor Castle and its ceremonial uniform is the distinctive red tunic and bearskin hat.

The Royal Military Police are the internal security wing of the British Army—known as the Red Caps because of their distinctive headwear.

They tend to be involved in policing offences such as being “absent without leave,” misconduct towards a senior officer, and failing to provide a sample for drug tests. Those convicted of such offences, at court martials, can spend time in custody at the Military Corrective Training Centre at Colchester garrison in Essex.

But offences involving dealing drugs and money laundering would have to be handled by a civilian police force and tried by a criminal court rather than a court martial.

PA Media contributed to this report.