276°
Posted 20 hours ago

The Microdot Gang: The Rise and Fall of the LSD Network That Turned On the World

£10£20.00Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

In 1973 the group split into two. Todd and Fielding established a London base, while Kemp moved to a remote farmhouse in Tregaron with GP girlfriend Christine Bott, a fellow former student from Liverpool University. Narrated by Rhys Ifans (House of the Dragon, Notting Hill, Harry Potter) and starring Hannah Murray (Game of Thrones, Skins), Acid Dream is written by Welsh playwright Tim Price and features original music from Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys. I let my hair grow, I had the most monstrous beard – we evolved from being grey-suited detectives to hippies over a period of time.” The first issue in writing about the defendants in the Operation Julie trial is what to call them. They have been referred to as the ‘Microdot Gang’, but this is a misnomer, because a split in 1973 produced two separate and independent organisations which shared a common origin. The LSD conspirators have also been called the ‘Operation Julie Gang’; but that is anachronistic because it wasn’t until 1976 that the police launched Operation Julie. Hence I will use the term, LSD Underground, which is more accurate and descriptive.

Presented by Hollywood actor Rhys Ifans, Acid Dream: The Great LSD Plot is the story of a real-life Breaking Bad, set in rural Wales. On 26 March 1977, detectives finally swooped. They uncovered evidence of a massive operation, which was estimated to have exported to up to 100 foreign countries, the founders of both organisations were arrested, along with their associates, making up a total of 120 arrests internationally. Tabs bearing their logo were recovered as far away as Australia. James Wyllie tells the extraordinary story of how a middle-aged American academic, two idealistic British students, a public school cad and an American hustler formed the Microdot Gang and created an acid production line designed to turn on the world.Lee also instructed two undercover officers to infiltrate the small community of Llanddewi Brefi to target Alston Hughes. [4] London connection [ edit ] The intelligence was passed across the Atlantic, where Thames Valley Police had already noticed a huge increase of LSD on the festival scene. Kemp and Solomon had set up a distribution network and began producing LSD again, setting up various laboratories in mid and west Wales- Their microdots, which became a form of ‘brand’, would prove a global hit, with the lab producing hundreds of thousands of LSD microdots a year ending up as far afield as Canada and Australia Alston “Smiles” Hughes, the charismatic and eloquent former Mancunian squaddie-turned-LSD dealer, still claims it was never about financial gain.

The scientist confirmed in a great moment of joy that there was pure LSD in all our samples – including the frog and the mole,” Dai recalled. He and his similarly unkempt colleagues set up watch from the cover of an industrial caravan. But without any of the technology today’s police take for granted 24/7 surveillance was not without its challenges in the 70s – particularly when Welsh wildlife got in the way. In 2022, the BBC developed a podcast based on the books, and other contributions, called Acid Dream. [18] The podcast was a finalist in the BBC audio drama awards in 2023. Left, inside Kemp's cottage near Tregaron. Right, drug dealer Alston Hughes who was jailed for eight years as part of the conspiracy Operation Julie: Forty years since mid Wales LSD bust". BBC News. 10 April 2016 . Retrieved 2 October 2016.They knew Kemp was in Wales. They knew he drove a red Range Rover. All that was needed was evidence to link Kemp to the crime. The breakthrough came in 1975 on the road from Aberystwyth to Machynlleth. They were educated people who were either chemists, doctors, accountants and had used their extreme talents for a criminal enterprise.

In April 1976, 28 drug squad officers from 10 police forces were chosen and sent to Devizes in Wiltshire where they were trained in surveillance techniques. In May 1976, a police team moved into a farmhouse named Bronwydd in Tregaron, overlooking Kemp's cottage. Initially, locals took them for birdwatchers. As the surveillance operation progressed from weeks into months, female officers were added. The first name of one of these surveillance officers, Police Sergeant Julie Taylor, was used as the operation's code name. A further 50,000 microdots were found under a stone in a field near Plas Llysyn and 100,000 microdots in a Winalot dog biscuit box buried in another local field. The song "Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad" by The Clash, from their second album Give 'em Enough Rope, takes its name from Operation Julie. [7] [8] The Stones and Jimi Hendrix liked a wild Welsh weekend, and there are apocryphal anecdotes of Bob Dylan staying for six weeks and enjoying the mellifluous poetry of Welsh-speaking farmers’ conversations. Whilst on remand in Her Majesty’s Prison Bristol, in 1977, Leaf Fielding, LSD distribution manager, met LSD chemist, Richard Kemp:

He and David Solomon recruited two others, Henry Todd and Leaf Fielding, to convert the LSD into tablet form and handle the distribution. In the 1970s it's estimated that around 60% of the world's LSD came from one place: Wales. This is the story of the Microdot Gang - a rag tag group of chemists, dealers, businessmen and hippy dreamers. They believed that acid had the power to save the world. The raids focused on two acid manufacturing centres; one hidden in an isolated farmhouse in deepest Wales, the other in a suburban house on a leafy residential street in south-west London. Between them they supplied acid to most of the UK, Europe, America and beyond. Tabs bearing their logo were recovered as far away as Australia.

Radio Wales’ Commissioner, Jeremy Grange, says, “True stories are often more bizarre than fiction and Acid Dream presents a compelling example. The series is brilliantly written and soundscaped and we’re delighted that two great Welsh cultural icons, Rhys Ifans and Gruff Rhys, are involved in creating this imaginative and entertaining account of the story behind Operation Julie.” Kate goes on a journey to meet the man at the heart of the great LSD plot. What were his true motives? And was it all worth it?In April 1975, Kemp's red Range Rover was involved in a fatal accident with a car near Machynlleth, a passenger in the other car being killed. Kemp was known by the Thames Valley Drug Squad as a possible suspect in the drugs trade and when police searched his car they found six pieces of paper which, after being reconstructed, spelt hydrazine hydrate - a key ingredient in the manufacture of LSD. This crucial lead gave police their first vital clue into the Operation. Yet as far as former Detective Inspector Dai Rees – one of the principal Welsh officers in Operation Julie – was concerned, LSD created more problems than it solved. Well we’re not the first people to be persecuted for we believe in,’ I replied, ‘and I don’t suppose for a moment we’ll be the last. We’ll be exonerated in the future, don’t you think?’ Murdered with a stone frog: The grisly story of the man whose mummified remains were hidden in his wife’s garden Richard was a man after my own heart. We talked long and excitedly in one-hour bursts. He too had wanted to turn the world on and he’d gone a long way towards achieving his aim by producing kilos of acid, enough for tens of millions of trips…

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment