Famed gangster film director 'considering Curtis Warren movie'

Tuesday 08 June 2021

A Hollywood director famed for his gangster movies has reportedly put in a bid to make a film about Curtis Warren, a drug baron who was imprisoned over a plot to ship £1m of cannabis into Jersey.

According to a report from the Daily Mirror, 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', ‘Snatch’, 'Sherlock Holmes' and ‘Aladdin’ director Guy Ritchie approached Warren’s legal team about a film, which would partly focus on his killing of a fellow inmate in the 90s.

Pictured: According to the Mirror, Ritchie approached Warren's legal team about a potential film.

Warren was convicted of manslaughter following a fight in 1999 in a Dutch prison yard with Turkish national Cemal Guclu, who was serving time for murder. 

Warren, who claimed he was acting in self-defence, was given four extra years on his sentence. 

On the potential film, Warren’s longtime barrister, Anthony Barraclaugh, told the Mirror that “I was asked to be a go-between but Curtis wasn’t interested in ­going through prison killings.”

Mr Barraclaugh added: “He could play himself as he is as fit as a fiddle – much fitter than in those early pictures.”

Pictured: Jersey's Royal Court handed down a £198m confiscation order to Warren.

Warren was arrested in 2009 for his involvement in a plan to import £1m worth of cannabis into the island – however, his crimes stretch back through the decades, having previously been sentenced for other high-profile drug plots.

He is currently serving sentences for both the Jersey arrest (13 years), and failure to pay a £198m confiscation order (10 years).

Crucial evidence in the case was obtained by Jersey Police officers, who wiretapped a car Warren had used to travel across Europe and listened to his conversations.

This evidence was the basis of a number of failed Court appeals by Warren, who claimed this evidence was obtained unlawfully. A trio of Police officers involved in the bugging faced disciplinary proceedings, but were cleared of wrongdoing in an investigation led by an external force.

The Mirror also reported that a source had told them that: “People are queuing up to tell Warren’s story. 

“Netflix wanted to make a blockbuster but he knocked it back saying he only wants to speak out about what he sees as corruption from Jersey cops.”

Earlier this year, Warren was added to the National Crime Agency’s ‘Ancillary Orders Register,’ a watchlist imposing certain restrictions on him to prevent him becoming involved in serious crime again.

Warren made the headlines through scandal last year too, when a UK prison officer was jailed for two years having an affair with him while he was in HMP Frankland.

The Mirror added: "Lawyers say Warren could be freed from HMP Long Lartin, Worcs, next year despite refusing to give up his reported £200million drug fortune [and] claim he could be eligible after serving two-thirds of his sentences, with credit for two years on remand."

Express has contacted Guy Ritchie’s representatives for comment.