(now aged 11).
1998
Drug dealing is often a short career. Anyone who is successful attracts attention from police and customs. They usually end up behind bars.
After investigations failed to gather enough evidence, police tried to get undercover officers into Keith’s inner circle. Dozens of people working for KMG have been prosecuted. Even when they have agreed to cooperate, police have never been able to produce clear evidence linking Keith Moore with his drug business. At the core of KMG, an expensive legal team and fiercely loyal deputies have so far succeeded in keeping Keith Moore out of prison.
2000
As the cocaine business continued to thrive, Keith Moore’s personal fortune was estimated at £25 million. After being arrested for non-payment of tax, he pleaded guilty to a minor charge and paid a £50,000 fine.
2001
Julie Moore left Keith after eighteen years of marriage. Keith kept custody of the children and the family home. Julie moved into a house across the street and remains on good terms with her ex-husband.
2003
Police launched Operation Snort, the largest taskforce of drugs officers ever assembled in Britain. The official aim was to stop the cocaine business. Unofficially, everyone knew Operation Snort was gunning for Keith Moore and KMG.
The operation descended into chaos when it uncovered corruption within police forces all over the country. Forty officers were found to have taken bribes from KMG. Eight of these were working on Operation Snort and included the Chief Superintendent who was in command of the whole operation.
Although Operation Snort is still running, its effectiveness has been blunted by infighting over the bribery allegations.
One national newspaper reporting on Operation Snort said, ‘If all the corruption allegations are true, it would appear that Keith Moore has more police officers protecting him than the Queen and the Prime Minister combined.’
2004
(Present Day) Despite a personal fortune now estimated at between £35 and £50 million, Keith Moore has shunned the trappings of the super rich. He lives with his four children in a large detached house less than twenty minutes’ drive from the housing estate where he was born. His four children attend the local comprehensive school. He works from an office at home and socialises with family members and friends he has known since boyhood. His only extravagances are a collection of Porsche sports cars and a beachfront house in Miami, Florida.
MISSION REQUEST
In early 2004, frustrated by the lack of success in bringing down KMG and outraged by police corruption, the government asked the intelligence service to find a way of infiltrating KMG at the highest level. MI5, the adult branch of British Intelligence, could see no reason why it would have any more success at this than the police. CHERUB was suggested as a method of last resort.
Keith Moore is close to his four children. Appropriately placed CHERUB agents may be able to befriend them and gather vital information.
MISSION PLAN
Husband and wife mission controllers, Ewart and Zara Asker, will move into a house on the Thornton housing estate with their baby son and four CHERUB agents. For the purposes of the mission, the agents will be adopted children of Zara and Ewart. The family surname will be Beckett. To minimise confusion, everyone will use their normal first names.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:
Each agent has been selected to befriend one of Keith’s children, as follows:
James Adams
– Junior Moore (Keith Junior)
Kyle Blueman
– Ringo Moore
Kerry Chang
– Erin Moore
Nicole Eddison
– April Moore
If the cherubs succeed in making friends, they must attempt to socialise out of school and try to get inside Keith’s home, gathering information wherever possible. Each cherub will be placed in the same tutor group as the child they are supposed to befriend.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVE:
Many children on the Thornton estate run errands and deliver drugs for KMG associates. Each cherub should identify children who are working for KMG and try to get involved themselves. Children usually work for small-time dealers, delivering drugs to individual clients using mobile phones and pushbikes.
Evidence suggests that children who attend Keith Moore’s boxing club and make reliable couriers are promoted rapidly and given responsibility for moving wholesale quantities of drugs. If these children can be identified and befriended, they may provide information that will enable police to prosecute senior figures inside KMG.
NOTE: ON THE 13TH DAY OF AUGUST 2004 THIS MISSION PLAN WAS PASSED BY THE CHERUB ETHICS COMMITTEE BY A 2:1 VOTE, ON CONDITION THAT ALL AGENTS UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:
This mission has been classified HIGH RISK. All agents are reminded of their right