Christopher Martin "Marty" Johnstone (1951–1979) was a New Zealand

drug trafficker The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...

born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. The former Takapuna Grammar pupil was dubbed "Mr Asia" by the '' Auckland Star'' newspaper in August 1978 in a series of articles by

Pat Booth Pat Booth, Lady Lowe (24 April 1943 – 11 May 2009) was an English model, photographer, and author of romantic fiction. Biography Raised in the East End of London by a boxer father and an ambitious mother, Booth posed for such photographers ...

Murder

In October 1979, Johnstone was lured to Britain on the pretext of a drug deal to take place in Scotland. He was murdered by Andy Maher, by order of

Terrance John Clark Terrance John Clark (12 November 1944 – 12 August 1983), also known by the aliases Terry Sinclair, Alexander James Sinclair, Tony Bennetti, the Australian Jackal and Mr Big, was the head of the Mr Asia drug syndicate, which imported heroin i ...

, and his handless body was dumped in Eccleston Delph,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. Maher cut off Johnstone's hands and mutilated his face in a vain attempt to foil dental identification by the police. Terry Clark, along with four others, was subsequently convicted of murdering Johnstone and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial at Lancaster Castle in 1980 was conducted under heavy security and was Britain's most expensive case at that time. Clark suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in 1983 and died in prison on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

.Homan, Ray, "Peter Fulcher and the Mr Asia syndicate",
Police News
'' (New Zealand), Volume 39, Number 5, June 2006, page 135.

Murder

References

Further reading