Basil Mavroleon
 Basil Mavroleon  (spook, journalist, mercenary) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 1958 |
| Died | 27 August 1998 (Age 40) Peshawar, Pakistan |
Cause of death | "heroin overdose" |
| Nationality | UK? |
| Alma mater | Eton, Millfield School, Harvard |
| Member of | Jeffrey Epstein/Black book |
| Relatives | Mavroleon family |
"He was close to the Kennedys and almost married a Heseltine. He'd been a Wall Street broker and a war correspondent. He'd even been a leader of the Mujahideen. So why did Carlos Mavroleon die of a heroin overdose in a rundown hotel near the Afghan border?" | |
Basil "Carlos" Mavroleon was a British spook and journalist. Coming from a family of Greek shipowners that is part of the British establishment, he was the heir to a £100m fortune. After a wild adolescence, he was most probably recruited by the British intelligence services as a "journalist" for making propaganda against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan, and where he also fought in mufti as a Mujahedin leader. After the Soviet pulled out in 1989, he continued this line of work in the Muslim world under the cover of war correspondent, until his death of a heroin overdose in 1998.[1]
He, like the rest of his family, was also listed in Jeffrey Epstein's black book, maybe from his short Wall Street career, and his connections also tie in to the networks behind Iran Contra and the international drug trade.
Contents
Background
He was born in April 1958. His father, 'Bluey' Mavroleon, was a Greek shipping tycoon. The family fortune is estimated at £100m.
His brother, Nicky, is married to the filmstar Barbara Carrera. Carlos's address book contained phone numbers for Fawn Hall, the secretary at the heart of the Iran-Contra affair. He dated Barbara Streisand, Christina Onassis and Annabel Heseltine, the journalist daughter of the former UK deputy prime minister for two years.[1]
Carlos was sent to Eton but, though he did well, dropped out. He started doing drugs, and did the 1970s hippie trail to Asia. He got as far as Pakistan, where he did odd jobs - including bodyguard and labourer, learned to speak Pashto and converted to Islam. He never contacted his family, and hey gave him up for dead. After nearly two years, he returned to Britain. He crammed at Millfield, a top public school, applied to Harvard and, on the strength of a successful interview and a fistful of forged references, got in to read politics. With his money and connections, he was soon mixing with America's East Coast high society. He was a favoured guest of the Kennedy clan. He had an affair with Mary Richardson, who later married Bobby Jnr, and a short fling with Fawn Hall, who was involved in Iran-contra. [1]
From Harvard he went on to Wall Street, where he did well. He made a lot of money, and spent much of it on cocaine and heroin. [1]
Intelligence work in Afghanistan
In 1985 he ended his Wall Street broker job and flew to Pakistan, and made contact with the Afghan Media Resource Centre (AMRC), a CIA financed and operated front organization that funded journalists' trips into Afghanistan and disseminated the material they collected.
One of the films at the AMRC was taken in June 1988 near the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad. In it, Carlos, dressed and speaking as a local, is shown fighting with the Mujahideen.'I am a Mujahideen,' he continues. 'We are making an attack today on the city of Jalalabad. All the Mujahideen commanders have come together for this attack. I am very happy and proud to be with my Mujahideen brothers. Allahu Akbar. God is great.' Karimullah then continues in fluent Pashto. 'I am from London. In London I fought the Jihad with a pen. Now I fight it with a sword. I have come to Afghanistan to take part in the Jihad.'[1]
Spooky war correspondent
When the Soviets pulled out in 1989, Carlos returned to London and within months changed cover to become a war correspondent. In 1991, he was in Oman trying to sneak, in disguise, into Kuwait during the Gulf War. He failed, but succeeded in getting into northern Iraq a few months later. The next assignment was Somalia, then the Sudan, Burma, Angola, Rwanda and back to Afghanistan. In the early 90s, he made a number of trips to Somalia for the American networks. [1]
Death
Carlos was an experienced drug user. He was found dead in hotel room in Peshawar, Pakistan on 27 August 1998. The death certificate gave the cause of death as 'Heroin poisoning (self)'. Carlos's body showed no visible signs of violence. The left arm showed a prick-mark in the ante-cubital region and an insulin syringe contaminated with blood lay beside the body. The syringe tested positive for diacetyl morphine (heroin). Carlos's stomach also tested weakly for diacetyl morphine. There were three small packets of drugs in the room. One, opened, was diacetyl morphine. The second was crude powdered opium. The third was an antihistamine tranquilizer called chlorophenaramine maleate.[1]
According to the police statements, Carlos was sitting upright on his bed when he was found, a cigarette between his lips. The bloody syringe was on the coffee table in front of him. There was also a blackened coin.
In his obituary in The Guardian, Jason Burke doubted the official Pakistani narrative "And, as a result, though the authorities have officially closed the file, there are many who believe that the bald facts of the police report and the post-mortem are concealing something more sinister. One thing everyone seems to agree on is that Carlos would have been unlikely to have accidentally overdosed."[1]
