Drive to oblivion

In an exclusive interview, DeLorean executive Brian Beharrell talks about the $24 million cocaine bust that hastened the demise of the sports car manufacturer's Belfast base.

Jason O'Toole, 20 Feb 2008

It sounds like something straight out of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not. Back in 1982, a disastrous multi-million dollar cocaine deal was set up in a last ditch effort to save a car factory in Belfast from going bust.

In what can only be described as a moment of insanity, presumably brought on by sheer desperation, the eccentric tycoon John DeLorean attempted to orchestrate an elaborate drugs deal that would reportedly have netted a profit of a staggering $24million.

DeLorean – who was regarded as a high-profile media celebrity – turned up in the flesh to meet drugs barons in a Los Angeles airport hotel room.

It was a huge mistake. The FBI knew what was going on. They had the room bugged. After making the deal, DeLorean raised his glass of champagne. He is heard, on the surveillance recording, jokingly describing the high-grade coke as “good as gold – (but) gold weighs more than this, for heaven’s sake!” And he adds: “Here’s to a lot of success to everyone.”

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, FBI agents stormed in and nicked DeLorean with a suitcase of cocaine, literally, in his hand. It appeared like an open and shut case, but America is a different country in many ways. DeLorean was found not guilty on grounds of entrapment, with his legal team successfully arguing that the police had asked him to supply the money to buy the drugs!

The drugs bust incident may not have resulted in a jail sentence – but it was the proverbial nail in the coffin of his DeLorean motor company. It was also a life-altering experience for DeLorean, who apparently become a born-again Christian as a result.

“I’m sure it didn’t do his reputation any good, but every story about John DeLorean revolves around the drugs deal – and yet this was a very minor part of the whole episode of setting up the DeLorean factory,” says Brian Beharrell, who is possibly the last surviving director of DeLorean.

Up until now, the 68-year-old Englishman has never spoken publicly about the DeLorean saga. Beharrell, a former missile scientist, was one of the key players behind DeLorean’s brief epoch in Belfast. He was also a trusted confidant of the motoring tycoon, who was eventually declared bankrupt in 1999.

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