Happy Mondays tour boss fears dying in Turkish jail in £80m cocaine haul case

A HAPPY Mondays tour boss faces court next month over an £80million cocaine haul and fears dying in jail if convicted.

Anthony Murray was one of 15 suspects held when sniffer dogs found drugs in fertiliser on a ship from Colombia.

The 54-year-old was held in Istanbul and will appear in court there on September 20. He could be jailed for 55 years if guilty.

He is on bail and said to be in Bali. Murray told a pal: “It’s a death sentence if I’m guilty but I hope to prove I’m innocent.”

A source in Istanbul said: “He claims he is innocent but authorities are convinced he was a big organiser.

“Murray has been living each day like it could be his last.

“Turkish jails have bad conditions especially for health and hygiene.”

Turkish prosecutors have spent almost three years building a case and have kept tabs on Murray’s location.

It is understood his passport is flagged.

Police mistakenly believed his alleged gang were called the Happy Mondays.

However, the 1990s band’s frontman Shaun Ryder, 60, and dancer Mark “Bez” Berry, 59, are understood to have spoken to Murray on Zoom since his arrest.