A former Met detective, Warren Arter, who was dismissed over allegations of making s*xual advances on victims and offering cocaine to women at swingers’ orgies, has been found dead in jail.
The 54-year-old ex-Detective Inspector was discovered unresponsive in his cell at HMP Wandsworth less than a week after being charged with misconduct. He had been remanded in custody at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and passed away on Friday, July 12, according to The Sun.
Arter was set to appear at Woolwich Crown Court next month on charges of misconduct in public office, specifically for inappropriate contact with a crime victim. He had been sacked for gross misconduct in May the previous year after being suspended by Scotland Yard in 2016 on full pay due to drug use and offering to supply drugs at swingers’ parties.
He was accused of pestering victims of s*xual offences between 2006 and 2013 while serving as a detective sergeant leading a rape investigation team that won an award in 2009 for having the best detection rate in the Metropolitan Police. Arter allegedly offered to supply Class A drugs to several women and was photographed in front of a line of cocaine.
The disgraced officer had spent two years buying cocaine and MDMA and sent text messages offering to supply drugs to others while working in the Met’s Sapphire squad.
Police found a photograph of him sitting in front of a mirror with lines of white powder on a coffee table in his living room, and another image showed plastic bags containing white powder on a set of digital scales. Despite this, he escaped criminal charges after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge him with dealing drugs.
A three-day misconduct hearing revealed that Arter bought cocaine and MDMA multiple times between 2016 and 2018 and regularly attended parties where cocaine and crack were openly consumed. He also failed to act when he knew a man was providing drugs to a woman in exchange for s*x.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) discovered text messages in which he arranged to buy drugs, discussed taking them, and offered to supply cocaine to two women on two occasions. His phone and iPad were also found to have traces of cocaine.
Arter was found to have breached police standards of professional behaviour regarding discreditable conduct, authority, respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities, honesty, and integrity.
