Tarquin McCalla

Year of Call: 1994 BA (Hons)
Languages: Indonesian, Malay
Affiliations: Criminal Bar Association


Biography

A criminal practitioner as both leading and junior counsel with extensive experience in all areas of crime including homicide, commercial and revenue fraud, serious sexual offences, drug trafficking and firearms.

Cases:

R v Nwaeme [2009]. A case involving allegations of money laundering in the region of £10 million. It was alleged that the defendant was the ‘money man’ for a gang responsible for shipments of cocaine from West Africa, through Europe and into the UK.

R v O [2009]. A trial for murder in which the defendant, a twice-escaped mental patient, was said to have murdered a pensioner before kidnapping the man to whom he had allegedly confessed.

R v M & others [2009]. A case involving a gang said to have been responsible for the supply of firearms to South London criminals.

R v Agogo & others [2007-2008]. Instructed as leading counsel for the first defendant in a case of serious fraud (prosecuted by Queen’s Counsel) involving many different financial institutions in London and Bristol. The proceeds, amounting to several million pounds, were channelled through the purchase of a range of investment properties across the UK, and through various bank accounts throughout the world. The confiscation proceedings alone took 18 months of preparation and research.

R v Ganchi & others [2008]. Instructed as leading counsel in a case involving the theft of high-value vehicles (including a McLaren F1, said to be one of only two in the country), which were then exported to Dubai and the Far East.

R v A & others [2008]. Instructed as leading counsel in a multi-handed trial involving multiple C.I.T. robberies.

R v Levy & others [2008]. Instructed to represent the first defendant in a multi-handed trial for multiple armed robberies at banks and department stores in London.

R v Holmes & others [2007]. Instructed as leading counsel for the first defendant in a multi-handed, ‘cut-throat’ trial involving allegations of importation of cocaine through Sheerness Docks on a massive scale.

R v T & others [2007]. Instructed as leading counsel for the first defendant in a muti-handed trial involving allegations of a sexual nature of the most serious kind.

R v P & others [2006]. The trial of those said to have been responsible for the ‘Brinks Matt bullion robbery’ contract killings.

R v Smith & others [2005]. A multi-handed, ‘cut-throat’, trial for a contract killing murder, said to have involved the use of an AK47 for the first time on mainland Britain.

R v Hussain [2005]. A case involving the importation of automatic firearms from the U.S.

R v Newton & others [2005].A long firm fraud, committed over two years and involving 32 suppliers to the UK meat industry.

R v Davenport & others [2005].A case involving what was described as the largest ever surveillance operation conducted by Kent Police.

R v Samuel & others [2005].A large, multi-handed fraud involving the theft of over $5million from the Bank of Nova Scotia. The defendants were alleged to have circumvented the bank’s security system before siphoning funds off to various off-shore accounts.

R v S & others [2004]. A large scale, multi-handed, multi-million pound revenue fraud involving bonded warehouses on the south coast and throughout the UK.

In addition to the above Tarquin has provided advice and representation in extensive and wide-ranging appellate work which has included numerous cases of murder.