Dirty Combat: Secret Wars and Serious Misadventures

by David Tomkins

Candidly told in his own words, this is a no-holds-barred account of the man who has served prison sentences on both sides of the Atlantic, most recently for conspiring to kill Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar. From the bloody plains of Angola to the jungles of Colombia, David Tomkins’ career as a safe-breaker, arms dealer, and mercenary spans five decades. Born in London during World War II, he was hospitalized for a time in a psychiatric ward and sent to reform school after he was deemed "beyond parental control." Later, following a spell in the Merchant Navy, he graduated from safe-blower to demolitions expert with a notorious mercenary army in Angola. From intrigue in Mayfair offices to tribal lands in Pakistan, Tomkins’ story reads like a real-life version of a Tom Clancy thriller. It is a shocking account of crime and corruption, and the scope of his activities will amaze and intrigue.

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, History, Crime, Biography, War

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2008

Reviews

[WIlliam Gerrard · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Tomkins has led an interesting life, to say the least. Our swashbuckling protagonist begins his autobiography as a tough safe-cracker, self-trained in explosives. His early adventures lead him to prison life where he swaps tales and picks up skills, leading to further crimes. Moving away from his gangster life, Tomkins utilises his explosive skills to full effect by becoming a mercenary. His military adventures take him across Africa, from Angola to Togo and into Rhodesia. Constantly under suspicion at airports from Special Branch and security services, Tomkins becomes a darling of the Press, a true life mercenary who engages in politics at the highest level. Merging his mercenary work with business interests he becomes an arms dealer, strutting around the world, negotiating some stranger-than-fiction deals with some rather salubrious characters. Eventually his mercenary work comes back tot he fore when he is recruited to fight out in Colombia, first arranging an international special forces brigade to attack the FARC and then later, employed by the Calí drug cartel he is delivered a project to assassinate the head of the rival Medellín cartel, Pablo Escobar. Ultimately both the Colombian adventures do not achieve their mission goals and later end our hero up in US custody where he returns to the prison system, detailing the flaws of the US Justice system and ending the tale whiling out his time in jail before luckily being returned to his wife and family in the UK. The book is well written and is truly compelling. David Tomkins' life is surely a worthy tale to be told and I can't think of many more varied real life adventure stories out there.