Josh had been fascinated by Russian culture since his early teens. Now with his degree under his belt, he was studying for a PhD on the early life of Fyodor Dostoevsky. To further his research, he had managed to get a visa in order to consult some of the Russian archives and was now hanging out in Moscow. It was a dream come true, walking in footsteps of Bulgakov and Mayakovsky. He was financing himself with bar work and saving money by staying in a slightly run down house, with a dozen other people. An outsider might have described them as students, but no one seemed to turn up to any lectures. He didn't know them well, but was happy to share a beer.
Life was great, or it was until 1.32am on Wednesday, 13th August.
They had been having a quiet drink, smoking a little dope and putting the world to rights when there was an almighty crash as the front door was forced off its hinges by a police battering ram. In a trice, dozens of nervous looking, armed policemen were all over the house. It happened so quickly, it seemed a mere second before Josh was handcuffed and on his way to a police station. They were all thrown in the 'cage' and it was only then that time began to slow down. What the fuck was happening? No police force sent a dozen armed cops to arrest a few students for smoking grass. He looked to Ruslan, the oldest of the residents and their unofficial leader. To his surprise, although normally laid-back, he now seemed very worried. He was gesticulating wildly as he discussed their plight with his brothers, Shamil and Hasan. Eventually Josh got his attention. Ruslan put his hand on his shoulder and tried to reassure him. He said the raid was probably a mistake, but the Russians were sensitive about the threat of Chechen 'terrorism', so they had probably got him and his brothers mixed up with other Chechens with similar names. He advised Josh to say nothing, as anything he said could be twisted by the 'fascist pigs'.
If this was a 'terrorist' bust, Josh knew was in the clear. So at the first opportunity he called over one of the policemen and explained he was English and asked to speak to the officer in charge.
Ten minutes later he was taken to an interview room. There he was seen by a stony faced policeman sitting at a desk.
"Name?"
"Josh Trubshaw. I am sure there has been a mistake, I am a British citizen and have only been in Russia for a few weeks. You can't honestly think I would be mixed up in a terrorist plot?"
"'We never make mistakes'. We found over ten kilograms of cocaine under the floorboards in the kitchen. Would you like to tell me, who supplied it and where you were going to sell it?"
"I know nothing about drugs at all. I am simply here to do some academic research."
"OK, I am too tired to argue. All I can say is if you don't cooperate things could get tough and I don't think you are made to do ten years in the camps. Think about it. The Inspector will interview you formally, but I would strongly advise you tell him everything you know."
Ten years! Josh's heart sank. For the first time since his arrest, he was truly frightened. He knew over 99% of all Russian criminal cases ended in conviction. So if the police decided he knew about the drugs he was in deep, deep trouble. He would be thirty by the time he was released. All his knew about 'the camps' was what he read of Solzhenitsyn and Baldaev. They would be better now, but still terrible. He was desperate, he pleaded, "You gave got be believe me, I know nothing about the drugs."
"Shut it."
"I am a British citizen. I demand to see my consul."
"As we believe the drugs were going to be used to finance terrorism, we can hold you for seven days in isolation. Now take you clothes off. We need them for forensics."
Josh was too shell-shocked to argue and slowly removed his clothing, until he was only wearing his boxers. But the policeman wasn't satisfied, "I said strip. Don't fucking play games with me."
Josh had his finger prints taken, then had the standard 'mug shots' and finally was photographed stark naked, back and front. The policeman put on some latex gloves and asked Josh to open his mouth, which he roughly examined. He then ordered him to spread his legs and examined his penis and finally got him to turn around and bend over. Josh knew what was coming but this knowledge did not save him from the pain or humiliation as the policemen forced his fingers into his anus.
"Kneel."
The policeman unzipped his trousers. "Give me a suck."
Josh was stunned. This couldn't be happening to him. He simply did not know what to do. He was almost thinking obeying, when he heard the door swing open.
"What the hell, are you doing Sergeant?"
"He offered, sir. He is like a bitch on heat."
"Get out."
Josh stayed on his knees, too surprised to do anything. The new policeman sat down and arranged some papers in front of him. After a few minutes he invited Josh to sit in other chair, "My name is Inspector Fomich. You, young man are in a lot of trouble. This is the largest haul of coke we have had in Moscow this year. You will all be going down, it just depends for how long. If you give me a full confession now, you might be out in five. If you are obstinate it will be ten or fifteen."
Josh was silent. He couldn't say anything, he didn't know anything.
"Come on Mr Trubshaw. They would sell you out in seconds. Who was the ringleader and how did they get the drugs to Moscow?"