Man Who Stunned Horse Guilty on Cocaine Charge

The inventor of a James Bond-style ultrasonic gun to stun racehorses was convicted today of being involved in a complex drug plot.

James Laming, a 49-year-old car dealer, was found guilty on two charges of taking part in a conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was also convicted of possessing half a kilogram of cocaine with intent to supply.

During a four-week trial that made news because of evidence that seemed straight out of a spy novel, Laming and his attorney told a London criminal court that Laming was involved in a plot to subvert racecourse betting and bookmaking in Britain by using his ultrasonic stun gun.

Laming, who said he invented the gun, said self-confessed drug baron Rene Black was a backer for the project, but both he and Cox denied any knowledge of Black’s cocaine dealings.

Laming’s defense was that the stun gun, hidden in a pair of binoculars, was used to unseat Greville Starkey, one of Britain’s most experienced jockeys, as the rider headed for almost certain victory on Ile de Chypre at Royal Ascot last year.

The prosecution said the claim was a smokescreen to explain away the men’s links with Black.

During the trial, defense attorney Jonathan Goldberg said Laming’s defense was “one of the most remarkable ever presented in a crown court.”

The evidence that followed backed up that claim.

During the trial, Starkey told of the gun’s “lethal” results after he rode two of his daughters’ ponies past the device in tests set up by the defense. The jockey said the ponies went out of control when the gun was fired at them.

Starkey had said that what happened to him at Royal Ascot was unique in his 14,000-race career.

Andrew Mitchell, for the prosecution, said the alleged conspiracy to subvert racing was merely clever, sophisticated lies.

He likened it to a plot from a novel and said even if it was true, it did not explain away the connection to Black and the cocaine.