'Arrest', Basra, Iraq, April 2003

Pen and ink sketch by Matthew Cook, 2003.

Irish Guardsmen, searching the bedroom of a colonel in the Iraqi secret police who had been accused of torture, found an incredible collection of loaded weapons inside a hollow bedstead, along with US dollars, whisky and pornographic films. The MP5K machine-gun and one of the revolvers were gold-plated. Saddam Hussein sometimes gave gold-plated weapons as gifts to high-ranking officials, although it is not known if that was the case in this instance.

The colonel was not found: his driver said he had fled the country but, as his passport and identification documents were left behind, this seemed unlikely, so the driver was taken away for further questioning.