Riddle of undercover cop's car death in Caribbean sea

INQUEST INTO TRAGEDY OF FORMER GMP OFFICER

- By BETHAN FINIGHAN

MYSTERY surrounds the death of a retired Greater Manchester Police officer working as an undercover cop in the Caribbean after he drowned when his car went into the sea.

An inquest was held in the UK in an attempt to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the tragedy involving Detective Sergeant Paul Anthony France, 61, originally from Middleton, in the British Virgin Islands.

Det Sgt France, described as an ‘expert driver; was found dead in a grey Suzuki SUV submerged off Waterfront Drive in Tortola on October 7, 2023. Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley explored all evidence available, but exactly what happened remains unclear.

The court heard the dad-of-three served 30 years in GMP before working as an undercover detective in the Caribbean. The night before his death, Det Sgt France had been out drinking with colleagues, Rochdale Coroners Court was told.