Mob boss reportedly infiltrated Scotland Yard officers in biggest scandal since 1980s

Scotland Yard, responsible for policing much of London, has reportedly been “infiltrated” by a shadowy East End businessman who sits atop an organized crime syndicate accused of murder, drug trafficking and fraud.

The Sunday Times of London reports David Hunt employed a network of so-called “sleepers” -- former and current police officers -- to assist him in the task of evading justice for about three decades.

The alleged corrupt officers, including a senior detective who held various pivotal roles within the famous crime-fighting organization, reportedly served in some of the Yard’s most sensitive units, including those dealing with informants, witness protection, as well as intelligence.

The allegations surfaced in dramatic – and convoluted – fashion, according to the Sunday Times.

Three whistle-blowers, including a retired detective chief and a duo of detective constables, reportedly penned a 54-page legal letter which they sent to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.

Four of the five sleepers were identified in the letter, including a junior Scotland Yard detective posted in an intelligence role dealing with informants who allegedly accepted a 35,000 pounds ($52,000 US) bribe from Hunt in 2007.

The Times of London apparently obtained the letter, and then fought off a libel suit brought by Hunt.

"I am satisfied that it was reasonable for him ('Sunday Times' journalist Michael Gillard) to describe the claimant (Hunt) as a violent and dangerous criminal and the head of an organized crime group implicated in murder, drug trafficking and fraud," a London High Court justice wrote in his ruling in the libel case last week.

The three whistle-blowers, David McKelvey, Darren Guntrip and Paul Clark, are reportedly suing the Metropolitan Police for failing to act on intelligence that Hunt had taken out a contract to have them killed after they took on the alleged criminal in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Click for the story from The Sunday Times.