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Met detective sacked over accusations of sexual advances dies

A Met detective who was sacked over accusations he made sexual advances on victims and offered cocaine to women at swingers’ orgies has died.

Former Detective Inspector Warren Arter was found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Wandsworth less than a week after being charged with misconduct.

The 54-year-old was remanded in custody at Westminster magistrates’ court on Wednesday and passed away on Friday, according to The Sun.

He was due to appear at Woolwich Crown Court next month after he was charged with misconduct in public office after accusations he had inappropriate contact with a victim of crime.

Former Detective Inspector Warren Arter was sacked over accusations he made sexual advances on victims and offered cocaine to women at swingers' orgies

Former Detective Inspector Warren Arter was sacked over accusations he made sexual advances on victims and offered cocaine to women at swingers’ orgies

Photos from Arter's phone which were used in evidence against him in his misconduct tribunal

Photos from Arter’s phone which were used in evidence against him in his misconduct tribunal

Arter – who worked on a unit dealing with rape victims – was sacked for gross misconduct in May last year.

This was after being suspended for six years on full pay due to taking drugs and offering to supply them at swingers’ parties.

It is estimated he earned around £400,000 since he was suspended by Scotland Yard in 2016 over allegations that he abused his position ‘for a sexual purpose’.

He was accused of pestering victims of sexual offences between 2006 and 2013 when he was a detective sergeant leading a rape investigation team which won an award in 2009 for having the best detection rate in the Metropolitan Police.

The officer offered to supply Class A drugs to several women and photographed himself in front of a line of cocaine.

Arter spent two years buying cocaine and MDMA and sent out text messages offering to supply drugs to others while he was working in the Met’s Sapphire squad.

Police found a photograph of the officer sitting on his sofa in front of a mirror with lines of white powder and a card on it resting on a coffee table in his living room.

Another image showed plastic bags containing white powder resting on a set of digital scales.

Yet he escaped criminal charges after the Crown Prosecution Services decided not to charge him with dealing drugs.

He was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour for discreditable conduct, authority, respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities, honesty and integrity. Above is an image on his phone used against him at tribunal

He was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour for discreditable conduct, authority, respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities, honesty and integrity. Above is an image on his phone used against him at tribunal

Former Detective Inspector Warren Arter was found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Wandsworth (pictured) less than a week after being charged with misconduct

Former Detective Inspector Warren Arter was found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Wandsworth (pictured) less than a week after being charged with misconduct

He was barred from policing after his sordid role in cocaine-fuelled parties where he turned a blind eye to drug taking and suspected exploitation was revealed in a police misconduct hearing.

When police arrested the father as he flew home from Jamaica in December 2016, officers found drugs paraphernalia more commonly associated with a drug dealer at his property, including metal straws and mini scales found to bear traces of cocaine along with a grip-seal bag that had traces of MDMA.

The officer was taken into custody where he tested positive for cocaine.

He was interviewed under caution on suspicion of offering to supply controlled drugs to others and the corrupt or improper use of police powers for failing to act when he became aware of other people possessing and consuming drugs.

A three-day misconduct hearing was told that the disgraced officer had bought cocaine and MDMA on multiple occasions between 2016 and 2018 and regularly attended parties where cocaine and crack were openly consumed, which he turned a blind eye to.

Arter also failed to take action when he was aware a man was providing drugs to a woman in exchange for sex.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) discovered text message exchanges in which he arranged to buy drugs, discussed taking them, and offered to supply cocaine to two women on two occasions.

His phone and iPad were also found to bear traces of cocaine.

He was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour for discreditable conduct, authority, respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities, honesty and integrity.

Despite the extraordinary length of time the case has taken, Arter was due to face a secondary disciplinary hearing over allegations he had abused his position for a sexual purpose.

A Prison Service spokesperson confirmed Arter’s death and told The Sun: ‘As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.’