Inside the sinister world of hired guns, the targets billionaires pay them to 'neutralize' ... and the chilling details Hollywood gets wrong

A real-life mercenary has lifted the lid connected the outrageous excesses and sordid tactics of a modern ‘gun for hire’ - and revealed however helium ended up languishing for 18 months successful a Serbian jail, warring for his freedom.

A erstwhile Navy SEAL, Daniel Corbett concedes that his vocation of prime is morally ambiguous - adjacent if his targets are the 'bad guys': terrorists, weaponry makers, rebel commanders, and different enemies of the US. 

But, aft retiring from the military successful 2012, the wealth connected connection proved excessively tempting to resist.

His archetypal declaration - guarding cargo ships against Somali pirates successful the Indian Ocean - came with a wage packet of $20,000 per month, and successful conscionable 3 months, he'd made much than helium earned successful a twelvemonth successful the navy. That was capable to get him hooked.

Working for an 'elite outfit of backstage contractors', what helium does is, helium says, legal, sanctioned by the US government, unofficially, and takes him each implicit the satellite - from Abu Dhabi to Washington, DC, Cairo to San Diego. 

And it involves much than conscionable ‘neutralizing’ (mercenaries similar this word to ‘killing’ for evident reasons) force targets.

‘Some jobs necessitate uncovering kids who person been kidnapped by their begetter and returning them to their mom,' helium says. 'Some jobs impact confronting card-carrying KKK members implicit debts they owe. Some mean recovering hostages from terrorists, oregon liberating children from the grip of warlords.’

Wherever helium goes, though, wealth is king - and his uber-rich paymasters marque definite helium travels successful style.

In his caller book, American Mercenary: The Riveting, High-Risk World of an Elite SEAL Team Operator Turned Hired Gun, Corbett - whose nickname is Dirty - describes a emblematic job, with an astir fatal outcome.

After a telephone from his handler, asking him to conscionable successful Abu Dhabi, Corbett flies - Etihad concern people - nonstop to the UAE superior and checks into a luxurious suite astatine the Four Seasons.

His handler, Malachi, is waiting for him successful the lounge and, together, the brace caput to the exclusive steak location Nusr-Et, to conscionable the client.

He ‘must stay anonymous, truthful let’s conscionable telephone him Al,’ writes Corbett. ‘He’s a repetition lawsuit and by present we’re each friends - oregon astatine slightest precise friendly.'

What helium does uncover is that 'Al' is simply a precise affluent Emirati, with a precise peculiar request. 

‘A hostess leads america to our array - the champion successful the house, a backstage spot overlooking a bluish inlet starring to the Persian Gulf.'

Technically, the UAE is dry, but since they are westerners staying successful a luxury hotel, and are being entertained by specified a high-ranking host, the vino flows.

They down a $1,200 vessel of French cabernet - past different - earlier they are presented with a woody cutting committee overflowing with steak and lamb.

‘At 1 constituent Nusret himself, aka Salt Bae, stops by to inquire if we’re satisfied.

‘We are. He sends different tiny people of exceptional filets. I can’t resist, forcing down a fewer much bites.’

At the extremity of each this wining and dining, Corbett is yet briefed connected his target: a pb subordinate of a radical that finances Houthi militants successful Yemen, but who is astatine that clip surviving successful the comparative information of Belgrade, Serbia.

‘If the occupation were successful France oregon Germany oregon the UK,’ says Corbett, ‘we would cull it outright. But Serbia has a anemic and corrupt instrumentality enforcement system, making it easier to get retired of the spot successful a pinch.

‘Our task - truly my task, since this volition beryllium a solo ngo - is to walk a mates of months gathering incriminating intel connected the target. Anything Al tin usage arsenic leverage "to compel him” - Al's operation - to halt financing the Houthis.’

Corbett retires to his suite, to probe the people ‘Peter’ - checking his LinkedIn, his societal media, etc. He finds retired that he's the proprietor of a PR concern with 9 employees, and successful his spare clip enjoys museums, good dining, manner shows, and nightclubs. 

Peter is besides believed to predominant prostitutes, and if Corbett tin get proof, it could beryllium capable to chopped disconnected this root of the Houthis' funding. 

‘The occupation officially begins successful 5 days,’ helium writes, ‘meaning we person clip to kill. It’s not a bully thought to alert straight from a client’s determination to the spot you’ll beryllium working, truthful the adjacent afternoon, Malachi and I alert to Cairo.

‘We’re not determination connected business, we’re tourists. We prosecute a guide, sojourn the Pyramids, instrumentality anserine tourer pictures, and person a ton of fun. We adjacent thrust camels, and the camels saunter past the Sphinx. It’s the archetypal clip I’ve done thing remotely mean successful immoderate Middle Eastern country. It feels good.’

This, says Corbett, is modular process for idiosyncratic successful his enactment of enactment - and is successful stark opposition to the Hollywood portrayal.

‘You can’t propulsion a Jason Bourne with aggregate passports and identities successful this epoch of biometrics,’ helium says. ‘You participate countries arsenic yourself, with your morganatic passport.

‘Yes, idiosyncratic from that state mightiness travel you astir to spot what you’re up to. So for jobs similar that, you bash touristy, boring things for a fewer days. Hang retired astatine bars and clubs, spot the sights, chat up radical who person thing to bash with the job. Become uninteresting, and your watchers determination on. Then you tin bash immoderate it is you’re determination to do.’

He adds that helium ever travels with currency not recognition cards - but ne'er much than $10,000. ‘If you request more, you get a trusted root to marque a run. Only euros oregon American dollars, each different currency is trash.’

Sometimes he's called to conceal his identity, and Hollywood’s emotion of a bully disguise is bang connected the money, helium says - from wigs, to make-up, and larger shoes each helping them screen their tracks. He’s adjacent been known to worldly outsize apparel with paper to marque himself look bigger.

‘What astir DNA? Hollywood loves moving with this one, and filmmakers tin get it close too,’ writes Corbett.

To debar leaving a hint of his presence, tactics tin see wearing a ablution cap, shaving, and putting Vaseline connected his eyebrows and up his nose. But often a much effectual ruse is what helium calls 'DNA confusion'.

‘Litter a country with capable evidence, and pictures go blurry. Sometimes mercenaries volition stitchery utilized cigaret butts and drinking glasses, adjacent pubic hairs from the bottoms of urinals, and permission them present and there.’

As for weapons and gadgetry, the on-screen portrayal much often than not misses the mark.

‘Often we spot our protagonist unfastened a suitcase with capable guns to limb a twelve men, GPS trackers, butterfly knives, lethal doses of poison, C-4, and truthful on.

‘In the existent world, you’re liable for getting what you need. You request a high-end SLR camera? Go bargain one. You request a GPS tracker? Make one. You request weapons? Find a way.’

Unfortunately for Corbett, weaponry proved to beryllium his downfall. Within a period of landing successful Belgrade, helium was arrested astatine gunpoint and thrown successful a Serbian jail. His charge: possession of an amerciable handgun.

He claims ne'er to person touched a weapon successful the country, and that Serbian cops planted his DNA connected a weapon, hoping to complaint him with plotting to termination the president, Aleksandar Vučić.

He spent the adjacent 18 months warring the charges, going done a drawn-out ineligible process, and erstwhile helium was yet released without charge, helium could hardly judge it. 

On the time the verdict was work out, helium writes: 'I drawback a fewer words here and there, but that’s it. The translator asks for clarification connected something. The justice nods successful my absorption and speaks quickly. 

'The translator turns to maine and says, “You tin go, you tin go.”'

Corbett asks: 'I’m done? I’m free? Under what conditions? I request to cognize precisely what the justice said.'

After much discussion, the justice turns straight to him and says: 'You are guiltless of each charges, Mr Corbett. The tribunal is terribly atrocious this has happened to you. On behalf of the Serbian government, I anticipation that your ordeal has not ruined your cognition of Serbia. Our authorities volition wage immoderate and each ineligible fees, arsenic good arsenic restitution for missed wages and damages.'

They past add: 'You indispensable instantly permission Serbia, arsenic your visa has expired.'

Corbett stifles a laughter astatine what helium calls 'this last absurdity'.  

'But who americium I to argue? I americium free.'

The full happening sounds astir excessively chaotic to beryllium true. Indeed, portion the publication has been reviewed - and heavy redacted successful places - by the Pentagon, it includes this disclaimer: 'The nationalist release clearance of this work by the Department of Defense does not connote Department of Defense endorsement oregon factual accuracy of the material.'  

For his part, present based successful San Diego, and contempt his horrific experiences, Corbett says helium has resisted the lure of a harmless table job. Instead, helium continues to entertain telephone calls and meetings with those who request ‘unique solutions to unsocial problems.’

American Mercenary: The Riveting, High-Risk World of an Elite SEAL Team Operator Turned Hired Gun by Daniel Corbett is published by Center Street