Roger Smart

A highly regarded barrister specialising in the most serious and sensitive criminal cases.

Overview 

Roger Smart is a senior barrister specialising in prosecuting the most serious offences in cases often of national importance.  His repertoire includes prosecuting for the specialist and headquarter divisions of the CPS in terrorist, murder, kidnap, blackmail, firearms, County lines drugs operation allegations, amongst others.

Experience 

Roger has extensive experience in prosecuting and defending in serious & complex cases involving allegations of terrorism, murder, manslaughter, kidnap, false imprisonment, blackmail, public official corruption, misconduct in a public office, bribery, fraud, armed robbery, human trafficking, drugs, firearms offences & money laundering.

He is frequently instructed as leading counsel to provide a strategic overview in sensitive high profile inquiries with multi-jurisdictional aspects to them.

Previous instructions include: Operation Venetic, one of the first counsel to be instructed to prosecute cases of murder, drug supply and arson with intent to endanger life arising from the ground-breaking use of data from encrypted telephones; Operation Ivybridge, at the time the highest number of credit cards compromised in the UK; Operation Eaglewood, the largest criminal investigation (money laundering by sophisticated criminal networks), undertaken by the Metropolitan Police & prosecution by the CPS; and Operation Christmas, the highest value diamond robbery seen in the UK - carried out by the now infamous 'Pink Panther Gang'.

Roger is acknowledged as one of the country's foremost experts in advising upon the use of pioneering techniques in evidence. He was invited to make a presentation to the House of Commons Select Committee engaged in the evaluation of draft legislation addressing communications data.

He delivers key capacity-building initiatives both nationally and internationally in areas including: terrorist offences, anti-bribery & corruption prosecutions, evidence gathering & court presentation and the assessment and use of telephone evidence.

Roger has undertaken projects on behalf of a wide number of organisations including: United Nations, Transparency International, Financial Conduct Authority, Center for Co-operative Security, Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe, and internationally recognised commercial entities.

Specialist units Roger is instructed by include: Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID), Counter Terrorism Division and Central Fraud Division. He has worked on projects based in the UK, mainland Europe, the Americas, Asia & Africa.

He has served with the British Army Reserves for 32 years and has provided discreet advice on an ongoing basis to the military at various levels.

Courts Martial

Roger has experience of conducting trials in Courts Martial.

International Work

Roger Smart frequently is engaged as a subject matter expert by highly regarded Non-Governmental Organisations to lead capacity building initiatives. These have involved the following countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Bhutan, Outer Mongolia, Malawi, Indonesia, Malaysia & Vietnam.

Notable Cases 

R v SR & Or’s (2023-2024)
Roger Smart is prosecuting a family based organised crime network that acquired with the assistance of a corrupt estate agent rental properties that they converted into sophisticated cannabis growing factories across a wide geographical area.

R v RN (2022)
Roger Smart successfully prosecuted an accomplished engineer who had committed 47 different firearms offences. He was in possession of a vast armoury of illegally held weapons that he had variously a) created himself b) converted from imitation to real firearms and c) reactivated previously deactivated weapons.

R v JH & Or’s (2021-2022)
Roger Smart successfully prosecuted a highly efficient organised crime network that utilised very sophisticated electronic equipment in order to by-pass the electronics of luxury cars, stealing in excess of 64 high value vehicles, worth around £3 million.

R v AA & Or’s (2019-2022)
Roger Smart led for the prosecution as six men were convicted and sentenced for conspiracy to supply class A drugs following an eight-week trial. The leading figure in the ‘county lines’ drug network was a grime artist known as Asco. A first trial took place in 2020 and a second in 2021 that resulted in all defendants save 1 being convicted – the remaining defendant was tried and convicted for operating two distinct county lines in 2022.

R v AN & Or’s (2019-2022)
Roger Smart prosecuted this extensive conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and conspiracy to possess a large quantity of monies. The defendants were engaged in a sophisticated operation to produce vast quantities of Class A drugs having sourced a pharmaceutical grade pill press that produced 20,000 ecstasy tablets per hour.

R v SM & Or’s (2019-2022)
Roger Smart successfully prosecuted defendants that had inflicted very serious and life-changing injuries to their intended victim with sulphuric acid. The case also involved the detailed examination of psychiatric evidence served in respect of one of the defendants.

R v MR & Or’s (2016-2017)
Roger Smart successfully prosecuted defendants engaged in the importation of 720kgs of cannabis with a street value of £2.1 million.

R v SH & Or’s (2015-2016)
Roger Smart was lead in the successful prosecution of a number of individuals who sought to provide funding for terrorist activity in Syria and to source a Dragunov sniper rifle in order to support others engaged in terrorist activity within the country.

R v RS & Or’s (2014-2015)
Roger Smart prosecuted a double kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail. The hostage was kidnapped and held by one gang of drug dealers arising from an alleged debt only to find himself then being kidnapped and held by a rival gang of drug dealers. The trial involved ‘cut-throat’ defences as between the two gangs each of which sought falsely to claim that they had rescued the hostage from the other gang. All 8 defendants convicted.

R v & Or’s (2014-2015)
Roger Smart prosecuted a corrupt public official who was induced to awarded contracts to individuals to conduct work on behalf of a local authority having received bribes.

R v McGee (2014)
Roger Smart prosecuted Ryan McGee who made a nail bomb containing 181 metal screws and bits of glass which were designed to maximise wounding capability when it was set off.

R v Iqbal (2014)
Roger Smart successfully prosecutes ‘Father of Terrorism’.

R v Curtin & Or's (2014)
Roger Smart successfully prosecuted the £1.5million robbery of Selfridges Oxford Street.

R v Bassett-Cross (2013)
Roger Smart prosecuted a professional trustee, who dishonestly managed the affairs of four trusts thereby depriving the beneficiaries of nearly £200,000.00 they were entitled to receive.

R v Rose & Uddin (2012)
Roger Smart was instructed to prosecute Jakir Uddin and Derek Rose who are both accused of blackmailing F1 boss' daughter Tamara Ecclestone for £200,000.

Reviews

Chambers UK 2023: Crime - Band 5

'Roger Smart is a hugely experienced and able leading senior junior who gets right to the heart of all the complex, grave crimes he prosecutes. He is also an expert cross-examiner.' Chambers UK Crime (2023)

'He is a fair prosecutor and a tough negotiator.' Chambers UK Crime (2022)