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Mick Jagger and Keith Richards arrested in 1967 raid
In 1967, British police conducted a raid on Keith Richards’ Redlands estate, where they discovered “various substances of a suspicious nature” and arrested him, along with Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull.
The incident was a result of a setup orchestrated by the UK weekly newspaper, News of the World.
The authorities, who were uneasy with the Rolling Stones and their perceived corruption of the youth, had been following Jagger’s every move with the intention of getting him arrested.
The News of the World had run a story on February 5th under the headline “Pop Stars And Drugs – Facts That Will Shock You.”
The story recounted an encounter with Jagger where he allegedly popped pills and lured two young ladies back to his flat.
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However, it was later revealed that the person in question was actually Brian Jones, not Jagger. In response to the false accusation, Jagger filed a libel suit against the newspaper.
The surveillance by the authorities paid off when they spotted Jagger going to Redlands for a gathering where there was likely some illegal activity taking place.
They tipped off the police, who sent over a squad of up to 20 officers to investigate.
As a result of the raid, Jagger was charged with possession of methamphetamines (speed) without a prescription and Richards was charged for allowing his house to be used for the smoking of hashish.
The arrests were made possible by sweeping drug laws that were enacted in 1964 and 1965, which gave authorities a wide berth when it comes to cracking down on anything related to drugs.
Adding to the absurdity of the situation, Marianne Faithfull, the only woman in the house, was found to be naked and wrapped in a rug when the police arrived.
At trial, the prosecutor brought up Faithfull’s state of undress, asking Richards if he thought having a naked woman wrapped in a rug at his place was normal.
“We are not old men,” Richards replied. “We are not worried about petty morals.”
Richards was sentenced to a year in jail, and Jagger received a sentence of six months.
However, it quickly became clear that public sentiment was on the side of the Stones, and the incident helped to build their legend.
On appeal, Jagger’s sentence was commuted and charges against Richards were dropped.
