Editing Magic Alex (section)

==Security consultant==
In the 1970s, the anti-terrorism industry offered bullet-proof vehicles, bugging devices and security hardware. Mardas set up companies offering these products to VIPs, using the former King [[Constantine II of Greece]] as his principal salesman.<ref name="CampbellNewStatesman3August1979">Campbell, Duncan, ''[[New Statesman]]'', 3 August 1979. pp. 158–160</ref> Ex-King {{nowrap|Constantine{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}}}who at the time was exiled in {{nowrap|Britain{{tsp}}{{mdash}}{{tsp}}}}provided contacts to several royal families for Mardas, and had close contact with the deposed [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi|Shah of Iran]], who had moved to Mexico. The Shah was one of the first people interested in the customised bullet-proof cars that Mardas was offering, and was believed to have financially assisted Mardas’ companies.<ref name="CampbellNewStatesman3August1979"/>

In 1974, Mardas held an expensive party for the then-heir to the throne of Spain [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Prince Juan Carlos]]; this secured Mardas a contract. After the [[assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco]] the Spanish royal family thought it ought to acquire more bullet-proof cars, although one car was shipped to England, where it was parked in [[Chobham]] for almost a year as nobody knew how to do the work needed to upgrade it. The second contract (worth over £1/2 million) allowed Mardas to set up new security companies: Alcom Devices Ltd, and Night Vision Systems Ltd (under the collective name of "Project Alcom") in St Albans Mews off [[Edgware Road, London]], to provide a sophisticated communications system for Juan Carlos, so he could be in constant contact with his security services.<ref name="CampbellNewStatesman3August1979"/> Mardas employed Arthur Johnson (known as Johnny Johnson), a former [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] official.<ref name="CampbellNewStatesman3August1979"/>
[[Image:450SELI 0411.jpg|250px|right|thumb|North American–spec Mercedes-Benz 1978 450SEL 6.9]]
[[Qaboos bin Said|The Sultan of Oman]] ordered six [[Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9|Mercedes 450]] limousines in 1977, but quickly discovered that they were not as safe as he had been led to believe. His ex-[[Special Air Service|SAS]] bodyguards tested one of the cars in the desert in July 1977, by firing guns at it, but a bullet hit an emergency air cylinder, which caused the fuel tank to explode, destroying the entire car.<ref name="CampbellNewStatesman3August1979"/> The remaining cars were immediately sent back, with a demand to refund the money spent.<ref name="CampbellNewStatesman3August1979"/>
King Hussein of Jordan had a fleet of cars that Mardas customised, but carried out a safety test on them with live ammunition in November 1977. One eyewitness reported that the cars could be more life-threatening than ordinary vehicles, as bullets easily pierced the armour-plating, and the thick armoured glass broke into jagged splinters when struck. Hussein ordered that the cars be restored to their previous state.<ref name="CampbellNewStatesman3August1979"/> These failures convinced Mardas and Constantine to look at the growing European market for anti-terrorist protection, setting up a factory in London to produce "bullet-proof" cars in 1978. This was financed by an investment of over £1 million through anonymous [[Monaco|Monegasque]] and Swiss bank accounts, which were believed to be controlled by the Shah.<ref name="CampbellNewStatesman3August1979"/>