Littlejohn had been dishonourably discharged from the Parachute Regiment.

[1]He
served three years for robbery before being released from prison in 1968 from which
time he worked as a car dealer.[2] In 1970 the Midland Motor Cylinder Company in
Smethwick, Birmingham was robbed of £38,000. The wages clerk, Brian Perks, claimed
to have been overpowered by an Indian man who then took the money. Perks was
Littlejohn's brother-in-law and the police suspected a staged incident involving
the two men.[3]

Littlejohn claims he went on the run, first to London, where he made contact with a
police officer who showed him his arrest warrant and advised him to move to Dublin.
In December 1970, in Dublin, he set up a company, Whizz Kids (Ireland) Ltd. He
moved to Cahersiveen seeking a potential development site for a factory. As a flash
potential investor who bought drinks for all in the local pubs, he became well
known and popular in the area. In Kerry Littlejohn claimed he was shown a
Kalashnikov supposedly smuggled in by Russian sailors. Littlejohn turned down
several potential development sites and left unpaid debts when he returned to
Dublin.[2]