In a Liverpool night club, the Canadian mobster said, "Are you guys cops?"
Steve Jackson heard him. His blood ran cold.
Jackson wasn't his real name. He was an undercover cop.
Ever wondered about the life of an undercover cop?
What it takes to infiltrate a worldwide drugs gang?
What it feels like to live a double life? – to ‘live a lie.’
Read this gripping true story of Britain's biggest drug bust.
In March 1978, at the culmination of Operation Julie, fifteen defendants, including doctors, research chemists, a writer, and "professional" drug dealers were sentenced to a combined total of one hundred and twenty-four years imprisonment.
Operation Julie is still today the point of reference for all British undercover operations and training. In 2011, the BBC claimed this massive and unique police operation was the start of the war on drugs.
The author, Stephen Bentley, was one of four undercover detectives engaged on Operation Julie. Together with his undercover partner, he infiltrated the gang producing around 90 percent of the world's LSD and uncovered a plot to import huge quantities of Bolivian cocaine into the UK.
Bentley operated in the era of no undercover training. He improvised as he went along. He was a pioneer infiltrator left to his own devices.
The underworld knew the author as Steve Jackson. How did he successfully infiltrate the two gangs? Did he have to take drugs, and how did 'living a lie' affect him?
Bentley and his book have featured on BBC Newsnight, BBC Wales News, BBC Radio 4 World at One and BBC Five Live, and also in London's Guardian and Sunday Express newspapers.
The book is also now adapted for a feature film.
A tough, unflinching look at what it's like to be an undercover police officer in one of the largest drug busts ever. Not only does Mr. Bentley write a riveting tale, he humanizes it with the personal costs that can come from being undercover so long. Not for the faint of heart or squeamish, this is a riveting story told in a blunt, straightforward style that is rough but entertaining for fans of true crime works.
'Undercover Operation Julie - The Inside Story,' documents everyday life of undercover work as the author, Stephen Bentley, won the confidence of the gang members. Bentley tells in his book how he built a "perfect" relationship with Smiles, an important gang member. But this friendship almost undermined the whole operation.- Dominic Blake, BBC News England, October 2, 2016.
"This is an enlightening account of the war on drugs." - InD'Tale Magazine
"Compelling insight to the life, mental make-up and identity confusion of someone deep undercover ..." - Goodreads
"One of my favourite reads of 2017" - Goodreads
"The UK's Donnie Brasco; A must read" - Goodreads
'This book will appeal to those interested in the police & how they work undercover. Hopefully lessons have now been learnt.' - Margaret Joel, Review Spot UK
'A very absorbing and engrossing story. Highly recommended!' - Patricia Humm, Review Spot UK
A fascinating glimpse at the clandestine world of undercover policing and how one detective with assistance from his partner, brought down one of the world's largest LSD operation in the United Kingdom. - The International Review of Books
I am delighted to announce I have entered into an option agreement for a feature film based on my book.
Update July 2020: The film is now in development.
