This huge and complex operation is almost unbelievable, the bravery and courage, the risks, the challenges - it creates an epic tale that would rival any fictional thriller or detective novel. - NetGalley UK Review
'Operation George' ranks up with true crime classics such as 'Donnie Brasco' and 'The Infiltrator' in its pulse-pounding narrative of undercover operations with significant ramifications. - Readers' Favorite 5-Star Review
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Meet the real Line of Duty ™ undercover team in this previously untold and gripping story of how a Northern Irish terrorist and murderer and one of his followers, were caught in an audacious and brilliantly executed undercover sting on the English mainland, codenamed, Operation George.
Following the horrific murder of Rosemary Nelson, the prominent human rights lawyer, Jim Fulton, a prominent LVF paramilitary, fled to the United States. He was deported with help from the FBI and in collusion with the British police, on his arrival at Heathrow, Fulton 'walked through an open door,' a Lewis Carrol-like euphemism for an invitation created by the crack undercover covert police team, only to disappear 'down the rabbit hole' on accepting the invitation.
The invitation turned undercover policing methods on its head. Normally, undercover officers infiltrate organised crime groups. In this case, the Operation George team of undercover officers was the organised crime group.
The 'rabbit hole' led to an alternative world: an environment created and controlled by the elite covert team and only inhabited by the undercover officers and their targets. The subterfuge encouraged the terrorist targets into believing Fulton was working for a Plymouth-based 'criminal firm' over a period spanning almost two years. In that time, over fifty thousand hours of conversations between the 'firm' members were secretly recorded and used to bring the killer and one of his followers to justice.
This unique story is told by former undercover officer Mark Dickens who was part of the elite team of Operation George undercover detectives. This deception is one of the most remarkable covert policing operations the world has ever known.
Together with pioneering Operation Julie undercover officer and bestselling author, Stephen Bentley, they have written a gripping account of a unique story reminiscent of the premise of 'The Sting' film, combining a true-crime page-turner with a fascinating insight into early 21st-century covert policing.
