May 6, 2024 • 30 mins
Step into the shadow-laced world of undercover police work as I, Michael Bates, peel back the curtain on the dangerous game of living a double life amidst criminals. Imagine the ethical tightrope walked when a first night's conversation with Tiffany, a young stripper, blurs the lines between duty and humanity. Our exchange, under the neon glow, is more than it seems—funded by the department's money, it's a dance of deception for the sake of justice. In this realm, an officer's tools are not just handcuffs and a badge, but also the ability to discern truth from performance.
With an ear tuned to the silent alarms of instinct, we navigate scenarios that challenge our preconceptions and test the limits of our experience. From the unexpected discovery of crime by observing the minutiae of human behaviour to the calculated risks of drug deals with volatile criminals, each narrative thread weaves a larger story. As your guide, I recount chilling moments like the tragic fate of a puppy used to send a violent message, and the strategic severing of ties with risky contacts. Join us as we journey through the underbelly of society, where every encounter could be a story of survival or a step toward taking down those who lurk within.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Hello and welcome to my podcast Whisper in the
Shadows the true story of areal-life undercover cop.
I'm Michael Bates and I was apolice officer for 15 years in
one of the country's statepolice forces.
I was also an undercover copfor over two years, and all the
episodes of this podcast are mytrue stories of what it's really
like to be an undercover cop.
(00:26):
Rather, I was Michael Bates, sofull disclosure Michael is not
actually my real name.
It was my COVID identity I usedon most of my operations.
Everyone has a notion of whatundercover policing is all about
, whether you think they are anarc, a COVID operative, a dog
or an undercover cop.
(00:47):
Most people seem to confuseplaying close police with being
undercover.
There is a very big difference,though.
Most playing close police don'twear a uniform, so they aren't
as obtrusive in public.
Being covert is completelydifferent, though.
You become immersed in theworld of your targets.
When you're a police officer,part of your role is to
(01:07):
investigate crimes.
This means you try and findevidence to prove the person you
have arrested has committedthat crime.
Now, this evidence can consistof physical, verbal, video and
witnesses.
When you're an undercoverpolice officer, though, you are
the evidence and you are thereason someone gets convicted of
the crimes.
That is both exciting anddangerous, so why don't we get
(01:33):
on with the next episode?
Thanks for joining me again onthe Whisper in the Shadows
podcast.
Last week, betty and I had hadour Star Wars moment and later
that night gone to a strip clubbecause she had to meet with
someone.
Now, this person wouldeventually become a target, but
not that night.
So whilst Betty was off havinga chat, I was sitting and
(01:56):
watching the entertainment.
The club manager came in withwhat appeared to be a new girl
and she was giving her bothinstructions and encouragement
at the same time.
The manager had seen me beforewith Betty, so knew of me.
I don't think she was convincedof who I really was, though
this young woman she had withher.
It was her first nightstripping.
You could really tell.
If I had to guess, she wouldhave been maybe 20.
(02:19):
She was extremely pretty and hadan amazing figure.
She was about five foot sixtall, with long dark hair that
she wore up in a ponytail.
Now, before I get jumped on,she was wearing next to nothing,
ie lingerie and high heels.
Not much was left to theimagination.
Okay, well, a little bit.
But as for her figure, youcould tell that she was athletic
and toned what I would consideran amazing figure.
(02:41):
Anyway, she went up on stageand started to perform her
routine.
It was a bit clunky, as youwould expect of someone who
hadn't done it in front ofpeople before, and was probably
shy and a little bit overawedActually, on second thoughts,
don't believe shyness is a wordthat I would use to describe her
.
Now, there were about fivepeople in the club and all of
(03:01):
them, except me, had girls withthem.
She finished her routine, got around of applause well, I
clapped and she rushed off stageout to the dressing rooms to
get changed or dressed for herstint at trying to get some of
the punters to buy a lap dance.
When she came back out, she waswearing a tiny little crop top
with no bra and a very, verytight pair of miniature denim
(03:22):
shorts.
Why is this important?
It probably isn't, but it's howI remember it.
So I was saying I was the onlyone of the punters who was not
being fawned over.
That was probably because thegirls knew that I was very tight
when it came to lap dances andalso knew I was, with Betty,
better off playing up to someonewho gave them money than
someone who wasn't going to,except for this time.
(03:46):
So young Tiffany comes up to meand sips on my lap across my
legs with an arm draped aroundmy shoulders.
After all this time, I stillremember her stage name.
Well, I think it was her stagename.
Up close, she was probably aday not probably not a day over
19.
Hey, gorgeous, how come you'reall on your lonesome?
She asked in a playful voice.
(04:06):
Just lucky, I guess.
I replied.
I could smell her perfume andit was very heady indeed.
She leaned into my chest and puther head on my shoulder, then
whistled into my ear Would youlike me to dance, just for you?
Hmm, that is tempting, I said.
But how about I buy you a drinkfirst?
Rule number one is, if you'reallowed, always buy the girls.
I said, but how about I buy youa drink first?
(04:26):
Rule number one is, if you'reallowed, always buy the girls a
drink or two.
Well, depending on how muchmoney you have.
Three, I ordered my usual, abourbon and dry, and she ordered
gin and tonic.
So your first night, I see?
I said to her yes, how did youknow?
She asked, looking a littleshocked.
(04:49):
Well, I have been in a fewtimes and know most of the girls
and I haven't seen you before.
Oh, she said you looked alittle nervous.
I said, did I?
She replied I wasn't thatnervous.
I don't think I then asked thequestion.
You should never ask.
So why is such a pretty youngthing like you stripping?
(05:10):
Well, she replied I have a kidthat I need to take care of, so
I figured I could make some goodmoney stripping.
Besides, I enjoy being nakedand I'm pretty hot, I think.
Now that took me aback.
She was a lot more forward thanI expected, but that was to get
blown out of the water too.
The drinks came and again sheasked me if I wanted a lap dance
(05:30):
.
Maybe I was feeling benevolent,or maybe it was because it
wasn't my money, but I said OK.
Back then different clubs diddifferent private dances in
different ways.
Some had a special back roomthat was a lot less open.
Some had individual specialback room that was a lot less
open.
Some had individual specialrooms and some, like this club,
were cheap and the lap danceswere done in a quiet corner on
(05:50):
the main floor.
So we moved to the corner ofthe room and she sat me down.
Now, lap dances or privatedances or private shows, or
whatever you want to call them,are generally no touch.
Sometimes guys can touch hipsor arms, but generally the girls
keep touching of personal areasoff limits.
The dance is designed to get youhorny and that way you pay more
(06:13):
to keep you horny, without anyphysical bumping of uglies, as
someone once put it, that wouldmean very close contact with
your body, the odd touch, butnever full body on body contact.
Some of that had to do with thelaws at the time, as well as
the definition of prostitution,but also public exposure and
(06:33):
public decency laws.
So, sitting down, tiffanystarts dancing and it is going
pretty much as expected A littleteasing, a little flirting me,
trying to remember I'm bi.
Next thing she takes off hertop.
All good.
I was in a strip club and I hadseen a pair of breasts before
once or twice in my life.
In fact I'd seen about six pairof them.
(06:55):
That night I was sitting backfeeling very mellow.
Out of the corner of my eye Icould see the club manager come
out from the back room and stopand watch her new stripper.
At the time I thought nothingof it.
So Tiffany is dancing and allof a sudden she climbs on top of
me, straddles me and is sittingin my lap.
Okay, I thought to myself,along with dead kittens and
(07:17):
puppies, in what I thought wasan accident, she started
grinding away in my lap.
Didn't last long, but itcertainly had a reaction.
She then leans forward and putsher breasts in my lap.
Didn't last long, but itcertainly had a reaction.
She then leans forward and putsher breasts in my face.
Now you would expect her tostop just above my face, but no,
she didn't.
So rule number one no touchinghad just been broken.
(07:38):
I anxiously looked around forthe bouncer.
I had seen on numerousoccasions guides thrown out for
doing something stupid like thatmany times.
I think that was a bit tooclose, wasn't it?
I said to her.
She just looked at me andsmiled.
It was about now.
I was thinking whether they hadhad a chat to her about the
do's and don'ts of lap dances.
I could see the manager standup a bit more upright.
(08:01):
Tiffany stands back up andcontinues to dance.
Now I paid for 20 minutes andit was only about 10 minutes in
as she is dancing and it reallyappeared like she lost herself
in the music.
She takes those incredibly tinyshorts off and is now standing
there in a micro g-string andnothing else, dancing away
oblivious to anyone else.
My response was getting moreand more obvious and I was
(08:24):
shifting uncomfortably in mychair.
Tiffany notices me shiftingaround and again jumps on me and
straddles me.
Okay, I said quietly, and againshe looked me directly in the
eyes and smiled.
I could see the manager startto walk closer to us, I'm
guessing, to be able to stopwhatever was going to happen.
Next, tiffany grabbed both myhands and put them on her hips.
(08:47):
Okay, I thought that is allowed.
Again, she put her breasts inmy face and laughed.
The manager gets a bit closer.
Then she starts bobbing up anddown.
Usually not a problem, becauseshe shouldn't actually touch me,
but in this instance she did,rather forcefully and not in a
painful way.
The manager starts to get evencloser, and then it happened.
(09:11):
She obviously felt she washaving the desired effect.
I was glad I was bi and not gayand she started grinding
herself on me.
I had my hands on her hips andshe was going to town.
All I remember next is themanager run walking to where we
were, grabbing Tiffany by theshoulder and literally pulling
her off me, and in a veryscolding tone she said that is
(09:35):
not how you lap dance.
You need to be very careful.
You never know who you aredancing for.
He could be a cop With that.
She dragged Tiffany away to theback change rooms.
Tiffany came back out about 30seconds later and picked up her
clothes, gave a wry smile andran off again.
So two things happened that mademe very nervous.
Firstly, tiffany was enjoyingthat way too much, and she
(09:59):
probably ruined her strippingcareer.
Also, I enjoyed it way too much, and I hope that wasn't evident
to anyone else in the room.
That was probably as much of anissue, as it was already
established that I was bi.
The second one, though, wasthat the manager had used me and
(10:19):
the word cop in the samesentence.
That was concerning.
I sat there thinking to myselfdoes she think I'm a copper?
Does she know I'm workingundercover?
How much has Betty told her?
She wouldn't do that, would she?
I must have had a very stressedlook on my face, because when
Betty came back to find me, shesaid what's wrong, darling?
(10:42):
The lap dance wasn't that bad,was it?
No?
Well, yes, but no, she was abit full on, I replied.
So I was told.
She said but it appears youboth enjoyed it, betty said,
motioning to my lap, tried tosit more upright.
Thanks for that, I said.
She just laughed.
You haven't told anyone who Ireally am, have you?
(11:05):
I asked her Now, michaeldarling, why on earth would I do
that?
And she was right.
It didn't make sense for her todo that, but still the comment
sat with me and made me feelreally uneasy.
A short time later, the guyBetty had gone to see Alphonse
came over to the table where wewere sitting.
Alphonse, this is Michael, thefriend I told you about, isn't
(11:28):
he gorgeous?
I just smiled a littleuncomfortably.
I put my hand out to shake Hi,how are you?
I said Good, michael.
Betty says you're interested inbuying some speed.
Is that right?
Alphonse said matter-of-factly.
Well, yeah, I guess I am.
Can you give me some?
(11:50):
I replied that shouldn't be aproblem.
Get my number from Betty andgive me a call in a few days and
we can discuss amounts andcosts.
Betty, he said with a nod ofhis head, and with that he got
up, went upstairs and left.
That was pretty easy.
I said to Betty Darling,everything is easy when you're
with me.
She replied and laughed and shewas right.
She knew the who's who and, I'mguessing, had enough dirt on
(12:12):
just about everybody that shegot her way for the most part.
The next night we were out and Iwas sitting with these young
guys who were out pretendingthey were big spenders, throwing
money at the strippers.
Well, not literally, butfiguratively speaking.
They were spending a lot, somuch so that it was a little
incongruous with theirappearance.
Now, I know you should neverjudge a book by its cover, but
(12:34):
in the policing business that iswhere you start at a base level
judging a book by its cover.
It's always amazed me thatpeople get bent out of shape by
the fact the police apparentlyprofile or use common base
stereotypes while policing.
You know what I?
Police only pick on blackpeople, or police only pick on
people from low socioeconomicareas, etc.
Whilst in a small number ofinstances that's probably true.
(12:59):
The actual truth is that policehave to make split decisions
based on a stereotype to knowwhether something is out of the
ordinary and therefore may be anindication that something is
just not right.
The ordinary, and therefore maybe an indication that something
is just not right that a crimeis or is about to take place.
Sometimes those instincts areviewed by people who live in
(13:20):
rose-colored glasses world asbeing out of date or racist or
whatever ist you want it to fallunder.
Police always talk about gutfeel.
I once had a sergeant who saidafter a few years you'll begin
to get a gut feel when you lookat a situation, person or act
and that gut feel will eithersay something is not right here
(13:41):
or this is par for the course.
Nine times out of 10, that gutfeel when they say something
isn't right will be correct.
If you don't act on it, thenyou aren't doing your job as a
police officer and criminalswill get away unpunished.
That has stood out to me eversince.
So two examples One night I wasworking in uniform in the
(14:01):
middle of the city.
I was standing there with mypartner talking to a couple of
people about something.
I see this guy walking up themall towards us.
He was wearing a dirty t-shirt,had dirty track pants on, was
generally unkempt and waswearing thongs.
Now, nothing against bothpeople with thongs To anyone
else.
He was just another homelessperson.
He was also carrying a bigwhite plastic bag that was full
(14:24):
of something and it looked heavy.
Just the way he was walking,the way he was carrying the bag
and the way he ever so slightlystopped when he saw us, the
police, made me think somethingisn't right here.
My gut feel was that somethingwas off.
As he came closer, his gait wasalso a bit lopsided, like he
was limping, but no signs of anactual injury.
(14:45):
He was carrying the bag closeto the leg.
He was favouring and using itto support the bag.
That, again, seemed very odd,so I walked away from our
conversation and said hey, mate,where are you off to Now?
Anyone looking at thatinteraction would have seen me
stop what appeared to be ahomeless person.
He gave me some babble aboutgoing to find something to eat.
(15:06):
He was clutching this bag hehad with him for dear life, like
it had his prized possessionsin it.
What's in the bag, mate?
I asked him.
No, no, nothing, just my things.
He said.
Can I have a look?
I asked him.
Well, yeah, why, though?
He replied I don't know, mate,just seems like something isn't
(15:26):
right.
What's in the bag?
I persisted.
He eventually opened the bagand inside were a large number
of 20 and 50 cent pieces.
I'm talking a large number.
So first thought was he hadsmashed a parking meter.
Where'd you get these from,mate?
I asked oh, they're mine, Ifound them.
He replied.
Where'd you get these from,mate?
(15:49):
I asked they're mine, I foundthem.
He replied.
And where did you find them?
I asked.
He looked back the way he cameand pointed down the street Down
there.
I got on the radio and asked ifthere was anyone down the
street and to see whether theycould see a smashed parking
meter.
I got one.
Better.
One of the crew came back andsaid someone had kicked in the
door of a hotel and smashed acigarette machine coin holder.
(16:10):
Witnesses had said he had runoff towards where we were.
So I had a guy with a largenumber of coins, who was very
skittish to say the least, and acigarette machine that had been
smashed and coins stolen.
Coincidence, I think notsmashed and coins stolen
Coincidence, I think not.
So gut feeling and base andbehavior on stereotypes.
(16:31):
One feel good is zero.
Look, I admit it is a very fineline.
But just because a policeofficer gets a gut feel, it
doesn't mean they are racist orany.
Any other kind of ist Goodpolicing comes from developing a
gut feel about a broad base ofstereotypes.
So I'm at the strip club andthese guys are obviously out of
place.
So I strike up a conversation.
(16:53):
Gavin was about 27,.
A bit of a scrawny looking guywearing his best Kmart shirt.
He had that typical Boganhaircut and his mates were the
same.
They were drinking beer, beingvery loud, and they were sitting
at the stage.
I got up and went over and satdown next to him.
Now, the girls knew me.
So when I came over, the onedancing automatically came up to
(17:15):
me and did a bit of a dance infront of me.
That was good because it gother closer to Gavin and his
mates.
After she left and went back upthe stage, gavin turned to me
and said mates.
After she left and went back upthe stage, gavin turned to me
and said do you know her?
Yeah, mate, I'm a bit of aregular.
I replied you should hang withme and they'll come over.
(17:36):
We can do that, he said eagerly.
At the end of her performance.
We went back to the booth I wassitting in and Gavin and his
mates joined me.
Introductions were made and Itold them I was Michael.
Over the next few hours thegirls would come and say hello,
the guys would go and get theirlap dances and they were
spending a shitload of cash.
It became quite evident, though, that they had more cash than
(17:56):
they should have.
They lived in a southern suburbof the city that was synonymous
with lower socioeconomichousing and high crime, and a
hotbed for drugs like chuff andspeed, because, compared to H&C,
they were cheap.
Now they had either robbedsomeone or they were dealing
drugs.
Either way, I was on to a newtarget.
(18:17):
During the course of the night Ileaned over to Gavin and said
Mate, you are rather flush.
Did you knock over a bank orsomething?
He turned and looked at me,gauging me as to what he should
say, laughed and said hell no,they look like they could rob a
bank.
I have a little businessselling the go juice.
I looked a bit puzzled.
(18:37):
You mean speed, I asked.
He looked at me like I was adickhead and said what else do
you think I meant?
He looked at me like I was adickhead and said what else do
you think I meant, mate?
Sorry, I've just never heard itcalled that before and I sell a
fair bit of it.
I replied.
Now that got his interest.
Again.
(18:58):
He looked at me trying to gaugeif he believed me or not.
Where do you get your gear from?
He eventually asked here andthere, but I'm always on the
lookout for a better deal Ireplied when do you get your
gear from?
This time he was a lot more coy.
How do I know you're not a cop?
He asked Mate, good question.
(19:19):
But really, look at me, do Ilook like a cop?
And with everything that's goneon in the last few years, would
I be seen dead in a strip clubwhere I know everyone from the
girls to the bar staff?
If I was a cop yeah, good point, he said.
And no, you don't look like acop I would have said a fag.
But you haven't come on to meyet.
The night is still early, Isaid, laughing.
As it turned out, gavin gave mehis number and I said I'll be
(19:40):
in touch to get some gearthrough him, at a fee, of course
.
I left them spending far toomuch money on drinks and lap
dances and went back to my unit.
After an eventful night, I hada lot of notes to write up and I
wanted to do it before I wentto sleep and the fog of the
evening was imbued into mymorning.
The next day.
I went to see my controller andgave him an update on the
(20:01):
evening and how I'd met up withGavin.
I handed over the phone numberand left it to him to chase that
up.
I spent the day doing catch-upnotes and we did some planning
about Alphonse and what andwhere we were going to buy from
him.
It was decided that we try andget him to come to my unit and
record him on the camera there.
Now, the next day, my controllerhad some good news.
Gavin had, of course, used hisreal name and address when he
(20:23):
got his phone and we were ableto find him in the system.
There wasn't the same paranoiaback then about giving all of
your details away to tech ortelco companies.
In fact it was very novel andthey didn't actually ask for too
much proof of ID anyway.
Now that we knew who Gavin was,we were able to understand that
he might actually have goodinroads into a supplier down
(20:45):
where he lived.
I called Gavin and set up ameeting with him for the
following day.
The plan was I would go down tohis place and for a fee he
would take me to his supplierand I would buy an ounce.
That was all prettystraightforward.
Oh, and I think I forgot tomention that the area that Gavin
(21:05):
lived in was next to thepolicing district, to where I
had been when I joined thecovert squad.
Now everyone already knew thisand everyone agreed that there
was little chance anyone wouldrecognize me.
We had no idea of who thesupplier was.
He had moved there after mytime and I had had no
interaction with Gavin or thealleged supplier during my time
down there, either officially orunofficially.
(21:27):
So I jumped in my car andheaded off down to Gavin's place
.
I had decided first proper meetand I wouldn't wear a wire,
just in case he felt a bitjittery even after his comments.
A few nights previous he livedin a townhouse block that was on
the main road.
His place was at the back ofthe property, as far away from
the road as you could get Overthe back fence.
(21:49):
There was vacant land that ranall the way through to the
motorway.
About a kilometre away I parkout on the road and walk into
the complex and down to histownhouse third world.
The block itself satperpendicular to the road, which
meant I had to walk past everytownhouse on my way there.
There were couches andmattresses strewn out of
(22:11):
balconies, armchairs sitting inthe driveway, obviously broken
down into irreparable cars,sitting outside in car parking
spots Just shit everywhere.
I get down to Gavin's apartmentand there is a big black cross
or X painted on his door, with ahole made from what looked like
a screwdriver or a knife, maybein the middle of it, and also
(22:33):
what looked like blood.
Now, if I said that wasn'tunnerving I'd be lying.
I walk up to the door andtentatively knock on it.
Who's that?
Came a yell from inside, mate,it's Mick Michael from the other
night.
I yelled out.
I couldn't tell if it wasGavin's voice or not.
I hear rustling and the dooropens and Gavin is standing
(22:54):
there with a smile on his face.
You found it.
He said yeah, mate, wasn't thathard.
I do have a Refidex.
I replied Now for those of youborn after the 2000s, before we
could ask Google or Siri how toget somewhere, we had a book of
street maps where you could lookup a street and, after flicking
through a number of correlatedpages, work out how to get
(23:15):
somewhere.
It was a great game to play,but kind of frustrating if the
map pages didn't quite match up.
I do have to admit that I ammuch happier when asking Google
how to get somewhere.
Anyway, gavin invites me in andinside it was the same as any
other place I had been to in thearea Cheap carpet floors, dirty
(23:35):
walls, a two-seater couch andtwo armchairs in a small lounge
room with a TV on a box.
The kitchen was just as dirtyand there was a dining table
with four chairs between thelounge and the kitchen bench,
which also doubled as abreakfast bar.
There was crap everywhere andhe had a girlfriend who had a
baby and they were standing inthe kitchen.
This is Mick, he said to them.
(23:56):
I waved and he mentioned and hemotioned me to sit down.
As I was doing so, I had abrief glance up the stairs and
said to myself Nope, don't wantto know what's up there, mate, I
don't want to pry, but whathappened to your door?
I asked quietly.
Oh, you saw that.
He replied yeah well, you can'treally miss a big black cross
(24:20):
on your door.
I said yeah well, some shitbagI was dealing with reckoned I
owed him money.
He started saying I had a puppyand it was outside on the
balcony.
He came around whilst weweren't home and to send me a
message.
He painted the cross on thedoor and then pinned the puppy
to the door with a big knifestabbed into it.
I loved that puppy.
I was stunned I was going tosay slightly stunned, but I was
(24:44):
actually very stunned.
No way.
I said yeah, happened about amonth ago.
He replied what the fuck have Igot myself into?
I thought to myself.
It wasn't the guy we're goingto see, was it?
I asked Nah, not him, just someother dickhead.
He replied.
So I found out later that Gavinhad allegedly owed money some
(25:08):
money to another dealer for somedrugs.
This guy had a real mean streakin him and was well known for
being rather violent.
He was seen at Gavin'stownhouse yelling and screaming
to pay him his money.
When no one answered, he got atin of spray paint he found
lying around, painted the blackcross or X on the front door,
went back to his car, got ahunting knife and stabbed the
(25:30):
puppy, killing it and pinning itto the front door.
One of the neighbours hadcalled the police and they
showed up just as Stupid wasleaving.
They found the puppy, took itdown and took it to the vet.
It couldn't be saved, but theyarrested Stupid and he ended up
going to jail.
Be saved.
But they arrested stupid and heended up going to jail anyway.
(25:50):
Right about now I was thinkingthis is a group of people I
probably don't want to bedealing with.
Gavin says to me we'll takeyour car and go and see dave,
right, oh, and how far do wehave to go?
I asked yeah, not far, just thenext server.
He replied how much does hewant for the ounce?
I asked for gavin.
I asked gavin 1500 and 100 forme.
(26:11):
He answered sweet, do you wantit now or is after?
Okay?
I asked yeah, later, it's fine.
Gavin replied, and with that wewalked out to my car and headed
off to meet john.
Now, I rarely had the big timejitters before a buy,
realistically, only that timewith Tracy, when I met John and
he accidentally dropped theheroin on the ground and I
thought I was going to gettopped.
(26:32):
But given what I had justwalked into and the level of
violence these people had as acollective, I wasn't feeling the
love to be doing more than onebuy and wanted it to be over
very, very quickly.
Okay, so where are we going?
I asked Gavin.
He directs me to the car parkof a local shopping center in
the next suburb over.
(26:52):
It was like a little strip malland we parked off to the side.
Gavin makes a quick phone calland about five minutes later a
beat up old Commodore turns upand parks next to us.
I had already had theconversation that I was handing
over the money and taking thedrugs.
I knew how this worked and Ididn't want to give him the
chance of jumping out of the carand into John's with my money
(27:13):
and my drugs.
He was surprisingly okay withit and just went with the flow.
The buy was actually very quick.
John gets out of the car andcomes up to my driver's window.
I guess you're Mick.
He says to me Yep, and you mustbe John.
I replied Well done, do youhave the cash?
I produced the money in amixture of $150 notes all rolled
(27:35):
up.
Do you want me to count it?
I asked Nah, I trust ya.
Well, I trust Gavin.
He knows what will happen if hewas to dog me, came the reply
and my gear.
I asked.
John produced a clip seal bagthat had a whitish, pinkish
powder in it.
An ounce, just like you ordered, john said.
(27:55):
As he was handing it over.
He said I probably wouldn'tjump on it.
Yeah, good to know.
I said.
I handed over the cash, tookwhat I assumed was the speed and
it was according to the fieldtest my controller did later and
John went back to his car.
As he was getting in he yelledgive him my number, gav.
And with that he drove off.
(28:15):
I took Gavin back to hishellhole of a townhouse, dropped
him at the front of thedriveway, gave him his money and
said I'll be in touch, nevercalled him again.
They were just a bit too lowlevel for what we were aiming
for.
Later that night Betty calledand asked if I was going to meet
Alphonse.
I said I'd give her a call back.
I called my controller and wediscussed the deal.
(28:36):
When I rang Betty back, I saidyep, I'd, I'd I would meet him
and I'd buy half an ounce tostart with, just to see if my
customers liked it.
Betty called back and told methat Alphonse wanted me to call
him and gave me his number.
She also said the brothers,yakov and Bogdan, had asked
about me and whether I wanted todo a deal with them.
I asked her to set up anothermeeting with them, this time
(28:59):
somewhere other than her flat,and that is all we have time for
on today's episode.
I hope you're enjoying myrecollections of my time working
undercover.
Join me next week and find outhow I nearly stuffed up a
videotape deal and thought I wasgoing to blow it, and whether I
ended up dealing with thenot-gay brothers again.
(29:19):
Thank you for listening toWhisper in the Shadows my true
stories of a real-lifeundercover cop.
I hope you've enjoyed thatepisode.
In the next one we'll exploremore exciting stories from my
operations.
Please make sure you subscribeto the podcast so you never miss
an episode.
Lastly, if you're an ex-COVIDoperative or undercover police
(29:41):
officer, I would love to chat toyou about your experiences.
Or, if you're feeling dangerous, tell your stories on my
podcast.
Please get in contact by myemail, which is
whisperintheshadowspodcast atgmailcom.
I look forward to you joiningme next time.
Hello and welcome to my podcast Whisper in the
Shadows the true story of areal-life undercover cop.
I'm Michael Bates and I was apolice officer for 15 years in
one of the country's statepolice forces.
I was also an undercover copfor over two years, and all the
episodes of this podcast are mytrue stories of what it's really
like to be an undercover cop.
(00:26):
Rather, I was Michael Bates, sofull disclosure Michael is not
actually my real name.
It was my COVID identity I usedon most of my operations.
Everyone has a notion of whatundercover policing is all about
, whether you think they are anarc, a COVID operative, a dog
or an undercover cop.
(00:47):
Most people seem to confuseplaying close police with being
undercover.
There is a very big difference,though.
Most playing close police don'twear a uniform, so they aren't
as obtrusive in public.
Being covert is completelydifferent, though.
You become immersed in theworld of your targets.
When you're a police officer,part of your role is to
(01:07):
investigate crimes.
This means you try and findevidence to prove the person you
have arrested has committedthat crime.
Now, this evidence can consistof physical, verbal, video and
witnesses.
When you're an undercoverpolice officer, though, you are
the evidence and you are thereason someone gets convicted of
the crimes.
That is both exciting anddangerous, so why don't we get
(01:33):
on with the next episode?
Thanks for joining me again onthe Whisper in the Shadows
podcast.
Last week, betty and I had hadour Star Wars moment and later
that night gone to a strip clubbecause she had to meet with
someone.
Now, this person wouldeventually become a target, but
not that night.
So whilst Betty was off havinga chat, I was sitting and
(01:56):
watching the entertainment.
The club manager came in withwhat appeared to be a new girl
and she was giving her bothinstructions and encouragement
at the same time.
The manager had seen me beforewith Betty, so knew of me.
I don't think she was convincedof who I really was, though
this young woman she had withher.
It was her first nightstripping.
You could really tell.
If I had to guess, she wouldhave been maybe 20.
(02:19):
She was extremely pretty and hadan amazing figure.
She was about five foot sixtall, with long dark hair that
she wore up in a ponytail.
Now, before I get jumped on,she was wearing next to nothing,
ie lingerie and high heels.
Not much was left to theimagination.
Okay, well, a little bit.
But as for her figure, youcould tell that she was athletic
and toned what I would consideran amazing figure.
(02:41):
Anyway, she went up on stageand started to perform her
routine.
It was a bit clunky, as youwould expect of someone who
hadn't done it in front ofpeople before, and was probably
shy and a little bit overawedActually, on second thoughts,
don't believe shyness is a wordthat I would use to describe her
.
Now, there were about fivepeople in the club and all of
(03:01):
them, except me, had girls withthem.
She finished her routine, got around of applause well, I
clapped and she rushed off stageout to the dressing rooms to
get changed or dressed for herstint at trying to get some of
the punters to buy a lap dance.
When she came back out, she waswearing a tiny little crop top
with no bra and a very, verytight pair of miniature denim
(03:22):
shorts.
Why is this important?
It probably isn't, but it's howI remember it.
So I was saying I was the onlyone of the punters who was not
being fawned over.
That was probably because thegirls knew that I was very tight
when it came to lap dances andalso knew I was, with Betty,
better off playing up to someonewho gave them money than
someone who wasn't going to,except for this time.
(03:46):
So young Tiffany comes up to meand sips on my lap across my
legs with an arm draped aroundmy shoulders.
After all this time, I stillremember her stage name.
Well, I think it was her stagename.
Up close, she was probably aday not probably not a day over
19.
Hey, gorgeous, how come you'reall on your lonesome?
She asked in a playful voice.
(04:06):
Just lucky, I guess.
I replied.
I could smell her perfume andit was very heady indeed.
She leaned into my chest and puther head on my shoulder, then
whistled into my ear Would youlike me to dance, just for you?
Hmm, that is tempting, I said.
But how about I buy you a drinkfirst?
Rule number one is, if you'reallowed, always buy the girls.
I said, but how about I buy youa drink first?
(04:26):
Rule number one is, if you'reallowed, always buy the girls a
drink or two.
Well, depending on how muchmoney you have.
Three, I ordered my usual, abourbon and dry, and she ordered
gin and tonic.
So your first night, I see?
I said to her yes, how did youknow?
She asked, looking a littleshocked.
(04:49):
Well, I have been in a fewtimes and know most of the girls
and I haven't seen you before.
Oh, she said you looked alittle nervous.
I said, did I?
She replied I wasn't thatnervous.
I don't think I then asked thequestion.
You should never ask.
So why is such a pretty youngthing like you stripping?
(05:10):
Well, she replied I have a kidthat I need to take care of, so
I figured I could make some goodmoney stripping.
Besides, I enjoy being nakedand I'm pretty hot, I think.
Now that took me aback.
She was a lot more forward thanI expected, but that was to get
blown out of the water too.
The drinks came and again sheasked me if I wanted a lap dance
(05:30):
.
Maybe I was feeling benevolent,or maybe it was because it
wasn't my money, but I said OK.
Back then different clubs diddifferent private dances in
different ways.
Some had a special back roomthat was a lot less open.
Some had individual specialback room that was a lot less
open.
Some had individual specialrooms and some, like this club,
were cheap and the lap danceswere done in a quiet corner on
(05:50):
the main floor.
So we moved to the corner ofthe room and she sat me down.
Now, lap dances or privatedances or private shows, or
whatever you want to call them,are generally no touch.
Sometimes guys can touch hipsor arms, but generally the girls
keep touching of personal areasoff limits.
The dance is designed to get youhorny and that way you pay more
(06:13):
to keep you horny, without anyphysical bumping of uglies, as
someone once put it, that wouldmean very close contact with
your body, the odd touch, butnever full body on body contact.
Some of that had to do with thelaws at the time, as well as
the definition of prostitution,but also public exposure and
(06:33):
public decency laws.
So, sitting down, tiffanystarts dancing and it is going
pretty much as expected A littleteasing, a little flirting me,
trying to remember I'm bi.
Next thing she takes off hertop.
All good.
I was in a strip club and I hadseen a pair of breasts before
once or twice in my life.
In fact I'd seen about six pairof them.
(06:55):
That night I was sitting backfeeling very mellow.
Out of the corner of my eye Icould see the club manager come
out from the back room and stopand watch her new stripper.
At the time I thought nothingof it.
So Tiffany is dancing and allof a sudden she climbs on top of
me, straddles me and is sittingin my lap.
Okay, I thought to myself,along with dead kittens and
(07:17):
puppies, in what I thought wasan accident, she started
grinding away in my lap.
Didn't last long, but itcertainly had a reaction.
She then leans forward and putsher breasts in my lap.
Didn't last long, but itcertainly had a reaction.
She then leans forward and putsher breasts in my face.
Now you would expect her tostop just above my face, but no,
she didn't.
So rule number one no touchinghad just been broken.
(07:38):
I anxiously looked around forthe bouncer.
I had seen on numerousoccasions guides thrown out for
doing something stupid like thatmany times.
I think that was a bit tooclose, wasn't it?
I said to her.
She just looked at me andsmiled.
It was about now.
I was thinking whether they hadhad a chat to her about the
do's and don'ts of lap dances.
I could see the manager standup a bit more upright.
(08:01):
Tiffany stands back up andcontinues to dance.
Now I paid for 20 minutes andit was only about 10 minutes in
as she is dancing and it reallyappeared like she lost herself
in the music.
She takes those incredibly tinyshorts off and is now standing
there in a micro g-string andnothing else, dancing away
oblivious to anyone else.
My response was getting moreand more obvious and I was
(08:24):
shifting uncomfortably in mychair.
Tiffany notices me shiftingaround and again jumps on me and
straddles me.
Okay, I said quietly, and againshe looked me directly in the
eyes and smiled.
I could see the manager startto walk closer to us, I'm
guessing, to be able to stopwhatever was going to happen.
Next, tiffany grabbed both myhands and put them on her hips.
(08:47):
Okay, I thought that is allowed.
Again, she put her breasts inmy face and laughed.
The manager gets a bit closer.
Then she starts bobbing up anddown.
Usually not a problem, becauseshe shouldn't actually touch me,
but in this instance she did,rather forcefully and not in a
painful way.
The manager starts to get evencloser, and then it happened.
(09:11):
She obviously felt she washaving the desired effect.
I was glad I was bi and not gayand she started grinding
herself on me.
I had my hands on her hips andshe was going to town.
All I remember next is themanager run walking to where we
were, grabbing Tiffany by theshoulder and literally pulling
her off me, and in a veryscolding tone she said that is
(09:35):
not how you lap dance.
You need to be very careful.
You never know who you aredancing for.
He could be a cop With that.
She dragged Tiffany away to theback change rooms.
Tiffany came back out about 30seconds later and picked up her
clothes, gave a wry smile andran off again.
So two things happened that mademe very nervous.
Firstly, tiffany was enjoyingthat way too much, and she
(09:59):
probably ruined her strippingcareer.
Also, I enjoyed it way too much, and I hope that wasn't evident
to anyone else in the room.
That was probably as much of anissue, as it was already
established that I was bi.
The second one, though, wasthat the manager had used me and
(10:19):
the word cop in the samesentence.
That was concerning.
I sat there thinking to myselfdoes she think I'm a copper?
Does she know I'm workingundercover?
How much has Betty told her?
She wouldn't do that, would she?
I must have had a very stressedlook on my face, because when
Betty came back to find me, shesaid what's wrong, darling?
(10:42):
The lap dance wasn't that bad,was it?
No?
Well, yes, but no, she was abit full on, I replied.
So I was told.
She said but it appears youboth enjoyed it, betty said,
motioning to my lap, tried tosit more upright.
Thanks for that, I said.
She just laughed.
You haven't told anyone who Ireally am, have you?
(11:05):
I asked her Now, michaeldarling, why on earth would I do
that?
And she was right.
It didn't make sense for her todo that, but still the comment
sat with me and made me feelreally uneasy.
A short time later, the guyBetty had gone to see Alphonse
came over to the table where wewere sitting.
Alphonse, this is Michael, thefriend I told you about, isn't
(11:28):
he gorgeous?
I just smiled a littleuncomfortably.
I put my hand out to shake Hi,how are you?
I said Good, michael.
Betty says you're interested inbuying some speed.
Is that right?
Alphonse said matter-of-factly.
Well, yeah, I guess I am.
Can you give me some?
(11:50):
I replied that shouldn't be aproblem.
Get my number from Betty andgive me a call in a few days and
we can discuss amounts andcosts.
Betty, he said with a nod ofhis head, and with that he got
up, went upstairs and left.
That was pretty easy.
I said to Betty Darling,everything is easy when you're
with me.
She replied and laughed and shewas right.
She knew the who's who and, I'mguessing, had enough dirt on
(12:12):
just about everybody that shegot her way for the most part.
The next night we were out and Iwas sitting with these young
guys who were out pretendingthey were big spenders, throwing
money at the strippers.
Well, not literally, butfiguratively speaking.
They were spending a lot, somuch so that it was a little
incongruous with theirappearance.
Now, I know you should neverjudge a book by its cover, but
(12:34):
in the policing business that iswhere you start at a base level
judging a book by its cover.
It's always amazed me thatpeople get bent out of shape by
the fact the police apparentlyprofile or use common base
stereotypes while policing.
You know what I?
Police only pick on blackpeople, or police only pick on
people from low socioeconomicareas, etc.
Whilst in a small number ofinstances that's probably true.
(12:59):
The actual truth is that policehave to make split decisions
based on a stereotype to knowwhether something is out of the
ordinary and therefore may be anindication that something is
just not right.
The ordinary, and therefore maybe an indication that something
is just not right that a crimeis or is about to take place.
Sometimes those instincts areviewed by people who live in
(13:20):
rose-colored glasses world asbeing out of date or racist or
whatever ist you want it to fallunder.
Police always talk about gutfeel.
I once had a sergeant who saidafter a few years you'll begin
to get a gut feel when you lookat a situation, person or act
and that gut feel will eithersay something is not right here
(13:41):
or this is par for the course.
Nine times out of 10, that gutfeel when they say something
isn't right will be correct.
If you don't act on it, thenyou aren't doing your job as a
police officer and criminalswill get away unpunished.
That has stood out to me eversince.
So two examples One night I wasworking in uniform in the
(14:01):
middle of the city.
I was standing there with mypartner talking to a couple of
people about something.
I see this guy walking up themall towards us.
He was wearing a dirty t-shirt,had dirty track pants on, was
generally unkempt and waswearing thongs.
Now, nothing against bothpeople with thongs To anyone
else.
He was just another homelessperson.
He was also carrying a bigwhite plastic bag that was full
(14:24):
of something and it looked heavy.
Just the way he was walking,the way he was carrying the bag
and the way he ever so slightlystopped when he saw us, the
police, made me think somethingisn't right here.
My gut feel was that somethingwas off.
As he came closer, his gait wasalso a bit lopsided, like he
was limping, but no signs of anactual injury.
(14:45):
He was carrying the bag closeto the leg.
He was favouring and using itto support the bag.
That, again, seemed very odd,so I walked away from our
conversation and said hey, mate,where are you off to Now?
Anyone looking at thatinteraction would have seen me
stop what appeared to be ahomeless person.
He gave me some babble aboutgoing to find something to eat.
(15:06):
He was clutching this bag hehad with him for dear life, like
it had his prized possessionsin it.
What's in the bag, mate?
I asked him.
No, no, nothing, just my things.
He said.
Can I have a look?
I asked him.
Well, yeah, why, though?
He replied I don't know, mate,just seems like something isn't
(15:26):
right.
What's in the bag?
I persisted.
He eventually opened the bagand inside were a large number
of 20 and 50 cent pieces.
I'm talking a large number.
So first thought was he hadsmashed a parking meter.
Where'd you get these from,mate?
I asked oh, they're mine, Ifound them.
He replied.
Where'd you get these from,mate?
(15:49):
I asked they're mine, I foundthem.
He replied.
And where did you find them?
I asked.
He looked back the way he cameand pointed down the street Down
there.
I got on the radio and asked ifthere was anyone down the
street and to see whether theycould see a smashed parking
meter.
I got one.
Better.
One of the crew came back andsaid someone had kicked in the
door of a hotel and smashed acigarette machine coin holder.
(16:10):
Witnesses had said he had runoff towards where we were.
So I had a guy with a largenumber of coins, who was very
skittish to say the least, and acigarette machine that had been
smashed and coins stolen.
Coincidence, I think notsmashed and coins stolen
Coincidence, I think not.
So gut feeling and base andbehavior on stereotypes.
(16:31):
One feel good is zero.
Look, I admit it is a very fineline.
But just because a policeofficer gets a gut feel, it
doesn't mean they are racist orany.
Any other kind of ist Goodpolicing comes from developing a
gut feel about a broad base ofstereotypes.
So I'm at the strip club andthese guys are obviously out of
place.
So I strike up a conversation.
(16:53):
Gavin was about 27,.
A bit of a scrawny looking guywearing his best Kmart shirt.
He had that typical Boganhaircut and his mates were the
same.
They were drinking beer, beingvery loud, and they were sitting
at the stage.
I got up and went over and satdown next to him.
Now, the girls knew me.
So when I came over, the onedancing automatically came up to
(17:15):
me and did a bit of a dance infront of me.
That was good because it gother closer to Gavin and his
mates.
After she left and went back upthe stage, gavin turned to me
and said mates.
After she left and went back upthe stage, gavin turned to me
and said do you know her?
Yeah, mate, I'm a bit of aregular.
I replied you should hang withme and they'll come over.
(17:36):
We can do that, he said eagerly.
At the end of her performance.
We went back to the booth I wassitting in and Gavin and his
mates joined me.
Introductions were made and Itold them I was Michael.
Over the next few hours thegirls would come and say hello,
the guys would go and get theirlap dances and they were
spending a shitload of cash.
It became quite evident, though, that they had more cash than
(17:56):
they should have.
They lived in a southern suburbof the city that was synonymous
with lower socioeconomichousing and high crime, and a
hotbed for drugs like chuff andspeed, because, compared to H&C,
they were cheap.
Now they had either robbedsomeone or they were dealing
drugs.
Either way, I was on to a newtarget.
(18:17):
During the course of the night Ileaned over to Gavin and said
Mate, you are rather flush.
Did you knock over a bank orsomething?
He turned and looked at me,gauging me as to what he should
say, laughed and said hell no,they look like they could rob a
bank.
I have a little businessselling the go juice.
I looked a bit puzzled.
(18:37):
You mean speed, I asked.
He looked at me like I was adickhead and said what else do
you think I meant?
He looked at me like I was adickhead and said what else do
you think I meant, mate?
Sorry, I've just never heard itcalled that before and I sell a
fair bit of it.
I replied.
Now that got his interest.
Again.
(18:58):
He looked at me trying to gaugeif he believed me or not.
Where do you get your gear from?
He eventually asked here andthere, but I'm always on the
lookout for a better deal Ireplied when do you get your
gear from?
This time he was a lot more coy.
How do I know you're not a cop?
He asked Mate, good question.
(19:19):
But really, look at me, do Ilook like a cop?
And with everything that's goneon in the last few years, would
I be seen dead in a strip clubwhere I know everyone from the
girls to the bar staff?
If I was a cop yeah, good point, he said.
And no, you don't look like acop I would have said a fag.
But you haven't come on to meyet.
The night is still early, Isaid, laughing.
As it turned out, gavin gave mehis number and I said I'll be
(19:40):
in touch to get some gearthrough him, at a fee, of course
.
I left them spending far toomuch money on drinks and lap
dances and went back to my unit.
After an eventful night, I hada lot of notes to write up and I
wanted to do it before I wentto sleep and the fog of the
evening was imbued into mymorning.
The next day.
I went to see my controller andgave him an update on the
(20:01):
evening and how I'd met up withGavin.
I handed over the phone numberand left it to him to chase that
up.
I spent the day doing catch-upnotes and we did some planning
about Alphonse and what andwhere we were going to buy from
him.
It was decided that we try andget him to come to my unit and
record him on the camera there.
Now, the next day, my controllerhad some good news.
Gavin had, of course, used hisreal name and address when he
(20:23):
got his phone and we were ableto find him in the system.
There wasn't the same paranoiaback then about giving all of
your details away to tech ortelco companies.
In fact it was very novel andthey didn't actually ask for too
much proof of ID anyway.
Now that we knew who Gavin was,we were able to understand that
he might actually have goodinroads into a supplier down
(20:45):
where he lived.
I called Gavin and set up ameeting with him for the
following day.
The plan was I would go down tohis place and for a fee he
would take me to his supplierand I would buy an ounce.
That was all prettystraightforward.
Oh, and I think I forgot tomention that the area that Gavin
(21:05):
lived in was next to thepolicing district, to where I
had been when I joined thecovert squad.
Now everyone already knew thisand everyone agreed that there
was little chance anyone wouldrecognize me.
We had no idea of who thesupplier was.
He had moved there after mytime and I had had no
interaction with Gavin or thealleged supplier during my time
down there, either officially orunofficially.
(21:27):
So I jumped in my car andheaded off down to Gavin's place
.
I had decided first proper meetand I wouldn't wear a wire,
just in case he felt a bitjittery even after his comments.
A few nights previous he livedin a townhouse block that was on
the main road.
His place was at the back ofthe property, as far away from
the road as you could get Overthe back fence.
(21:49):
There was vacant land that ranall the way through to the
motorway.
About a kilometre away I parkout on the road and walk into
the complex and down to histownhouse third world.
The block itself satperpendicular to the road, which
meant I had to walk past everytownhouse on my way there.
There were couches andmattresses strewn out of
(22:11):
balconies, armchairs sitting inthe driveway, obviously broken
down into irreparable cars,sitting outside in car parking
spots Just shit everywhere.
I get down to Gavin's apartmentand there is a big black cross
or X painted on his door, with ahole made from what looked like
a screwdriver or a knife, maybein the middle of it, and also
(22:33):
what looked like blood.
Now, if I said that wasn'tunnerving I'd be lying.
I walk up to the door andtentatively knock on it.
Who's that?
Came a yell from inside, mate,it's Mick Michael from the other
night.
I yelled out.
I couldn't tell if it wasGavin's voice or not.
I hear rustling and the dooropens and Gavin is standing
(22:54):
there with a smile on his face.
You found it.
He said yeah, mate, wasn't thathard.
I do have a Refidex.
I replied Now for those of youborn after the 2000s, before we
could ask Google or Siri how toget somewhere, we had a book of
street maps where you could lookup a street and, after flicking
through a number of correlatedpages, work out how to get
(23:15):
somewhere.
It was a great game to play,but kind of frustrating if the
map pages didn't quite match up.
I do have to admit that I ammuch happier when asking Google
how to get somewhere.
Anyway, gavin invites me in andinside it was the same as any
other place I had been to in thearea Cheap carpet floors, dirty
(23:35):
walls, a two-seater couch andtwo armchairs in a small lounge
room with a TV on a box.
The kitchen was just as dirtyand there was a dining table
with four chairs between thelounge and the kitchen bench,
which also doubled as abreakfast bar.
There was crap everywhere andhe had a girlfriend who had a
baby and they were standing inthe kitchen.
This is Mick, he said to them.
(23:56):
I waved and he mentioned and hemotioned me to sit down.
As I was doing so, I had abrief glance up the stairs and
said to myself Nope, don't wantto know what's up there, mate, I
don't want to pry, but whathappened to your door?
I asked quietly.
Oh, you saw that.
He replied yeah well, you can'treally miss a big black cross
(24:20):
on your door.
I said yeah well, some shitbagI was dealing with reckoned I
owed him money.
He started saying I had a puppyand it was outside on the
balcony.
He came around whilst weweren't home and to send me a
message.
He painted the cross on thedoor and then pinned the puppy
to the door with a big knifestabbed into it.
I loved that puppy.
I was stunned I was going tosay slightly stunned, but I was
(24:44):
actually very stunned.
No way.
I said yeah, happened about amonth ago.
He replied what the fuck have Igot myself into?
I thought to myself.
It wasn't the guy we're goingto see, was it?
I asked Nah, not him, just someother dickhead.
He replied.
So I found out later that Gavinhad allegedly owed money some
(25:08):
money to another dealer for somedrugs.
This guy had a real mean streakin him and was well known for
being rather violent.
He was seen at Gavin'stownhouse yelling and screaming
to pay him his money.
When no one answered, he got atin of spray paint he found
lying around, painted the blackcross or X on the front door,
went back to his car, got ahunting knife and stabbed the
(25:30):
puppy, killing it and pinning itto the front door.
One of the neighbours hadcalled the police and they
showed up just as Stupid wasleaving.
They found the puppy, took itdown and took it to the vet.
It couldn't be saved, but theyarrested Stupid and he ended up
going to jail.
Be saved.
But they arrested stupid and heended up going to jail anyway.
(25:50):
Right about now I was thinkingthis is a group of people I
probably don't want to bedealing with.
Gavin says to me we'll takeyour car and go and see dave,
right, oh, and how far do wehave to go?
I asked yeah, not far, just thenext server.
He replied how much does hewant for the ounce?
I asked for gavin.
I asked gavin 1500 and 100 forme.
(26:11):
He answered sweet, do you wantit now or is after?
Okay?
I asked yeah, later, it's fine.
Gavin replied, and with that wewalked out to my car and headed
off to meet john.
Now, I rarely had the big timejitters before a buy,
realistically, only that timewith Tracy, when I met John and
he accidentally dropped theheroin on the ground and I
thought I was going to gettopped.
(26:32):
But given what I had justwalked into and the level of
violence these people had as acollective, I wasn't feeling the
love to be doing more than onebuy and wanted it to be over
very, very quickly.
Okay, so where are we going?
I asked Gavin.
He directs me to the car parkof a local shopping center in
the next suburb over.
(26:52):
It was like a little strip malland we parked off to the side.
Gavin makes a quick phone calland about five minutes later a
beat up old Commodore turns upand parks next to us.
I had already had theconversation that I was handing
over the money and taking thedrugs.
I knew how this worked and Ididn't want to give him the
chance of jumping out of the carand into John's with my money
(27:13):
and my drugs.
He was surprisingly okay withit and just went with the flow.
The buy was actually very quick.
John gets out of the car andcomes up to my driver's window.
I guess you're Mick.
He says to me Yep, and you mustbe John.
I replied Well done, do youhave the cash?
I produced the money in amixture of $150 notes all rolled
(27:35):
up.
Do you want me to count it?
I asked Nah, I trust ya.
Well, I trust Gavin.
He knows what will happen if hewas to dog me, came the reply
and my gear.
I asked.
John produced a clip seal bagthat had a whitish, pinkish
powder in it.
An ounce, just like you ordered, john said.
(27:55):
As he was handing it over.
He said I probably wouldn'tjump on it.
Yeah, good to know.
I said.
I handed over the cash, tookwhat I assumed was the speed and
it was according to the fieldtest my controller did later and
John went back to his car.
As he was getting in he yelledgive him my number, gav.
And with that he drove off.
(28:15):
I took Gavin back to hishellhole of a townhouse, dropped
him at the front of thedriveway, gave him his money and
said I'll be in touch, nevercalled him again.
They were just a bit too lowlevel for what we were aiming
for.
Later that night Betty calledand asked if I was going to meet
Alphonse.
I said I'd give her a call back.
I called my controller and wediscussed the deal.
(28:36):
When I rang Betty back, I saidyep, I'd, I'd I would meet him
and I'd buy half an ounce tostart with, just to see if my
customers liked it.
Betty called back and told methat Alphonse wanted me to call
him and gave me his number.
She also said the brothers,yakov and Bogdan, had asked
about me and whether I wanted todo a deal with them.
I asked her to set up anothermeeting with them, this time
(28:59):
somewhere other than her flat,and that is all we have time for
on today's episode.
I hope you're enjoying myrecollections of my time working
undercover.
Join me next week and find outhow I nearly stuffed up a
videotape deal and thought I wasgoing to blow it, and whether I
ended up dealing with thenot-gay brothers again.
(29:19):
Thank you for listening toWhisper in the Shadows my true
stories of a real-lifeundercover cop.
I hope you've enjoyed thatepisode.
In the next one we'll exploremore exciting stories from my
operations.
Please make sure you subscribeto the podcast so you never miss
an episode.
Lastly, if you're an ex-COVIDoperative or undercover police
(29:41):
officer, I would love to chat toyou about your experiences.
Or, if you're feeling dangerous, tell your stories on my
podcast.
Please get in contact by myemail, which is
whisperintheshadowspodcast atgmailcom.
I look forward to you joiningme next time.
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