August 26, 2024 • 33 mins
Ever wondered how close an undercover operation can come to falling apart? Join me, Jason Somerville, as I recount one of the most nerve-wracking moments of my career. From narrowly escaping disaster during a high-stakes drug buy to improvising under the scrutiny of uniformed police officers, this episode will keep you on the edge of your seat. You'll hear how a split-second decision saved my cover as Michael Bates when one of my partners nearly blew the entire operation.
But that’s just the beginning. I'll also take you behind the scenes of the challenges and triumphs involved in using recording devices during undercover missions. Imagine trying to gather intel with a tape recorder uncomfortably stashed in your pants or dealing with a melted microphone. You'll learn how I eventually found a more effective solution and orchestrated a high-stakes buy-bust operation involving a dealer named John. Every move was calculated to ensure the success of the mission, and you'll get an inside look at the tension and strategy involved.
Finally, we delve into the complexities of living a double life in the underground drug world. From confronting syndicate member Tommy on a bustling city street to maintaining multiple covers, including posing as a gay toy boy, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The importance of a safe house, building rapport with key contacts, and the unexpected challenges of undercover life, such as frequenting strip clubs, are all part of the story. This episode offers a gripping glimpse into the relentless pressure and quick thinking required to survive in the undercover world.
But that’s just the beginning. I'll also take you behind the scenes of the challenges and triumphs involved in using recording devices during undercover missions. Imagine trying to gather intel with a tape recorder uncomfortably stashed in your pants or dealing with a melted microphone. You'll learn how I eventually found a more effective solution and orchestrated a high-stakes buy-bust operation involving a dealer named John. Every move was calculated to ensure the success of the mission, and you'll get an inside look at the tension and strategy involved.
Finally, we delve into the complexities of living a double life in the underground drug world. From confronting syndicate member Tommy on a bustling city street to maintaining multiple covers, including posing as a gay toy boy, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The importance of a safe house, building rapport with key contacts, and the unexpected challenges of undercover life, such as frequenting strip clubs, are all part of the story. This episode offers a gripping glimpse into the relentless pressure and quick thinking required to survive in the undercover world.
Please be sure to Subscribe to and Follow the Podcast so you never miss an Episode and if you like what you are hearing then please "Like" the episode and podcast on your favourite podcast app.
If you would like to be involved in a "Whisper In The Shadows" Podcast through talking about your experiences as an current or former Police/Law Enforcement Officer or tell your stories then I'd love to hear from you.
I can be contacted on my socials below -
Email - whisperintheshadowspodcast@gmail.com
Instagram - @whisperintheshadowspodcast
Facebook - Whisper in the Shadows Podcast Page
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Whisper in the Shadows podcast.
My name's Jason Somerville.
For two years I workedundercover using the pseudonym
Michael Bates, who has nowbecome part of me.
The stories that you've beenlistening to were my stories of
my time undercover.
Well, now it's time for thebest buys, that's right, the
best drug buys.
I've done from the entireperiod.
(00:21):
Done from the entire period,starting with Buzz, working my
way through Tommy, even on toBetty.
You'll hear all the ones that Ihad the most fun doing and
hopefully you'll enjoy listeningto them just as much as I
enjoyed doing them.
So the three of us were sittingin the car two scruffy looking
(00:43):
Vietnamese guys and a scruffylooking white guy in a fairly
expensive car, actually parkedaway from the majority of cars
and people and just lookingreally sus, so much so that a
marked police car drives up infront of us, parking us in and
the uniformed police get out.
Now I was fairly calm because,hey, even if I did get caught
with the gear, I wasn't gettinginto trouble and would give me
(01:06):
some credit.
That was lacking with Tommy.
The two of them were talking inVietnamese to each other and
both seemed a little frantic.
Hey, I said English.
Okay, don't stress, just actcalm.
They don't know anything and Ihave the gear on me.
The police asked us to get outof the car and go to the front
of it.
I was able to slide the packetthat I had of heroin into a
(01:27):
hiding place I had in the carand got out.
The coppers made us go to thefront of the car, asked for our
ID and then asked what we weredoing.
I said that these guys had toldme about the bakery and that's
why we were there.
The coppers didn't believe me,of course, so they asked all of
us to empty our pockets on thefront of my car, which we all
did.
They then took us one by one tothe back of the police car to
(01:49):
obviously question us separatelyand also search us a bit more.
Danny went first, couldn't hearwhat they were saying, but I
could see him looking over at uswell, me and the copper looking
over at me and asking himquestions.
The copper brought him back andthen he took Tommy with him,
while Tommy was out of earshot.
Then he goes hey, mick, I toldthem not to search you because
(02:10):
you're an undercover cop and I'mhelping you.
I said you said what he saidyeah, so you don't get caught.
I said fuck me, mate.
I've hidden the gear.
All you've done is made Tommymore suspicious.
What if they say something tohim?
What if they don't search me?
Now, you are an idiot.
Don't ever tell anyone thatagain.
Do you hear me?
I was furious.
(02:31):
So the cop brings Tommy back andhe then walks up to me.
Now, he doesn't take meanywhere.
What he does is he just pats medown, says are you holding?
I say no, and he turns aroundto his mate and goes okay, come
on, let's go.
I'm thinking to myself, righto.
So we jump back in the car andTommy is really, really
(02:55):
suspicious.
He says to me how come youweren't searched?
I go, mate.
How would I know he goes?
Are you a cop?
I've gone.
No, dude.
How would I know?
Did you get busted?
Did you get locked up?
No, how would I know he goes?
Are you a cop?
I've gone.
No, dude.
How would I know?
Did you get busted?
Did you get locked up?
No, how would I know why Iwasn't searched?
You guys didn't have anything.
Maybe they thought if these twodon't have anything, he's not
(03:15):
going to have anything either.
Danny called her and the dealwas set up.
We were going to go and meether in the car park of a local
tavern which at that time wasone of the roughest pubs in town
Think sawdust on the floor typeplace.
During the day it was dodgylooking, even the restaurant you
(03:36):
wouldn't willingly walk intofor a fee.
Now the car park was on theintersection of a major arterial
road and another very heavilyused during the day.
Over night time not so much,but during the day there was a
lot of traffic.
So we head off to the meetlocation.
I pull into the car park andDanny directs me towards a white
(03:57):
Ford station wagon that lookedlike it had three people in it
with a female driver.
The target was already therewaiting for us.
I pull my car up and turn toDanny getting ready to get out.
Danny looks at me and asks mefor the money.
Mate, you need to get yourskinny ass over there and get
them to let me do the buy.
I'm not giving you any money.
He started a protest but I cuthim off.
(04:19):
No, mate, go.
So Danny gets out of my car andwalks at 25 meters or so over to
the target's car, goes to thedriver's door and has a
conversation, looking backnervously at me.
Then he comes back to my car,gets in the passenger seat and,
looking dejected, says they willonly sell to me this time, then
next time they promise to meetyou.
(04:39):
I exploded and told him he wasgoing to jail.
I'd had enough.
I gave him the $100 because wereally needed an in to this
target and told him that hecould only buy it if they agreed
to meet me right now and sellto me next time.
Okay, okay, he said.
He gets out, goes back to thecar.
(05:00):
Fuck, I thought to myself.
He has screwed me again.
The little shit.
I had a thought that I'd justget out of the car and go over
there and introduce myself.
Then I thought, better off it.
I was outnumbered and I didn'treally know who they were.
I can see Danny pointing overto me and then handing the money
to the target.
(05:20):
I can clearly see her shakinghead as if to say no.
Then there is some conversationwith the people in the back of
the target.
I can clearly see her shakingher head as if to say no.
Then there is some conversationwith the people in the back of
the car.
Danny then fidgets around a bitand then comes back toward my
car.
As he is doing this, the targetstarts the car and takes off.
I was furious.
You could see the look onDanny's face.
It was somewhere between beingpleased with himself but also
(05:43):
being aware that he had stuffedup.
He gets back in the car andhands me the packet what the
fuck?
I yell at him.
They said they would meet you.
I was coming back to get youBullshit.
I roared, I was pissed off.
I then did something that wascompletely out of character for
me, but in hindsight it was thebest thing I could have done.
I reached back behind andpulled out my gun from where it
(06:04):
was sitting in my jeans, in thesmall of my back.
Yes, like a real gangster carry.
I grabbed him by the shirt,dragged him across the car and
put my gun in his face andyelled this is the last time.
You, little piece of shit.
If this happens again, I'mgoing to pull this trigger in
your mouth and bury you in thebush.
Do you understand?
(06:25):
His eyes were as wide as horsesand I could feel him trembling.
He certainly didn't expect thatresponse and, to be honest, I
didn't either.
It just happened.
He nodded his head furiously.
He couldn't speak as I had agun jammed in his mouth.
When I relented, he said okay,mick, okay, I will introduce you
next time.
I said to every person Danny,this shit of you snipping the
(06:49):
buys stops today.
Next time you'll introduce meto every person or else and I
will do the buying.
Understood, I managed to calmdown a bit and put my gun away.
Danny was shitting himself.
He didn't know what to do.
We're going away.
Danny was shooting himself.
He didn't know what to do.
I composed myself and we droveoff.
I took him back to the localshopping centre near his house
(07:10):
and dropped him off.
Remember, I said from now,every single time I get
introduced, danny.
He slowly nodded his head,looking down at his feet.
Lye indicated that if, for somereason, he couldn't meet me,
then Trong would do the deliveryfor me.
(07:30):
Dealing with Lye was very easy,simple and professional If a
drug dealer can be professional,that is.
There was little chat.
I gave him money and he gave methe drugs.
Buys were always done in thecar park of a major shopping
centre.
He would park in exactly thesame spot as would I, and he
would walk over to my car, getin the front seat.
Many years later I was actuallyworking in the area and I would
(07:54):
go to the shopping center forlunch and, like muscle memory,
the first time I went I droveand parked in almost the exact
same spot I would when I wasbuying drugs, which kind of
freaked me out a little bit.
Obviously, a big part of buyingdrugs is recording not only the
drugs but the conversationduring the buy, to prove, a the
(08:14):
target is where they are sellingyour drugs and, b they intend
to sell you more drugs on anongoing basis.
There are many ways to do this,but recording the conversation
as it is happening via a taperecording device is the simplest
and easiest.
It's very hard to refute a taperecording of you saying I will
sell you a gram of heroin for$600.
How often do you want to buy?
And this heroin is much betterquality than a lot on the street
(08:35):
?
Do you have the money For thesebuys?
I decided not to use the tapedown my pants.
Firstly, as I indicated in myfirst episode, it is really
uncomfortable.
Secondly, trying to turn it onis also hard when you are
sitting in a car seat andthirdly, the quality of the
recording can be muffled witheverything going on down there.
So for the first couple of buysI did use it this way.
(08:58):
However, I came up with theidea of placing the recording
device into the interior lightcavity of my car.
Luckily, the design of theparticular car I had meant that
there was an excess of spacebetween the twin light globes
and the rest of the compartment.
There was even a little ledgethat was about the same size as
the recorder, which meant it satout of the way nicely.
(09:20):
On the first occasion I thoughtit would be smart and use the
external microphone that camewith it.
If I was wearing the recorder Iwould usually have the
microphone attached to theinside of my pants and come up
at the top of them near the fly.
Given I was skinny back then,there was no gut to impede the
recording, so I've set this upin the car To make sure there
(09:41):
was enough tape for recording.
I had to pull up when I gotclose to the car park, open the
light and turn on.
The recording device during thefirst solo by the microphone
has come undone from its hidingplace all in between the two
globes.
I was able to see the shadowand was sure that I was going to
see it was going to be able tosee it as well.
Now, remember the stress I hadof hearing the tape change sides
(10:03):
.
Well, add to that the fact thatI could now see the microphone.
While Sysbi went off without ahitch, the microphone did get
burnt and in fact melted.
Suffice to say, I didn't usethe external microphone again,
and it may or may not have beenlost.
Lye was a good source ofinformation around the drug
business.
Trong was a little more openabout the other players and we
(10:24):
got some great intel from himtoo.
He was closer to my age andthere was a bit of I'm better
than you in his matter.
It was decided we would do abuy bust.
The plan was to get as muchinformation out of John as
possible, get the drugs, but tryand not give him the money.
(10:45):
Before the troops came runningin and grabbed him.
The car park was going to beset up, so the space I parked in
there would be three or fourcars with coppers in them, with
good line of sight, ie not toofar away.
So when I said the code word,they would come running and grab
John.
It was a good plan.
I would have the money in theback of the Vitara, john.
(11:05):
It was a good plan.
I would have the money in theback of the Vitara.
Once John showed me the heroinI would say I just have to get
out and get the money, as it wasin the compartment in the boot.
Once I said I just have to getout and get the money, in would
come the cavalry.
It was a good plan.
It was a very simple and goodplan.
The phrase was simple and if itwas missed me, getting out was
the second trigger.
It was a very simple and goodplan.
(11:29):
The day the by-bust came earlymorning to the drug squad
officers we go through the plan.
Everyone has a last minute, saywe cover off on contingencies,
what if this happens, etc.
I'm wired up and, given the 11grand, the last thing my
controller says to me is try andmake sure you don't give him
the money before the team getthere to arrest him.
Yeah well, I'll be out of thecar getting it when they do that
(11:51):
.
So sure, I said it was a goodplan.
Surveillance head out to theairport to get set up.
About half an hour later I headout too.
I went through all the things Ineeded to do.
I went through all the things Ineeded to do.
It was a good plan.
Pulled into the car park parkand turn the car off.
(12:13):
I wind down my windows, take myseatbelt off and have a quick
glance around.
Couldn't see the team, but Iknew they were there.
About 10 to 15 minutes afterparking I see John walking out
of the arrivals door and heheads straight to my car.
The front passenger door isunlocked so he opens it and gets
in.
He was carrying what lookedlike a parcel post envelope and
it had something in it, not toobulky but noticeable, mick.
(12:33):
He says hi, john, how was yourflight?
I asked.
Yeah, it was good, went likeclockwork, he replied.
How often do you do the flights?
I asked.
Once every couple of weeks,usually if I have to get large
amounts.
John then went on to explainthat he goes with a female
friend on the flights.
They don't sit together, but hepays for her flights.
Now I had wondered after thatfirst buy why the package had
(12:55):
been wrapped in tissue paper,because in almost every other
buy I had done it was just analfoil.
John explained that he wouldwrap the heroin tissue paper
that had been soaked in perfume.
His female friend would thenput that in her bra and they
would enter the airport, boardthe flight and come back.
His female friend was alsowearing the same perfume and
(13:15):
carrying the bottle in herhandbag.
Apparently, this was to put offany drug detection dogs that
might be at the airport.
He had used the same methodheaps of times.
He was also starting to get theheroin sent via parcel post
bags, as customs didn't checkthem.
They were only a new offeringby Australia Post.
He would also send the cashback to the syndicate using the
(13:36):
express post parcel bags.
It is amazing to think thatsuch an obvious method of
transporting drugs and moneywasn't policed, but it is now.
It was then that he pulled outthe ounce of heroin.
He made a great show ofunwrapping the tissue paper and
there it was an alfalfa packageof an ounce or 28 grams of
heroin.
That looks great, john.
(13:57):
I just have to get out and getthe money, as it's in the
compartment in the back, wantedto hide it, just in case you
know what I mean.
Yeah, sure, mick, all good.
He said the phrase had beensaid.
It was a simple plan.
I opened the driver's door andslowly get out of the car.
I then close the driver's door.
I have a quick scan around thecar park and I can't see any
(14:19):
movement.
That's a bit odd, I thought Iwalk to the back of the Vitara
and open the back door Again.
I have a look around no one.
I say to John through the car.
So how often can you meet medoing this?
I want to talk to you aboutthat, mick.
He says.
Looking back at me, I must havehad a quizzical look on my face
to get a smile.
So I'm fidgeting around for themoney and eventually grab the
(14:44):
envelope with it in.
I close the back door and I seea plainclothes copper sneaking
up behind the two cars over.
I make eye contact and nod asif to say shouldn't you be here
by now?
He stops dead in his tracks.
I walk back over to the driver'sdoor, open and get in.
John hands me the heroin and Ihave to hand him the money.
That is what you do, right?
(15:05):
I'm still expecting old matetwo cards crossed to come
running in with someone, anyone.
John then says to me Mick,remember how I said I wanted to
move back home?
Yeah, I said, but you wanted tofind time to take over first.
Yeah, that's right.
He said Would you be interestedin distributing here?
I can take you with me nexttime to meet the people I work
(15:27):
for and if they approve, thenyou can work for them and I can
go off and do something else.
Um, yeah, if you think I could,I said, knowing full well that
at any minute now he was goingto be busted.
Right?
He says We'll talk soon andwith that he puts the money in
his pocket and he gets out of mycar and walks off towards the
(15:47):
passenger car park.
Now I'm sitting there going.
What the hell?
It was such a simple plan.
It was a good plan.
I reverse out of the parkingspace and drive to the exit.
I pass a car with twoplainclothes cops heading to
where John had parked his car.
As I'm driving off, I call mycontroller.
What the fuck happened?
I had to give him the money.
Where was everyone?
(16:08):
I don't know.
Let's talk about it.
At the back of the office shesaid what else could I do?
So I headed back to the office.
At this point it's been abouttwo months after that first bye
with Tommy and I get a phonecall at about 2am one morning
and the caller is obviouslyVietnamese.
(16:29):
I could tell that even though Iwas half asleep.
I could also tell it was Tommy.
He had a very distinct voice Igoing to kill you.
You are an undercover cop, you,dog, I kill you.
And he then hung up sobleary-eyed I I thought fuck,
that wasn't good and I did whatanyone else would do and called
the number back.
Now, tommy didn't answer, so Itried to get back to sleep.
(16:52):
The next day I called Danny andcouldn't get him either.
I'd moved on from Tommy andfurther up the chain so I wasn't
too concerned.
Besides, he had no idea where Ilived.
It came time to close that firstoperation because I was getting
married.
In a matter of weeks, searchwarrants and buy bus were set up
and executed.
I'd heard that a few of theVietnamese had been raided and
(17:13):
that they were rounded up, butno one had actually found Tommy
yet.
I was on my way to do a buy busto another target with a group
of marked and unmarked cars intow.
I was driving down the mainstreet of one of the inner city
suburbs when I spotted Tommycrossing the road in front of me
.
Yes, he stood out that much.
This street, even back then,was a main arterial road and
there were a lot of peoplewalking and a lot of cars coming
(17:35):
and going.
When I saw him, I sped up andliterally almost ran him over,
screeching to a halt in front ofhim.
My window was down, so so Ireached out, grabbed him by the
collar and pulled him into thewindow.
The look of shock and terror onhis face was cathartic.
When he saw it was me, he was alittle less worried and scared.
I said call me a fucking police, dog cunt.
(17:56):
I will fucking kill you if youever say that to anyone.
He's gone.
No, mick, no, it wasn't me.
I don't think you are police.
I said it fucking was you, youlittle cunt.
If I hear you have been sayingI'm a police to anyone, you are
dead.
Do you understand me Now?
All the while I was looking inmy rear view mirror for the
marked car that was following me.
As soon as I saw it get close,I said fuck coppers.
(18:19):
I looked him in the eyes andsaid remember what I said.
Then I literally pushed himdown into the middle of the road
and took off at a million milesan hour.
As I was doing so, I had thedetectives on speed dial called
them and said hey, the guy inthe middle of the road, that's
Tommy Van Dang.
The marked car grabbed him,arrested him and took him back
to the station Once the rest ofthe busts and raids had finished
(18:40):
.
The detective then says so, youdo know Mick.
Tommy says so, you do know Mick.
Tommy says yes, tommy, mick isan undercover police officer and
you sold him heroin on a numberof occasions.
To which Tommy replies no, Inot sell him drugs.
He give me money.
I go and get drugs and thengive to him, but I not sell them
to him.
At that time I'm at that point.
(19:01):
I'm ushered out of theinterview, trying not to laugh.
Now, remember in the lastepisode where I was heading
along, heading to buy, headingto a buy bust, when I saw tommy
vang dang crossing the road well, this is the buy bust I was
heading to.
So my adrenaline levels werealready peaking at this stage,
(19:24):
given I had just had a run inwith tommy.
The plan was pretty simpleWayne had said to pull up behind
him, he would come and get inmy car and we would do the deal
Money to him, drugs to me.
Now remember how I said that Ihad the drug squad detective's
phone number on speed dial on myphone.
Well, there was a very goodreason for that.
The location we were going towas a pretty good one for Wayne.
(19:47):
There weren't a lot of places apolice car full of detectives
could sit and watch what wasgoing on without being obvious.
We had done a recce of the areathe day before.
The plan was simple I wasn'tgoing in with any money.
I was going to get him to handme the drugs, then I was going
to push the speed dial and whenthe phone rang, that was the cue
(20:10):
for the cavalry to come beforeI had to give Wayne the
non-existent $6,000.
Sounds simple, doesn't it?
Like I said at that time,mobile phones had only just
become a thing.
The infrastructure was almostnon-existent.
That meant there were a lot ofdead spots where there simply
was no service.
The drug squad and Mark Carrpulled up around the corner in
their pre-allocated position,remember.
They didn't have any line ofsight.
(20:32):
It was go time, all on thephone ringing.
I drive on and pull up behindWayne's car.
My police training of giving acar's length kicked in, which
meant I wasn't boxed in andcould speed out if I wanted to.
I gave him a wave and watchedhim get out of his car and walk
to mine, fully expecting him tocome to the passenger side.
(20:52):
Now, instead of getting in mycar, he comes to the driver's
side window, which I hadn'tplanned for.
I wind down my window, wayne.
I said Mick, how are you?
He asked yeah, good, good,you're not getting in the car.
No, no, I'll stay out here.
He said Now, this was awkward.
The plan was to have himcontained in my car so he
(21:13):
couldn't do a runner.
When the cavalry arrived, I'msitting in my car, I'd taken my
seatbelt off and I had my flipphone in the handbrake well open
, with my finger hovering abovethe recall button.
Wayne then says to me you know,buzz thought you were a copper,
a narc.
Then says to me you know, buzz,thought you were a copper, a
narc.
Fuck off.
I said really, mate, he wasjust paranoid.
(21:34):
After getting done yeah, I know, that's what I told him.
I said don't be stupid, buzz,mick isn't a copper, I'll deal
with him and you don't have to.
Wayne said thanks, mate, Iappreciate that.
I said now, do you have thegear?
Yep.
Do you have the money?
Yep, do you have the money?
He asked yeah, sure, it's justhere in my glove box, let me get
it for you.
I said Press off goes the call,or so I thought.
(21:56):
Seems I was in a dead spot,wasn't I?
Now, I couldn't see the phone,but I was expecting lights and
sirens within maybe 10 secondsof me pressing the button.
Crickets, here I am sitting in acar with someone who has been
told by another dealer theythink I'm an undercover cop I'm
fumbling around for the money.
I don't know if he was aviolent man, if he had a weapon,
(22:18):
a knife or a gun.
No, friendly police sounds.
And I was starting to panic.
So I fumbled with the glove box, making excuses and cursing
Mate, I locked it.
Sorry, I didn't want't want toget stolen.
You know it's a lot of money.
I said as I fumbled the key outof the ignition into the glove
box press, press, press.
And then, like my favorite songsong coming on at a club, I
(22:41):
heard the sweetest sound knownto a uc doing a bypassed police
sirens, fuck cops.
Wayne says here, take this, I'llget the money from you another
time.
Now take off and don't getfucking caught.
Are you sure, mate?
I said, looking over myshoulder at the ever closer cars
.
Yes, now fuck off, drive.
And I did just that.
I took off at a million milesan hour.
(23:03):
I don't know if Wayne thought itwas strange or not at the time,
but the cars just stopped athim.
They didn't bother to chase me,even after he told the police
they had just missed the Mr Band had had at least a quarter
ounce on me and six thousanddollars in the car.
So I'd have back to the drugsquad officers my controller
with the quarter ounce lodge itand happy days when the
(23:25):
detectives eventually get back.
I asked them why didn't youcome the first time I called?
We didn't get a call.
He said, mate, I must havepressed send like six or seven
times.
I said I was running out ofexcuses for not giving you the
money.
A bit strange not getting acall.
We looked down at our phonesand there was no signal.
I'm guessing that was the samefor you it was.
(23:56):
At that point I decided to comein blazing.
I am certainly glad you did.
I'll give you the tip.
I said laughing.
The team raided Wayne's houseand some other associated places
and found you guessed itquantities of heroin.
They also found large stashesof cash.
Wayne was charged and convictedof trafficking in heroin.
(24:20):
Now, betty was one of the moreunusual informants I had.
You see, betty was a man whowas gay and who preferred to be
dressed as a female, or aredressed as a female what we
would now call preferred theshe-her pronouns.
Before that became a thing.
In reality, she just preferredto dress and act like a woman.
Now she had been caught withspeed, I believe and as part of
(24:43):
her deal she was going to giveup her dealers, as well as some
of the dealers in the underworldof strip clubs and gay bars.
She was going to give up herdealers, as well as some of the
dealers in the underworld ofstrip clubs and gay bars.
This was always going to be adifficult job and was going to
put my acting skills to the test.
You see, the cover story.
The only cover story we couldreally come up with was I was
going to be Betty's playthingand I was gay and I had to be
(25:06):
convincing.
Now, bear in mind that I washappily married to a woman.
The main reason for this coverstory was twofold.
One, a straight guy in thiscircle would scream undercover
cop.
And two, his two main targetswere both sleeping with Betty.
Although they weren't gay perse, they just had sex with her.
(25:27):
The only way to meet themwithout raising suspicions was
to be at her house when theycame around to take her out and
to be at her house, I had to begay and her new plaything or boy
toy I know right Now.
As part of any operation, I hadto have a safe house, somewhere
(25:47):
that I could meet targets ifneed be, but also somewhere that
, if I was followed, would notput my real life or my wife at
risk.
Now, because this actuallyhappened in my first operation
and was followed home to my realhouse by two Vietnamese guys, I
took this part of my experiencereally seriously, so I had to
find somewhere to live.
There was a suggestion betweenmy controller and Betty that
(26:10):
maybe I should live there withher, whilst I think my
controller was joking.
I'm pretty sure Betty wasn't.
It was never going to happen,though.
She lived in a one bedroomapartment.
I was not sleeping on a couchand I was definitely not sharing
a bed with her.
That was investing in the coverstory one step too far.
(26:32):
Anyway, I eventually got anapartment that was close to
Betty, but the surveillance guyswere still able to wire up with
recording devices and cameras,which meant that I was able to
record things that happened inthe unit.
It was also far enough awaythat I wouldn't risk being seen
coming and going.
Enough away that I wouldn'trisk being seen coming and going
(26:55):
.
Now, unlike today's nanny cams,it was hardwired with a tape,
which made timing everything,but in general it worked the
same way.
Turning it on was tricky andhad to be done before anyone was
in the apartment, given thatthe recorder was hidden and I
had to take furniture apart toaccess it.
There were limitations.
Luckily, though, the complexhad one of those video phones
that allowed me to see who wasat my entrance, and they had to
(27:18):
be buzzed into the internal partof the building.
Still, out of the few times Idid use it, there was one where
I left part of the furnitureawry in my haste to get it
turned on, and I thought it wasgoing to give me away.
It didn't, but I was stressedthrough the entire interaction.
Now again, this apartment wasvery close to two things from
her past, one being the sportsground where I did a lot of the
(27:41):
initial buys with Roy.
I believed he was no longerdealing and his legitimate
business had gone.
So I wasn't going to see him.
I didn't think.
But the second one it was veryclose to where I went to high
school and there were a fewpeople that I knew socially, or
rather had known socially, wholived in the immediate area.
So there was that in the backof my mind.
(28:03):
I was always very careful whenI was outside to make sure just
who I might be seen by.
As for a vehicle, I was drivinga Holden Ute for some reason.
Not sure how that fit into thecover story of being a gay toy
boy, but given I spent a lot oftime walking or taking taxis
when I was with Betty, it didn'tseem to be a problem.
(28:25):
Okay, so back to Betty.
Obviously I had to buildrapport with Betty which would
make people not question that Iwas a gay boy toy.
I spent a lot of time at herplace learning about her.
It even got to the point whereshe bought me clothes to wear
and made sure I had a properskincare routine to help me look
the part.
I look back now, and while Iwas given shit from the rest of
(28:49):
the squad about it, it was quitean enjoyable experience.
Betty often tried to convinceme that I should see if I was at
least bi, but to no avail.
I am very much hetero and verymuch interested in women.
That interest in women alsonearly caused my cover being
blown and a slight change to mybackstory where I was now by.
(29:12):
You see, betty was very, verygood friends with a plethora of
strippers.
They literally lived in theunits around her and, as she
used to run clubs, she wasgifted free entry to just about
every strip club in the city.
In this op, I needed to be seenwith her, socializing and be
accepted as part of the scene.
A few weeks becomes a lifetimeand once you are always there,
(29:35):
you become part of the furnitureand people stop questioning why
you're there or how long youhave been there.
So, needless to say, I spentmany nights initially going out
just to be seen and become known, and for some reason, as I said
, strip clubs seem to be theclub of choice for Betty.
Okay, now, most people think ofthem as seedy places where women
(29:56):
who are drug addicted selltheir bodies and sometimes their
souls to dirty old men.
In my experience, not all thegirls use drugs, but some do.
Not all the girls areprostitutes, but some are.
Some of the girls are reallyjust making a lucrative living
by using what God gave them in arelatively safe way.
(30:17):
You would generally have yourmix of girls who have no other
choice and could be takenadvantage of through to girls
who enjoyed the fact that mengave their money for being
attractive and being naked.
There was also this sort ofsubculture, if you like.
When I was going out andpartying myself with my friends,
both male and female, we did itin nightclubs.
(30:38):
Strip clubs also have the sameallure for people as well.
Yes, you get your bucks nightgroups, you get your dirty old
men, but you also get a certaingroup of people, both male and
female, who genuinely go tostrip clubs for the same
experience I would have in anormal club.
Obviously, there would be morenakedness and left clothing at
(31:00):
the strip club than at a club.
I don't know if you could saythat now, though.
Anyway, there were a lot ofpeople that just gravitated
towards strip clubs.
A lot of them also used speedamongst other drugs, but it also
but basically, speed and easeseemed to be the drug of choice.
I was made aware of thepresence of cocaine, but it
(31:24):
never became a drug to access inthe circles I was playing in.
On a night out with Betty, wewould come to a club and the
girls would, in various stagesof undress, come up and hug and
kiss her, saying hello.
Once I was introduced, theywould hug and kiss me too.
We would go backstage to thedressing rooms where again we
would get hugs and kisses, thistime from mostly naked girls.
(31:47):
Hugs and kisses, this time frommostly naked girls.
Now, as I have said previously,I was a young man who enjoyed
the female form.
The natural response of ared-blooded male when having
friendly physical contact, suchas hugging or kissing or showing
affection, let alone just beingwith and seeing naked, stunning
girls, was a physiologicalresponse of a rocket in my
(32:08):
pocket.
Whilst being somewhat enjoyable, it was also very problematic,
given I was supposed to beBetty's boy toy and ostensibly
gay.
On one particular occasion itthe rocket response was very,
very obvious and Betty came upto me, whacked a piece of the
groin with her hand and said youneed to put that away.
(32:28):
You're supposed to be gay.
Gay men don't get hard over anaked girl, honey.
Whilst that smack did the trick, it wasn't going to be a fix,
so he decided to change mybackstory to being bi and not
totally gay.
That way, if one of the girlsdid notice my response, I had a
plausible excuse and it wouldn'tdraw too much attention.
(32:55):
I hope you enjoyed that.
Look back at the best buys ofmy career working undercover and
you'll join me with mycontinuing conversations on
behind the thin blue line.
Once again, thanks forlistening.
Thank you for listening toWhisper in the Shadows my true
stories of a real-lifeundercover cop.
I hope you've enjoyed thatepisode.
(33:15):
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
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
(33:37):
whisperintheshadowspodcast atgmailcom.
I look forward to you joiningme next time.
Welcome to the Whisper in the Shadows podcast.
My name's Jason Somerville.
For two years I workedundercover using the pseudonym
Michael Bates, who has nowbecome part of me.
The stories that you've beenlistening to were my stories of
my time undercover.
Well, now it's time for thebest buys, that's right, the
best drug buys.
I've done from the entireperiod.
(00:21):
Done from the entire period,starting with Buzz, working my
way through Tommy, even on toBetty.
You'll hear all the ones that Ihad the most fun doing and
hopefully you'll enjoy listeningto them just as much as I
enjoyed doing them.
So the three of us were sittingin the car two scruffy looking
(00:43):
Vietnamese guys and a scruffylooking white guy in a fairly
expensive car, actually parkedaway from the majority of cars
and people and just lookingreally sus, so much so that a
marked police car drives up infront of us, parking us in and
the uniformed police get out.
Now I was fairly calm because,hey, even if I did get caught
with the gear, I wasn't gettinginto trouble and would give me
(01:06):
some credit.
That was lacking with Tommy.
The two of them were talking inVietnamese to each other and
both seemed a little frantic.
Hey, I said English.
Okay, don't stress, just actcalm.
They don't know anything and Ihave the gear on me.
The police asked us to get outof the car and go to the front
of it.
I was able to slide the packetthat I had of heroin into a
(01:27):
hiding place I had in the carand got out.
The coppers made us go to thefront of the car, asked for our
ID and then asked what we weredoing.
I said that these guys had toldme about the bakery and that's
why we were there.
The coppers didn't believe me,of course, so they asked all of
us to empty our pockets on thefront of my car, which we all
did.
They then took us one by one tothe back of the police car to
(01:49):
obviously question us separatelyand also search us a bit more.
Danny went first, couldn't hearwhat they were saying, but I
could see him looking over at uswell, me and the copper looking
over at me and asking himquestions.
The copper brought him back andthen he took Tommy with him,
while Tommy was out of earshot.
Then he goes hey, mick, I toldthem not to search you because
(02:10):
you're an undercover cop and I'mhelping you.
I said you said what he saidyeah, so you don't get caught.
I said fuck me, mate.
I've hidden the gear.
All you've done is made Tommymore suspicious.
What if they say something tohim?
What if they don't search me?
Now, you are an idiot.
Don't ever tell anyone thatagain.
Do you hear me?
I was furious.
(02:31):
So the cop brings Tommy back andhe then walks up to me.
Now, he doesn't take meanywhere.
What he does is he just pats medown, says are you holding?
I say no, and he turns aroundto his mate and goes okay, come
on, let's go.
I'm thinking to myself, righto.
So we jump back in the car andTommy is really, really
(02:55):
suspicious.
He says to me how come youweren't searched?
I go, mate.
How would I know he goes?
Are you a cop?
I've gone.
No, dude.
How would I know?
Did you get busted?
Did you get locked up?
No, how would I know he goes?
Are you a cop?
I've gone.
No, dude.
How would I know?
Did you get busted?
Did you get locked up?
No, how would I know why Iwasn't searched?
You guys didn't have anything.
Maybe they thought if these twodon't have anything, he's not
(03:15):
going to have anything either.
Danny called her and the dealwas set up.
We were going to go and meether in the car park of a local
tavern which at that time wasone of the roughest pubs in town
Think sawdust on the floor typeplace.
During the day it was dodgylooking, even the restaurant you
(03:36):
wouldn't willingly walk intofor a fee.
Now the car park was on theintersection of a major arterial
road and another very heavilyused during the day.
Over night time not so much,but during the day there was a
lot of traffic.
So we head off to the meetlocation.
I pull into the car park andDanny directs me towards a white
(03:57):
Ford station wagon that lookedlike it had three people in it
with a female driver.
The target was already therewaiting for us.
I pull my car up and turn toDanny getting ready to get out.
Danny looks at me and asks mefor the money.
Mate, you need to get yourskinny ass over there and get
them to let me do the buy.
I'm not giving you any money.
He started a protest but I cuthim off.
(04:19):
No, mate, go.
So Danny gets out of my car andwalks at 25 meters or so over to
the target's car, goes to thedriver's door and has a
conversation, looking backnervously at me.
Then he comes back to my car,gets in the passenger seat and,
looking dejected, says they willonly sell to me this time, then
next time they promise to meetyou.
(04:39):
I exploded and told him he wasgoing to jail.
I'd had enough.
I gave him the $100 because wereally needed an in to this
target and told him that hecould only buy it if they agreed
to meet me right now and sellto me next time.
Okay, okay, he said.
He gets out, goes back to thecar.
(05:00):
Fuck, I thought to myself.
He has screwed me again.
The little shit.
I had a thought that I'd justget out of the car and go over
there and introduce myself.
Then I thought, better off it.
I was outnumbered and I didn'treally know who they were.
I can see Danny pointing overto me and then handing the money
to the target.
(05:20):
I can clearly see her shakinghead as if to say no.
Then there is some conversationwith the people in the back of
the target.
I can clearly see her shakingher head as if to say no.
Then there is some conversationwith the people in the back of
the car.
Danny then fidgets around a bitand then comes back toward my
car.
As he is doing this, the targetstarts the car and takes off.
I was furious.
You could see the look onDanny's face.
It was somewhere between beingpleased with himself but also
(05:43):
being aware that he had stuffedup.
He gets back in the car andhands me the packet what the
fuck?
I yell at him.
They said they would meet you.
I was coming back to get youBullshit.
I roared, I was pissed off.
I then did something that wascompletely out of character for
me, but in hindsight it was thebest thing I could have done.
I reached back behind andpulled out my gun from where it
(06:04):
was sitting in my jeans, in thesmall of my back.
Yes, like a real gangster carry.
I grabbed him by the shirt,dragged him across the car and
put my gun in his face andyelled this is the last time.
You, little piece of shit.
If this happens again, I'mgoing to pull this trigger in
your mouth and bury you in thebush.
Do you understand?
(06:25):
His eyes were as wide as horsesand I could feel him trembling.
He certainly didn't expect thatresponse and, to be honest, I
didn't either.
It just happened.
He nodded his head furiously.
He couldn't speak as I had agun jammed in his mouth.
When I relented, he said okay,mick, okay, I will introduce you
next time.
I said to every person Danny,this shit of you snipping the
(06:49):
buys stops today.
Next time you'll introduce meto every person or else and I
will do the buying.
Understood, I managed to calmdown a bit and put my gun away.
Danny was shitting himself.
He didn't know what to do.
We're going away.
Danny was shooting himself.
He didn't know what to do.
I composed myself and we droveoff.
I took him back to the localshopping centre near his house
(07:10):
and dropped him off.
Remember, I said from now,every single time I get
introduced, danny.
He slowly nodded his head,looking down at his feet.
Lye indicated that if, for somereason, he couldn't meet me,
then Trong would do the deliveryfor me.
(07:30):
Dealing with Lye was very easy,simple and professional If a
drug dealer can be professional,that is.
There was little chat.
I gave him money and he gave methe drugs.
Buys were always done in thecar park of a major shopping
centre.
He would park in exactly thesame spot as would I, and he
would walk over to my car, getin the front seat.
Many years later I was actuallyworking in the area and I would
(07:54):
go to the shopping center forlunch and, like muscle memory,
the first time I went I droveand parked in almost the exact
same spot I would when I wasbuying drugs, which kind of
freaked me out a little bit.
Obviously, a big part of buyingdrugs is recording not only the
drugs but the conversationduring the buy, to prove, a the
(08:14):
target is where they are sellingyour drugs and, b they intend
to sell you more drugs on anongoing basis.
There are many ways to do this,but recording the conversation
as it is happening via a taperecording device is the simplest
and easiest.
It's very hard to refute a taperecording of you saying I will
sell you a gram of heroin for$600.
How often do you want to buy?
And this heroin is much betterquality than a lot on the street
(08:35):
?
Do you have the money For thesebuys?
I decided not to use the tapedown my pants.
Firstly, as I indicated in myfirst episode, it is really
uncomfortable.
Secondly, trying to turn it onis also hard when you are
sitting in a car seat andthirdly, the quality of the
recording can be muffled witheverything going on down there.
So for the first couple of buysI did use it this way.
(08:58):
However, I came up with theidea of placing the recording
device into the interior lightcavity of my car.
Luckily, the design of theparticular car I had meant that
there was an excess of spacebetween the twin light globes
and the rest of the compartment.
There was even a little ledgethat was about the same size as
the recorder, which meant it satout of the way nicely.
(09:20):
On the first occasion I thoughtit would be smart and use the
external microphone that camewith it.
If I was wearing the recorder Iwould usually have the
microphone attached to theinside of my pants and come up
at the top of them near the fly.
Given I was skinny back then,there was no gut to impede the
recording, so I've set this upin the car To make sure there
(09:41):
was enough tape for recording.
I had to pull up when I gotclose to the car park, open the
light and turn on.
The recording device during thefirst solo by the microphone
has come undone from its hidingplace all in between the two
globes.
I was able to see the shadowand was sure that I was going to
see it was going to be able tosee it as well.
Now, remember the stress I hadof hearing the tape change sides
(10:03):
.
Well, add to that the fact thatI could now see the microphone.
While Sysbi went off without ahitch, the microphone did get
burnt and in fact melted.
Suffice to say, I didn't usethe external microphone again,
and it may or may not have beenlost.
Lye was a good source ofinformation around the drug
business.
Trong was a little more openabout the other players and we
(10:24):
got some great intel from himtoo.
He was closer to my age andthere was a bit of I'm better
than you in his matter.
It was decided we would do abuy bust.
The plan was to get as muchinformation out of John as
possible, get the drugs, but tryand not give him the money.
(10:45):
Before the troops came runningin and grabbed him.
The car park was going to beset up, so the space I parked in
there would be three or fourcars with coppers in them, with
good line of sight, ie not toofar away.
So when I said the code word,they would come running and grab
John.
It was a good plan.
I would have the money in theback of the Vitara, john.
(11:05):
It was a good plan.
I would have the money in theback of the Vitara.
Once John showed me the heroinI would say I just have to get
out and get the money, as it wasin the compartment in the boot.
Once I said I just have to getout and get the money, in would
come the cavalry.
It was a good plan.
It was a very simple and goodplan.
The phrase was simple and if itwas missed me, getting out was
the second trigger.
It was a very simple and goodplan.
(11:29):
The day the by-bust came earlymorning to the drug squad
officers we go through the plan.
Everyone has a last minute, saywe cover off on contingencies,
what if this happens, etc.
I'm wired up and, given the 11grand, the last thing my
controller says to me is try andmake sure you don't give him
the money before the team getthere to arrest him.
Yeah well, I'll be out of thecar getting it when they do that
(11:51):
.
So sure, I said it was a goodplan.
Surveillance head out to theairport to get set up.
About half an hour later I headout too.
I went through all the things Ineeded to do.
I went through all the things Ineeded to do.
It was a good plan.
Pulled into the car park parkand turn the car off.
(12:13):
I wind down my windows, take myseatbelt off and have a quick
glance around.
Couldn't see the team, but Iknew they were there.
About 10 to 15 minutes afterparking I see John walking out
of the arrivals door and heheads straight to my car.
The front passenger door isunlocked so he opens it and gets
in.
He was carrying what lookedlike a parcel post envelope and
it had something in it, not toobulky but noticeable, mick.
(12:33):
He says hi, john, how was yourflight?
I asked.
Yeah, it was good, went likeclockwork, he replied.
How often do you do the flights?
I asked.
Once every couple of weeks,usually if I have to get large
amounts.
John then went on to explainthat he goes with a female
friend on the flights.
They don't sit together, but hepays for her flights.
Now I had wondered after thatfirst buy why the package had
(12:55):
been wrapped in tissue paper,because in almost every other
buy I had done it was just analfoil.
John explained that he wouldwrap the heroin tissue paper
that had been soaked in perfume.
His female friend would thenput that in her bra and they
would enter the airport, boardthe flight and come back.
His female friend was alsowearing the same perfume and
(13:15):
carrying the bottle in herhandbag.
Apparently, this was to put offany drug detection dogs that
might be at the airport.
He had used the same methodheaps of times.
He was also starting to get theheroin sent via parcel post
bags, as customs didn't checkthem.
They were only a new offeringby Australia Post.
He would also send the cashback to the syndicate using the
(13:36):
express post parcel bags.
It is amazing to think thatsuch an obvious method of
transporting drugs and moneywasn't policed, but it is now.
It was then that he pulled outthe ounce of heroin.
He made a great show ofunwrapping the tissue paper and
there it was an alfalfa packageof an ounce or 28 grams of
heroin.
That looks great, john.
(13:57):
I just have to get out and getthe money, as it's in the
compartment in the back, wantedto hide it, just in case you
know what I mean.
Yeah, sure, mick, all good.
He said the phrase had beensaid.
It was a simple plan.
I opened the driver's door andslowly get out of the car.
I then close the driver's door.
I have a quick scan around thecar park and I can't see any
(14:19):
movement.
That's a bit odd, I thought Iwalk to the back of the Vitara
and open the back door Again.
I have a look around no one.
I say to John through the car.
So how often can you meet medoing this?
I want to talk to you aboutthat, mick.
He says.
Looking back at me, I must havehad a quizzical look on my face
to get a smile.
So I'm fidgeting around for themoney and eventually grab the
(14:44):
envelope with it in.
I close the back door and I seea plainclothes copper sneaking
up behind the two cars over.
I make eye contact and nod asif to say shouldn't you be here
by now?
He stops dead in his tracks.
I walk back over to the driver'sdoor, open and get in.
John hands me the heroin and Ihave to hand him the money.
That is what you do, right?
(15:05):
I'm still expecting old matetwo cards crossed to come
running in with someone, anyone.
John then says to me Mick,remember how I said I wanted to
move back home?
Yeah, I said, but you wanted tofind time to take over first.
Yeah, that's right.
He said Would you be interestedin distributing here?
I can take you with me nexttime to meet the people I work
(15:27):
for and if they approve, thenyou can work for them and I can
go off and do something else.
Um, yeah, if you think I could,I said, knowing full well that
at any minute now he was goingto be busted.
Right?
He says We'll talk soon andwith that he puts the money in
his pocket and he gets out of mycar and walks off towards the
(15:47):
passenger car park.
Now I'm sitting there going.
What the hell?
It was such a simple plan.
It was a good plan.
I reverse out of the parkingspace and drive to the exit.
I pass a car with twoplainclothes cops heading to
where John had parked his car.
As I'm driving off, I call mycontroller.
What the fuck happened?
I had to give him the money.
Where was everyone?
(16:08):
I don't know.
Let's talk about it.
At the back of the office shesaid what else could I do?
So I headed back to the office.
At this point it's been abouttwo months after that first bye
with Tommy and I get a phonecall at about 2am one morning
and the caller is obviouslyVietnamese.
(16:29):
I could tell that even though Iwas half asleep.
I could also tell it was Tommy.
He had a very distinct voice Igoing to kill you.
You are an undercover cop, you,dog, I kill you.
And he then hung up sobleary-eyed I I thought fuck,
that wasn't good and I did whatanyone else would do and called
the number back.
Now, tommy didn't answer, so Itried to get back to sleep.
(16:52):
The next day I called Danny andcouldn't get him either.
I'd moved on from Tommy andfurther up the chain so I wasn't
too concerned.
Besides, he had no idea where Ilived.
It came time to close that firstoperation because I was getting
married.
In a matter of weeks, searchwarrants and buy bus were set up
and executed.
I'd heard that a few of theVietnamese had been raided and
(17:13):
that they were rounded up, butno one had actually found Tommy
yet.
I was on my way to do a buy busto another target with a group
of marked and unmarked cars intow.
I was driving down the mainstreet of one of the inner city
suburbs when I spotted Tommycrossing the road in front of me
.
Yes, he stood out that much.
This street, even back then,was a main arterial road and
there were a lot of peoplewalking and a lot of cars coming
(17:35):
and going.
When I saw him, I sped up andliterally almost ran him over,
screeching to a halt in front ofhim.
My window was down, so so Ireached out, grabbed him by the
collar and pulled him into thewindow.
The look of shock and terror onhis face was cathartic.
When he saw it was me, he was alittle less worried and scared.
I said call me a fucking police, dog cunt.
(17:56):
I will fucking kill you if youever say that to anyone.
He's gone.
No, mick, no, it wasn't me.
I don't think you are police.
I said it fucking was you, youlittle cunt.
If I hear you have been sayingI'm a police to anyone, you are
dead.
Do you understand me Now?
All the while I was looking inmy rear view mirror for the
marked car that was following me.
As soon as I saw it get close,I said fuck coppers.
(18:19):
I looked him in the eyes andsaid remember what I said.
Then I literally pushed himdown into the middle of the road
and took off at a million milesan hour.
As I was doing so, I had thedetectives on speed dial called
them and said hey, the guy inthe middle of the road, that's
Tommy Van Dang.
The marked car grabbed him,arrested him and took him back
to the station Once the rest ofthe busts and raids had finished
(18:40):
.
The detective then says so, youdo know Mick.
Tommy says so, you do know Mick.
Tommy says yes, tommy, mick isan undercover police officer and
you sold him heroin on a numberof occasions.
To which Tommy replies no, Inot sell him drugs.
He give me money.
I go and get drugs and thengive to him, but I not sell them
to him.
At that time I'm at that point.
(19:01):
I'm ushered out of theinterview, trying not to laugh.
Now, remember in the lastepisode where I was heading
along, heading to buy, headingto a buy bust, when I saw tommy
vang dang crossing the road well, this is the buy bust I was
heading to.
So my adrenaline levels werealready peaking at this stage,
(19:24):
given I had just had a run inwith tommy.
The plan was pretty simpleWayne had said to pull up behind
him, he would come and get inmy car and we would do the deal
Money to him, drugs to me.
Now remember how I said that Ihad the drug squad detective's
phone number on speed dial on myphone.
Well, there was a very goodreason for that.
The location we were going towas a pretty good one for Wayne.
(19:47):
There weren't a lot of places apolice car full of detectives
could sit and watch what wasgoing on without being obvious.
We had done a recce of the areathe day before.
The plan was simple I wasn'tgoing in with any money.
I was going to get him to handme the drugs, then I was going
to push the speed dial and whenthe phone rang, that was the cue
(20:10):
for the cavalry to come beforeI had to give Wayne the
non-existent $6,000.
Sounds simple, doesn't it?
Like I said at that time,mobile phones had only just
become a thing.
The infrastructure was almostnon-existent.
That meant there were a lot ofdead spots where there simply
was no service.
The drug squad and Mark Carrpulled up around the corner in
their pre-allocated position,remember.
They didn't have any line ofsight.
(20:32):
It was go time, all on thephone ringing.
I drive on and pull up behindWayne's car.
My police training of giving acar's length kicked in, which
meant I wasn't boxed in andcould speed out if I wanted to.
I gave him a wave and watchedhim get out of his car and walk
to mine, fully expecting him tocome to the passenger side.
(20:52):
Now, instead of getting in mycar, he comes to the driver's
side window, which I hadn'tplanned for.
I wind down my window, wayne.
I said Mick, how are you?
He asked yeah, good, good,you're not getting in the car.
No, no, I'll stay out here.
He said Now, this was awkward.
The plan was to have himcontained in my car so he
(21:13):
couldn't do a runner.
When the cavalry arrived, I'msitting in my car, I'd taken my
seatbelt off and I had my flipphone in the handbrake well open
, with my finger hovering abovethe recall button.
Wayne then says to me you know,buzz thought you were a copper,
a narc.
Then says to me you know, buzz,thought you were a copper, a
narc.
Fuck off.
I said really, mate, he wasjust paranoid.
(21:34):
After getting done yeah, I know, that's what I told him.
I said don't be stupid, buzz,mick isn't a copper, I'll deal
with him and you don't have to.
Wayne said thanks, mate, Iappreciate that.
I said now, do you have thegear?
Yep.
Do you have the money?
Yep, do you have the money?
He asked yeah, sure, it's justhere in my glove box, let me get
it for you.
I said Press off goes the call,or so I thought.
(21:56):
Seems I was in a dead spot,wasn't I?
Now, I couldn't see the phone,but I was expecting lights and
sirens within maybe 10 secondsof me pressing the button.
Crickets, here I am sitting in acar with someone who has been
told by another dealer theythink I'm an undercover cop I'm
fumbling around for the money.
I don't know if he was aviolent man, if he had a weapon,
(22:18):
a knife or a gun.
No, friendly police sounds.
And I was starting to panic.
So I fumbled with the glove box, making excuses and cursing
Mate, I locked it.
Sorry, I didn't want't want toget stolen.
You know it's a lot of money.
I said as I fumbled the key outof the ignition into the glove
box press, press, press.
And then, like my favorite songsong coming on at a club, I
(22:41):
heard the sweetest sound knownto a uc doing a bypassed police
sirens, fuck cops.
Wayne says here, take this, I'llget the money from you another
time.
Now take off and don't getfucking caught.
Are you sure, mate?
I said, looking over myshoulder at the ever closer cars
.
Yes, now fuck off, drive.
And I did just that.
I took off at a million milesan hour.
(23:03):
I don't know if Wayne thought itwas strange or not at the time,
but the cars just stopped athim.
They didn't bother to chase me,even after he told the police
they had just missed the Mr Band had had at least a quarter
ounce on me and six thousanddollars in the car.
So I'd have back to the drugsquad officers my controller
with the quarter ounce lodge itand happy days when the
(23:25):
detectives eventually get back.
I asked them why didn't youcome the first time I called?
We didn't get a call.
He said, mate, I must havepressed send like six or seven
times.
I said I was running out ofexcuses for not giving you the
money.
A bit strange not getting acall.
We looked down at our phonesand there was no signal.
I'm guessing that was the samefor you it was.
(23:56):
At that point I decided to comein blazing.
I am certainly glad you did.
I'll give you the tip.
I said laughing.
The team raided Wayne's houseand some other associated places
and found you guessed itquantities of heroin.
They also found large stashesof cash.
Wayne was charged and convictedof trafficking in heroin.
(24:20):
Now, betty was one of the moreunusual informants I had.
You see, betty was a man whowas gay and who preferred to be
dressed as a female, or aredressed as a female what we
would now call preferred theshe-her pronouns.
Before that became a thing.
In reality, she just preferredto dress and act like a woman.
Now she had been caught withspeed, I believe and as part of
(24:43):
her deal she was going to giveup her dealers, as well as some
of the dealers in the underworldof strip clubs and gay bars.
She was going to give up herdealers, as well as some of the
dealers in the underworld ofstrip clubs and gay bars.
This was always going to be adifficult job and was going to
put my acting skills to the test.
You see, the cover story.
The only cover story we couldreally come up with was I was
going to be Betty's playthingand I was gay and I had to be
(25:06):
convincing.
Now, bear in mind that I washappily married to a woman.
The main reason for this coverstory was twofold.
One, a straight guy in thiscircle would scream undercover
cop.
And two, his two main targetswere both sleeping with Betty.
Although they weren't gay perse, they just had sex with her.
(25:27):
The only way to meet themwithout raising suspicions was
to be at her house when theycame around to take her out and
to be at her house, I had to begay and her new plaything or boy
toy I know right Now.
As part of any operation, I hadto have a safe house, somewhere
(25:47):
that I could meet targets ifneed be, but also somewhere that
, if I was followed, would notput my real life or my wife at
risk.
Now, because this actuallyhappened in my first operation
and was followed home to my realhouse by two Vietnamese guys, I
took this part of my experiencereally seriously, so I had to
find somewhere to live.
There was a suggestion betweenmy controller and Betty that
(26:10):
maybe I should live there withher, whilst I think my
controller was joking.
I'm pretty sure Betty wasn't.
It was never going to happen,though.
She lived in a one bedroomapartment.
I was not sleeping on a couchand I was definitely not sharing
a bed with her.
That was investing in the coverstory one step too far.
(26:32):
Anyway, I eventually got anapartment that was close to
Betty, but the surveillance guyswere still able to wire up with
recording devices and cameras,which meant that I was able to
record things that happened inthe unit.
It was also far enough awaythat I wouldn't risk being seen
coming and going.
Enough away that I wouldn'trisk being seen coming and going
(26:55):
.
Now, unlike today's nanny cams,it was hardwired with a tape,
which made timing everything,but in general it worked the
same way.
Turning it on was tricky andhad to be done before anyone was
in the apartment, given thatthe recorder was hidden and I
had to take furniture apart toaccess it.
There were limitations.
Luckily, though, the complexhad one of those video phones
that allowed me to see who wasat my entrance, and they had to
(27:18):
be buzzed into the internal partof the building.
Still, out of the few times Idid use it, there was one where
I left part of the furnitureawry in my haste to get it
turned on, and I thought it wasgoing to give me away.
It didn't, but I was stressedthrough the entire interaction.
Now again, this apartment wasvery close to two things from
her past, one being the sportsground where I did a lot of the
(27:41):
initial buys with Roy.
I believed he was no longerdealing and his legitimate
business had gone.
So I wasn't going to see him.
I didn't think.
But the second one it was veryclose to where I went to high
school and there were a fewpeople that I knew socially, or
rather had known socially, wholived in the immediate area.
So there was that in the backof my mind.
(28:03):
I was always very careful whenI was outside to make sure just
who I might be seen by.
As for a vehicle, I was drivinga Holden Ute for some reason.
Not sure how that fit into thecover story of being a gay toy
boy, but given I spent a lot oftime walking or taking taxis
when I was with Betty, it didn'tseem to be a problem.
(28:25):
Okay, so back to Betty.
Obviously I had to buildrapport with Betty which would
make people not question that Iwas a gay boy toy.
I spent a lot of time at herplace learning about her.
It even got to the point whereshe bought me clothes to wear
and made sure I had a properskincare routine to help me look
the part.
I look back now, and while Iwas given shit from the rest of
(28:49):
the squad about it, it was quitean enjoyable experience.
Betty often tried to convinceme that I should see if I was at
least bi, but to no avail.
I am very much hetero and verymuch interested in women.
That interest in women alsonearly caused my cover being
blown and a slight change to mybackstory where I was now by.
(29:12):
You see, betty was very, verygood friends with a plethora of
strippers.
They literally lived in theunits around her and, as she
used to run clubs, she wasgifted free entry to just about
every strip club in the city.
In this op, I needed to be seenwith her, socializing and be
accepted as part of the scene.
A few weeks becomes a lifetimeand once you are always there,
(29:35):
you become part of the furnitureand people stop questioning why
you're there or how long youhave been there.
So, needless to say, I spentmany nights initially going out
just to be seen and become known, and for some reason, as I said
, strip clubs seem to be theclub of choice for Betty.
Okay, now, most people think ofthem as seedy places where women
(29:56):
who are drug addicted selltheir bodies and sometimes their
souls to dirty old men.
In my experience, not all thegirls use drugs, but some do.
Not all the girls areprostitutes, but some are.
Some of the girls are reallyjust making a lucrative living
by using what God gave them in arelatively safe way.
(30:17):
You would generally have yourmix of girls who have no other
choice and could be takenadvantage of through to girls
who enjoyed the fact that mengave their money for being
attractive and being naked.
There was also this sort ofsubculture, if you like.
When I was going out andpartying myself with my friends,
both male and female, we did itin nightclubs.
(30:38):
Strip clubs also have the sameallure for people as well.
Yes, you get your bucks nightgroups, you get your dirty old
men, but you also get a certaingroup of people, both male and
female, who genuinely go tostrip clubs for the same
experience I would have in anormal club.
Obviously, there would be morenakedness and left clothing at
(31:00):
the strip club than at a club.
I don't know if you could saythat now, though.
Anyway, there were a lot ofpeople that just gravitated
towards strip clubs.
A lot of them also used speedamongst other drugs, but it also
but basically, speed and easeseemed to be the drug of choice.
I was made aware of thepresence of cocaine, but it
(31:24):
never became a drug to access inthe circles I was playing in.
On a night out with Betty, wewould come to a club and the
girls would, in various stagesof undress, come up and hug and
kiss her, saying hello.
Once I was introduced, theywould hug and kiss me too.
We would go backstage to thedressing rooms where again we
would get hugs and kisses, thistime from mostly naked girls.
(31:47):
Hugs and kisses, this time frommostly naked girls.
Now, as I have said previously,I was a young man who enjoyed
the female form.
The natural response of ared-blooded male when having
friendly physical contact, suchas hugging or kissing or showing
affection, let alone just beingwith and seeing naked, stunning
girls, was a physiologicalresponse of a rocket in my
(32:08):
pocket.
Whilst being somewhat enjoyable, it was also very problematic,
given I was supposed to beBetty's boy toy and ostensibly
gay.
On one particular occasion itthe rocket response was very,
very obvious and Betty came upto me, whacked a piece of the
groin with her hand and said youneed to put that away.
(32:28):
You're supposed to be gay.
Gay men don't get hard over anaked girl, honey.
Whilst that smack did the trick, it wasn't going to be a fix,
so he decided to change mybackstory to being bi and not
totally gay.
That way, if one of the girlsdid notice my response, I had a
plausible excuse and it wouldn'tdraw too much attention.
(32:55):
I hope you enjoyed that.
Look back at the best buys ofmy career working undercover and
you'll join me with mycontinuing conversations on
behind the thin blue line.
Once again, thanks forlistening.
Thank you for listening toWhisper in the Shadows my true
stories of a real-lifeundercover cop.
I hope you've enjoyed thatepisode.
(33:15):
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
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
(33:37):
whisperintheshadowspodcast atgmailcom.
I look forward to you joiningme next time.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.