June 10, 2024 • 23 mins
What if you had to adopt a new identity and integrate into a small community to bring down a criminal network? Join me, Michael Bates, as I recount the tension-filled twists of my final undercover mission. With my two-year tenure coming to an end, an urgent call thrust me into one last covert operation in a regional town. Maintaining my Michael Bates persona, I switched to a maroon Toyota Berliner to remain undetected while infiltrating an organized crime group with help from an informant named Stephen Boy. In this episode, you'll hear how we navigated the labyrinth of challenges, from accommodation woes to Stephen's escalating paranoia, all under the guidance of my seasoned female detective sergeant controller.
Posing as someone's son with a sizable inheritance, I had to seamlessly blend into the close-knit community, balancing odd jobs and even joining the local AFL club despite my lack of experience. The mission hit a critical juncture when Stephen's paranoia nearly blew my cover, leading to a dramatic confrontation. Tune in to experience the anxiety, pressure, and strategic maneuvers that came into play as we worked to dismantle the drug trafficking ring. This episode is packed with suspense and high-stakes drama, a fitting end to my career undercover.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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.
(00:22):
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.
(00:43):
Most people seem to confuseplainclothes police with being
undercover.
There is a very big difference,though.
Most plainclothes 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
(01:03):
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.
(01:24):
So why don't we get on with thenext episode?
Welcome back to the Whisper inthe Shadows podcast.
I hope you enjoyed listening tothe conversation I had with
Paul Maloney as much as I didhaving it.
(01:45):
Okay, so we are down to my finaloperation.
Although nothing had beenformally said, I knew I was
getting close to the two-yearmark and, with a number of legal
issues going on in and aroundthe COVID unit, albeit from an
external commission, they werenot going to risk ignoring their
own rules on things like lengthof tenure and employee mental
health.
So whilst I didn't know, I knewthat the next stop would be my
(02:09):
last and I had mixed emotionsabout that.
This last stop was going to bea very different one for me,
though, that was for sure.
So I was generally relaxed,generally relaxing and just
doing what I would normally doon my downtime.
Generally relaxing and justdoing what I would normally do
on my downtime, which wasn't alot.
I'd maybe go into the office orcatch up and go and learn to
(02:33):
surf, and I also took uplearning to fly.
Well, I did four lessons.
Anyway, I was just cruising andone day I got a call to go into
the office.
I drive in and both of thesergeants were there and they
usher me into the office.
I drive in and both of thesergeants were there and they
usher me into the office.
After some small chit chat,they tell me they have an op and
they are just waiting for it tobe approved and signed off by
the committee.
Now remember how I said thatthere was a committee of senior
(02:55):
people from the crime operationsgroup who had oversight of
which covert jobs would get done, and I was sceptical about one
of those jobs not going ahead.
Well, this was the same group,but, as it turned out, this one
was approved.
So the sergeants tell me thejob's going to be in a regional
town.
It's about a three to four hourdrive from where I lived.
(03:17):
My controller was going to be afemale detective sergeant who in
reality, was probably the best,if not one of the best,
controllers I had.
She was extremely knowledgeableabout policing and
investigations and I learnt alot from talking to her.
As it turns out, there wasn't alot to do, so I spent a lot of
my time doing just that.
I got all the information anddecided that I would keep the
(03:41):
Michael Bates ID as the chancesof running into someone who knew
me as Michael in this town wasnegligible.
But I did change over the car.
I was given A maroon ToyotaBerliner Berliner.
Never heard of a Berliner.
No, I hadn't either.
They were a short-lived attemptto go head-to-head with the
(04:03):
Holden Camira in the mid-90s.
In fact that is exactly whatthey were A Holden Camira with a
Toyota badge.
Suffice to say, it looked likean unmarked police car.
So I go home and await furtherinformation.
I tell my lovely then-wife thatI have another op coming up and
(04:23):
that I'll be going away, unsurefor how long, unsure exactly
when, can't tell you where thatwent down.
Well, the next day I went backinto the office and was given
the details of the op as it hadbeen approved.
I met up with my controller andwe went out and had a counter
lunch to discuss the plan ofattack.
Now this town was very country.
It had two or three primaryindustries that kept it going.
(04:46):
But that was about all.
First issue was going to beaccommodation.
It was scarce.
The second issue was going tobe not standing out like a sore
thumb.
Most people know everyone inthese types of towns and new
people tend to be conspicuous.
Employment was scarce as well,and it is not like I could spend
(05:11):
all day just drinking at thepub with an endless supply of
cash without raising somesuspicions.
Then there was the informant.
His name, as I was to find out,was Stephen Boy.
Was he a strange one?
He had been caught sellingspeed.
Apparently he had been part ofthe organised crime group that
ran the local drug trade in theregion.
(05:31):
He had left this group sometime ago, but his pitch to the
drug squad was that he could getsomeone in, ie me, as an
undercover police officer intothe group and hence enable it to
be dismantled and a largesupplier and suspected
manufacturer of speed taken offthe board.
Stephen lived outside of town,which meant meeting him on a
(05:52):
regular basis was going to beeasier than with most informants
.
There were very few people thatwould notice me and my
controller constantly going tohis house and meeting with him,
but Stephen was also wildlyparanoid and that was going to
cause me all sorts of issues.
It was decided we would go upmidweek to make it look a little
(06:12):
less conspicuous.
My controller and I drove uptogether.
Well, we followed each otherfor the four hour drive to the
town.
I had already decided I wasgoing to stay at the local
caravan park and my controllerwas going to check into one of
those motels.
Thinking back, not sure it wasme that decided that, but hey,
just a quick note here.
It was starting to turn cold,ie, to borrow a turn of phrase,
(06:36):
winter was coming and here I wasgoing to be living in a plastic
cabin in a place where it getsto below zero in the nights.
I think I drew the short strawon that one.
Anyway, we both get settled andI am in contact with her via
mobile phone.
To meet we actually had to driveout of the town about half an
hour to a rest stop and meetthere.
(06:57):
It was all very clandestine.
I went for a drive around townwhich took me all of about three
minutes.
There were six pubs in the townas well as an RSL.
Two of the pubs had closed down, so realistically there were
only four, and only two of thoseopened up after about 6pm.
That left the RSL, the ClubHotel and the Broadway Hotel as
(07:19):
the only places that resemblednightlife.
These three establishmentsactually formed an entertainment
triangle, if you like.
On a Friday night the townsfolkwould migrate between the three
depending on what time it wasand what night it was.
Usually you would start at theRSL.
They had a disco, I believethey called it, but they did
have a decent feed and also theyhad mixer cans usually Jim Beam
(07:42):
or rum for only $5.
Let's just say that I spent afair amount of government money
in that time when I was there ona Friday night.
So, rsl first to get charged upin a feed, then you would go
across the road to the clubhotel where they usually had a
band playing.
Well, sometimes a band, mosttimes just a single guy with a
guitar and an effects machine.
(08:03):
He was actually pretty good.
Fun fact, there hadn't been anundercover operation there for
about 10 years, the last one,the only one, being in the 80s,
I believe.
Now I know this because Old MrMusic actually wrote a song
about it.
The first time I heard it I wasdrunk and became a little
paranoid.
So let me set the scene.
(08:25):
I'm at the bar drinking withsome of the locals I played
footy with.
That is another story that I'llcome to.
I decide it's probably time tobreak the seal, so I head to the
back of the public bar to wherethe toilets are located.
Old Mr Music is sitting abouthalfway in the public bar area
between me and the toilets.
He's playing a song that I hadprobably heard before but never
(08:46):
took much notice of.
After that night I would.
So I vaguely start listening tothis song.
Something about a new guy totown who was making friends with
everyone, who was asking lotsof questions and who was being
everyone's friend.
As I get right in front of him,he spits out the words he was a
fucking narc and tried to bringthe town down, or something
(09:07):
like that.
I literally heard he was afucking narc and my heart
skipped a beat.
Mr Music was looking straightat me.
Did he know?
Had Stephen told him, or was itmore likely he was making eye
contact?
Because I kind of tripped andfell a bit.
I went to the bathroom and hadto catch my breath.
(09:27):
Now I was drunk, so it made iteven worse.
I did what I had come for andthen trapezed back to where I
was standing at the bar.
I did what I had come for andthen trapezed back to where I
was standing at the bar.
The song had changed, but I wasslightly freaked out.
When I got back I asked one ofthe bar maids about the song.
She told me that there had beenan undercover cop in town and
there had been all these drugbusts around the weed trade in
(09:49):
the 80s.
The town had never forgotten itand they had written a song
about it.
I had two thoughts go throughmy head.
Mr Music didn't know, and Iwonder if I will get a song too.
I don't think I did.
Anyway, like clockwork,whenever Mr Music was playing
and I had to go to the bathroom,he would be playing that bloody
(10:11):
song and spitting those wordsout at me as I walked past him.
I'm sure my body clock ran toit.
So my controller and I organizedto go and meet Stephen at his
place outside of town.
He calls my controller to sayhe is available.
We both drive out of town.
She parks the car off the roadand we go in my car together.
(10:32):
Having people see my car at hisplace was the idea.
Go in my car together.
Having people see my car at hisplace was the idea.
Now, he lived off the grid.
I mean not in a sustainable way, more like in a way that
preppers do.
His place was literally in themiddle of nowhere and about 300
metres in from the road.
His closest neighbour was about600 or 700 metres from his
house.
There was no way anyone wasgoing to be doing surveillance
(10:55):
on him.
We arrive, get out of the carand we are met by his wife.
Now that threw me.
I didn't actually expect him tohave told his wife what was
going on.
Not sure why, as it seemslogical, but still it threw me a
bit.
During the conversation he wasstaying to get cold feet.
He was as jittery as allbuggery and his wife kept saying
(11:19):
maybe he shouldn't do it.
I get it.
You're informing on a criminalgroup that is well known to
disappear people, especiallythose that were members, in the
face of police interference withtheir operations.
He gave a very non-committalrundown of who might be running
speed, where they were runningit and who I might need to know.
There were no real names and noreal information that we didn't
(11:43):
already have.
I felt slightly uneasy with hisflip-flopping.
Next question from me was say,stephen, how do we know each
other?
Now, that was a good question.
He was like mid-40s and I wasmid-20s.
I was not going to pass as amember of the criminal
organisation from another area,nor was I going to pass as his
(12:03):
son.
Besides, they would knoweveryone or be able to quickly
verify someone from thatorganisation, so that was not an
option.
Hadn't thought about that, hereplied.
Maybe this isn't a good ideaafter all, we can call it quits
but your charges don't go away.
My controller chimed in Right,he said, coming to the
(12:28):
realisation that he had toactually go through with it.
Now it was decided that I wasgoing to be someone from his
past's son and I had run out ofoptions in the city and was
looking for a fresh start.
I had an inheritance, so I hadmoney, but I just didn't want to
be living in the city and andStephen had suggested to come to
his town and restart.
(12:49):
Now we were only day two and hehad colder feet than a penguin.
I wasn't sure he would stick tothe story, let alone remember
it, but it was decided that wewould meet at the Club Hotel
public bar the followingafternoon for a beer and for
people to start to see ustogether and to get that cover
story out.
I mean, what could go wrong?
(13:12):
Look, to be fair, nothingactually went wrong with that
meeting.
I started spending more time atthe club hotel and on the Friday
night I got introduced to thepub crawl.
That was this little countrytown.
Only bad thing was thereweren't many taxis here so very
drunkenly I had to walk back tothe caravan park after my night
out.
It was cold and it was about a20 minute walk, not something I
(13:36):
was going to enjoy.
I lasted two weeks at thecaravan park.
The club hotel was like manycountry pubs and they had rooms
you could rent.
I discussed it with mycontroller and we decided it
might be a good thing to becloser to the action.
Stephen had mentioned that oneof the licensee's children was
actually heavily involved in theselling of Speed across the
coast.
(13:57):
Living at the pub got me closerto him, so by week three I had
moved into the club hotel.
I was literally getting up at8am, having breakfast, going
back to my room and having a nap, going back to the public bar
at about 11am, drinking andsitting at the bar like a barfly
and then having lunch, thendrinking some more and having
(14:18):
dinner at the hotel restaurantand then back to my room.
Ah, what a life.
Drinking beer became likechewing glass and I was putting
on some serious weight.
I was also trying to get a job,so it looked like I fitted in.
I did manage to get two kind of.
The first one was on a localfarm planting crops for a week.
(14:39):
Once the planting was done, thefarmer didn't have any more
work.
I did, however, manage to pickup some work at the hotel.
I washed the windows of themorning and made sure everything
was clean and tidy for thestart of the day.
Didn't pay a hell of a lot, butI did get to see and hear most
of what was happening around theplace.
I also managed to hit up afriendship with some of the
(15:01):
younger like late teens locals,which led me to becoming
involved in the local AFL club.
Now, I had never played AFLbefore in my life.
Actually, I hadn't even watchedit a lot.
I was a football kid, but thepeople I needed to ingratiate
myself with didn't play football, did they?
So twice a week, I would go tofooty training straight from the
(15:23):
bar.
Then after training, we wouldcome back to the bar and have a
few drinks.
It was like I was getting intoa routine.
What I was getting into,however, what I wasn't rather
getting into, however, was anytargets whatsoever.
In fact, I hadn't even beenintroduced to anyone by Stephen.
(15:44):
We put the pressure on Stephento make a meet or introduction
happen to someone anyone reallyin the group as he had not made
it to that point and I had beenin town for three weeks.
So we were at the club hotel ona Friday night.
Stephen was generally askittish character, but that
night he seemed even moreparanoid.
Of course he was drinking and Iwas paying, which I seemed to
(16:06):
do a lot of on a Friday night.
Admittedly, he had given usinformation that the licensee's
son was dealing speed for thesyndicate, which is why I was
living there and trying toingratiate myself into the
family.
Anyway, stephen and I aresitting at the end of the bar.
There was a guy playing hisguitar, which was a normal
(16:27):
Friday night.
It was Mr Music in the frontbar.
You have to remember this was acountry town, so even in the
90s there weren't any clubs.
He had been muttering somethingabout the fact that they were
on to him and he didn't want togo through with it anymore.
I was trying to calm him downto start with and secondly,
remind him that he had to keepdoing this if he wanted his get
(16:48):
out of jail free card.
Now, usually I would get mycontroller involved, but it was
part of the plan that we didn'tknow each other and thus being
seen together in the pub wouldhave been a big red flag.
Here I am trying to convinceStephen that he had to start
doing what he said he would andhe was falling apart.
The conversation was gettingterser and terser.
(17:09):
At one point he started sayingI'm not a grass.
I'm not a grass.
You can get fucked.
I am not going to grass for you.
Now, just as he says this lastsentence, the music stops,
doesn't it?
To this day, I am still unsurehow much of the sentence was
heard by anyone, as the musichad been very loud and people
(17:29):
were yelling and clapping at thetime.
As it turned out, probably noone heard it, but still, you see
one of the bar maids.
Her boyfriend was a member ofthis particular criminal group.
But I just froze.
I started to get very anxious.
I thought to myself he's blownme.
My cover is blown.
If the wrong people find out,I'm going to be taken out.
(17:52):
Bush made to dig a shallowgrave and will be shot and
dumped in it.
I slowly looked around to seeif anyone was obviously looking
at us.
There didn't seem to be, whichwas a good start.
I looked around, I leaned intoStephen and I said in a very low
voice but still loud enough forhim to hear if you pull that
(18:13):
shit again, you won't need toworry about them killing you.
I will take you out, bush, andtop you myself.
Now.
My controller and I will be outat your place tomorrow morning.
We are going to have a realrobust chat about what the fuck
you're doing and why you'rewasting your time.
Finish your drink, get on yourbike and go the fuck home.
(18:34):
If I hear you say shit likethat again, I will smack the
shit out of you wherever we are,even if we are in public.
I know you'll probably get thebetter of me in the end in the
fight, but you will be sore andsorry to start with.
He just looked at me, then downat his beer and slowly nodded
his head.
He finished his beer, saidgoodbye to a few people and left
(19:00):
.
The next morning, myself and mycontroller went out to his place
and had a really good chat withhim.
She told him in no uncertainterms what his options were and
that he needed to step up or hewas going away.
Obviously, he said he wouldstep up and start to introduce
me.
We left him and drove back toher car.
(19:20):
On the way back, we talkedabout Steven and how this was
starting to become a waste oftime.
She decided we would give itanother couple of weeks and we
could see what would happen.
I dropped her at her car andthen went back to the hotel.
I had training that night.
Now, to say I was hopeless atAFL wasn't probably accurate.
(19:41):
I could mark a ball.
I could kick a ball.
I could also handball a ball.
What I couldn't do, though, wasput them all together while
other people were trying to beltme and get the ball as well.
I had no positionalunderstanding.
It really was hit and gigglefor me, but our first game was
coming up.
That Saturday, I managed to geta jersey and a pair of the
(20:02):
smallest and tightest shorts Ihad ever worn in my life.
I am surprised I was nottalking in a squeaky voice.
They were that tight.
Anyway, I went to the game.
A lot of the regulars from thehotel came as well to watch we
lost.
I think I dislocated myshoulder by getting kicked in it
, but it was a lot of fun.
(20:26):
After the game we all went backto the club hotel for a few
afternoon drinks.
While I was at the bar, one ofthe barmaids howled I was
enjoying living at the hotel.
Yeah, it's okay.
I said Don't have to walk farwhen I want to go home, although
it is a bit noisy on a Fridaynight, I said, laughing.
Why is that?
I asked.
I have a spare room and waswondering if you'd be interested
in moving in.
She said I need the money andyou seem half decent.
(20:48):
Can I think about it?
I asked yeah, sure, but I'llneed to know this week.
She replied.
I got my beer and walked backto the pool table where everyone
was.
Now, this was an interestingdevelopment.
You see, jodie the barmaid, herboyfriend was a full member of
this organised crime group whomI was trying to investigate or
(21:09):
infiltrate.
If I could ingratiate myselfwith her, then spend more time
talking with her boyfriend, dave, then I might just get an in or
I might just get killed,because it would be too
suspicious One or the other.
The next morning I had decidedI needed to go back to the city
for a bit of a decompress Bothmy controller and I drove back
to the city and met up justoutside in the western suburbs
(21:32):
of the pub for a catch-up.
I told her about the offer of aroom at Jodie's and how it
might be a way into the groupthrough Dave.
She said that it was inherentlydangerous because if found out
I could be dead.
But she agreed to run it by hercommand and mine to see what
they thought.
With that I said goodbye andwent home for the night and got
back to being the real me.
(21:53):
Actually I lied.
I went home and became reallyrestless, thinking about the
operation and how I could moveit along, thinking about the
operation and how if I put afoot wrong then I might not come
home again.
As you can imagine, that didn'tmake it a fun day at night at
home and I decided to head back.
The following afternoon I rangmy controller and told her and
(22:15):
she said that it should be backup.
The following day I was not todo anything except sit at the
pub, not even footy training.
Reluctantly I agreed and Iheaded back up to the town.
When I got back I was just intime to grab some dinner and
have a drink or two.
I got a call from my controllerthat night and she said that I
could move in with Jodie, butthere were going to be strict
conditions.
(22:35):
Feeling somewhat elated, Ifound Jodie at the bar and I
asked her if the room was stillavailable.
It was, so I agreed to move inthat weekend.
So that's all we have time forin today's episode.
Make sure you come back nextweek to find out about how my
last ever operation went.
(22:58):
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
officer, I would love to chat toyou about your experiences.
(23:19):
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.
(00:22):
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.
(00:43):
Most people seem to confuseplainclothes police with being
undercover.
There is a very big difference,though.
Most plainclothes 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
(01:03):
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.
(01:24):
So why don't we get on with thenext episode?
Welcome back to the Whisper inthe Shadows podcast.
I hope you enjoyed listening tothe conversation I had with
Paul Maloney as much as I didhaving it.
(01:45):
Okay, so we are down to my finaloperation.
Although nothing had beenformally said, I knew I was
getting close to the two-yearmark and, with a number of legal
issues going on in and aroundthe COVID unit, albeit from an
external commission, they werenot going to risk ignoring their
own rules on things like lengthof tenure and employee mental
health.
So whilst I didn't know, I knewthat the next stop would be my
(02:09):
last and I had mixed emotionsabout that.
This last stop was going to bea very different one for me,
though, that was for sure.
So I was generally relaxed,generally relaxing and just
doing what I would normally doon my downtime.
Generally relaxing and justdoing what I would normally do
on my downtime, which wasn't alot.
I'd maybe go into the office orcatch up and go and learn to
(02:33):
surf, and I also took uplearning to fly.
Well, I did four lessons.
Anyway, I was just cruising andone day I got a call to go into
the office.
I drive in and both of thesergeants were there and they
usher me into the office.
I drive in and both of thesergeants were there and they
usher me into the office.
After some small chit chat,they tell me they have an op and
they are just waiting for it tobe approved and signed off by
the committee.
Now remember how I said thatthere was a committee of senior
(02:55):
people from the crime operationsgroup who had oversight of
which covert jobs would get done, and I was sceptical about one
of those jobs not going ahead.
Well, this was the same group,but, as it turned out, this one
was approved.
So the sergeants tell me thejob's going to be in a regional
town.
It's about a three to four hourdrive from where I lived.
(03:17):
My controller was going to be afemale detective sergeant who in
reality, was probably the best,if not one of the best,
controllers I had.
She was extremely knowledgeableabout policing and
investigations and I learnt alot from talking to her.
As it turns out, there wasn't alot to do, so I spent a lot of
my time doing just that.
I got all the information anddecided that I would keep the
(03:41):
Michael Bates ID as the chancesof running into someone who knew
me as Michael in this town wasnegligible.
But I did change over the car.
I was given A maroon ToyotaBerliner Berliner.
Never heard of a Berliner.
No, I hadn't either.
They were a short-lived attemptto go head-to-head with the
(04:03):
Holden Camira in the mid-90s.
In fact that is exactly whatthey were A Holden Camira with a
Toyota badge.
Suffice to say, it looked likean unmarked police car.
So I go home and await furtherinformation.
I tell my lovely then-wife thatI have another op coming up and
(04:23):
that I'll be going away, unsurefor how long, unsure exactly
when, can't tell you where thatwent down.
Well, the next day I went backinto the office and was given
the details of the op as it hadbeen approved.
I met up with my controller andwe went out and had a counter
lunch to discuss the plan ofattack.
Now this town was very country.
It had two or three primaryindustries that kept it going.
(04:46):
But that was about all.
First issue was going to beaccommodation.
It was scarce.
The second issue was going tobe not standing out like a sore
thumb.
Most people know everyone inthese types of towns and new
people tend to be conspicuous.
Employment was scarce as well,and it is not like I could spend
(05:11):
all day just drinking at thepub with an endless supply of
cash without raising somesuspicions.
Then there was the informant.
His name, as I was to find out,was Stephen Boy.
Was he a strange one?
He had been caught sellingspeed.
Apparently he had been part ofthe organised crime group that
ran the local drug trade in theregion.
(05:31):
He had left this group sometime ago, but his pitch to the
drug squad was that he could getsomeone in, ie me, as an
undercover police officer intothe group and hence enable it to
be dismantled and a largesupplier and suspected
manufacturer of speed taken offthe board.
Stephen lived outside of town,which meant meeting him on a
(05:52):
regular basis was going to beeasier than with most informants
.
There were very few people thatwould notice me and my
controller constantly going tohis house and meeting with him,
but Stephen was also wildlyparanoid and that was going to
cause me all sorts of issues.
It was decided we would go upmidweek to make it look a little
(06:12):
less conspicuous.
My controller and I drove uptogether.
Well, we followed each otherfor the four hour drive to the
town.
I had already decided I wasgoing to stay at the local
caravan park and my controllerwas going to check into one of
those motels.
Thinking back, not sure it wasme that decided that, but hey,
just a quick note here.
It was starting to turn cold,ie, to borrow a turn of phrase,
(06:36):
winter was coming and here I wasgoing to be living in a plastic
cabin in a place where it getsto below zero in the nights.
I think I drew the short strawon that one.
Anyway, we both get settled andI am in contact with her via
mobile phone.
To meet we actually had to driveout of the town about half an
hour to a rest stop and meetthere.
(06:57):
It was all very clandestine.
I went for a drive around townwhich took me all of about three
minutes.
There were six pubs in the townas well as an RSL.
Two of the pubs had closed down, so realistically there were
only four, and only two of thoseopened up after about 6pm.
That left the RSL, the ClubHotel and the Broadway Hotel as
(07:19):
the only places that resemblednightlife.
These three establishmentsactually formed an entertainment
triangle, if you like.
On a Friday night the townsfolkwould migrate between the three
depending on what time it wasand what night it was.
Usually you would start at theRSL.
They had a disco, I believethey called it, but they did
have a decent feed and also theyhad mixer cans usually Jim Beam
(07:42):
or rum for only $5.
Let's just say that I spent afair amount of government money
in that time when I was there ona Friday night.
So, rsl first to get charged upin a feed, then you would go
across the road to the clubhotel where they usually had a
band playing.
Well, sometimes a band, mosttimes just a single guy with a
guitar and an effects machine.
(08:03):
He was actually pretty good.
Fun fact, there hadn't been anundercover operation there for
about 10 years, the last one,the only one, being in the 80s,
I believe.
Now I know this because Old MrMusic actually wrote a song
about it.
The first time I heard it I wasdrunk and became a little
paranoid.
So let me set the scene.
(08:25):
I'm at the bar drinking withsome of the locals I played
footy with.
That is another story that I'llcome to.
I decide it's probably time tobreak the seal, so I head to the
back of the public bar to wherethe toilets are located.
Old Mr Music is sitting abouthalfway in the public bar area
between me and the toilets.
He's playing a song that I hadprobably heard before but never
(08:46):
took much notice of.
After that night I would.
So I vaguely start listening tothis song.
Something about a new guy totown who was making friends with
everyone, who was asking lotsof questions and who was being
everyone's friend.
As I get right in front of him,he spits out the words he was a
fucking narc and tried to bringthe town down, or something
(09:07):
like that.
I literally heard he was afucking narc and my heart
skipped a beat.
Mr Music was looking straightat me.
Did he know?
Had Stephen told him, or was itmore likely he was making eye
contact?
Because I kind of tripped andfell a bit.
I went to the bathroom and hadto catch my breath.
(09:27):
Now I was drunk, so it made iteven worse.
I did what I had come for andthen trapezed back to where I
was standing at the bar.
I did what I had come for andthen trapezed back to where I
was standing at the bar.
The song had changed, but I wasslightly freaked out.
When I got back I asked one ofthe bar maids about the song.
She told me that there had beenan undercover cop in town and
there had been all these drugbusts around the weed trade in
(09:49):
the 80s.
The town had never forgotten itand they had written a song
about it.
I had two thoughts go throughmy head.
Mr Music didn't know, and Iwonder if I will get a song too.
I don't think I did.
Anyway, like clockwork,whenever Mr Music was playing
and I had to go to the bathroom,he would be playing that bloody
(10:11):
song and spitting those wordsout at me as I walked past him.
I'm sure my body clock ran toit.
So my controller and I organizedto go and meet Stephen at his
place outside of town.
He calls my controller to sayhe is available.
We both drive out of town.
She parks the car off the roadand we go in my car together.
(10:32):
Having people see my car at hisplace was the idea.
Go in my car together.
Having people see my car at hisplace was the idea.
Now, he lived off the grid.
I mean not in a sustainable way, more like in a way that
preppers do.
His place was literally in themiddle of nowhere and about 300
metres in from the road.
His closest neighbour was about600 or 700 metres from his
house.
There was no way anyone wasgoing to be doing surveillance
(10:55):
on him.
We arrive, get out of the carand we are met by his wife.
Now that threw me.
I didn't actually expect him tohave told his wife what was
going on.
Not sure why, as it seemslogical, but still it threw me a
bit.
During the conversation he wasstaying to get cold feet.
He was as jittery as allbuggery and his wife kept saying
(11:19):
maybe he shouldn't do it.
I get it.
You're informing on a criminalgroup that is well known to
disappear people, especiallythose that were members, in the
face of police interference withtheir operations.
He gave a very non-committalrundown of who might be running
speed, where they were runningit and who I might need to know.
There were no real names and noreal information that we didn't
(11:43):
already have.
I felt slightly uneasy with hisflip-flopping.
Next question from me was say,stephen, how do we know each
other?
Now, that was a good question.
He was like mid-40s and I wasmid-20s.
I was not going to pass as amember of the criminal
organisation from another area,nor was I going to pass as his
(12:03):
son.
Besides, they would knoweveryone or be able to quickly
verify someone from thatorganisation, so that was not an
option.
Hadn't thought about that, hereplied.
Maybe this isn't a good ideaafter all, we can call it quits
but your charges don't go away.
My controller chimed in Right,he said, coming to the
(12:28):
realisation that he had toactually go through with it.
Now it was decided that I wasgoing to be someone from his
past's son and I had run out ofoptions in the city and was
looking for a fresh start.
I had an inheritance, so I hadmoney, but I just didn't want to
be living in the city and andStephen had suggested to come to
his town and restart.
(12:49):
Now we were only day two and hehad colder feet than a penguin.
I wasn't sure he would stick tothe story, let alone remember
it, but it was decided that wewould meet at the Club Hotel
public bar the followingafternoon for a beer and for
people to start to see ustogether and to get that cover
story out.
I mean, what could go wrong?
(13:12):
Look, to be fair, nothingactually went wrong with that
meeting.
I started spending more time atthe club hotel and on the Friday
night I got introduced to thepub crawl.
That was this little countrytown.
Only bad thing was thereweren't many taxis here so very
drunkenly I had to walk back tothe caravan park after my night
out.
It was cold and it was about a20 minute walk, not something I
(13:36):
was going to enjoy.
I lasted two weeks at thecaravan park.
The club hotel was like manycountry pubs and they had rooms
you could rent.
I discussed it with mycontroller and we decided it
might be a good thing to becloser to the action.
Stephen had mentioned that oneof the licensee's children was
actually heavily involved in theselling of Speed across the
coast.
(13:57):
Living at the pub got me closerto him, so by week three I had
moved into the club hotel.
I was literally getting up at8am, having breakfast, going
back to my room and having a nap, going back to the public bar
at about 11am, drinking andsitting at the bar like a barfly
and then having lunch, thendrinking some more and having
(14:18):
dinner at the hotel restaurantand then back to my room.
Ah, what a life.
Drinking beer became likechewing glass and I was putting
on some serious weight.
I was also trying to get a job,so it looked like I fitted in.
I did manage to get two kind of.
The first one was on a localfarm planting crops for a week.
(14:39):
Once the planting was done, thefarmer didn't have any more
work.
I did, however, manage to pickup some work at the hotel.
I washed the windows of themorning and made sure everything
was clean and tidy for thestart of the day.
Didn't pay a hell of a lot, butI did get to see and hear most
of what was happening around theplace.
I also managed to hit up afriendship with some of the
(15:01):
younger like late teens locals,which led me to becoming
involved in the local AFL club.
Now, I had never played AFLbefore in my life.
Actually, I hadn't even watchedit a lot.
I was a football kid, but thepeople I needed to ingratiate
myself with didn't play football, did they?
So twice a week, I would go tofooty training straight from the
(15:23):
bar.
Then after training, we wouldcome back to the bar and have a
few drinks.
It was like I was getting intoa routine.
What I was getting into,however, what I wasn't rather
getting into, however, was anytargets whatsoever.
In fact, I hadn't even beenintroduced to anyone by Stephen.
(15:44):
We put the pressure on Stephento make a meet or introduction
happen to someone anyone reallyin the group as he had not made
it to that point and I had beenin town for three weeks.
So we were at the club hotel ona Friday night.
Stephen was generally askittish character, but that
night he seemed even moreparanoid.
Of course he was drinking and Iwas paying, which I seemed to
(16:06):
do a lot of on a Friday night.
Admittedly, he had given usinformation that the licensee's
son was dealing speed for thesyndicate, which is why I was
living there and trying toingratiate myself into the
family.
Anyway, stephen and I aresitting at the end of the bar.
There was a guy playing hisguitar, which was a normal
(16:27):
Friday night.
It was Mr Music in the frontbar.
You have to remember this was acountry town, so even in the
90s there weren't any clubs.
He had been muttering somethingabout the fact that they were
on to him and he didn't want togo through with it anymore.
I was trying to calm him downto start with and secondly,
remind him that he had to keepdoing this if he wanted his get
(16:48):
out of jail free card.
Now, usually I would get mycontroller involved, but it was
part of the plan that we didn'tknow each other and thus being
seen together in the pub wouldhave been a big red flag.
Here I am trying to convinceStephen that he had to start
doing what he said he would andhe was falling apart.
The conversation was gettingterser and terser.
(17:09):
At one point he started sayingI'm not a grass.
I'm not a grass.
You can get fucked.
I am not going to grass for you.
Now, just as he says this lastsentence, the music stops,
doesn't it?
To this day, I am still unsurehow much of the sentence was
heard by anyone, as the musichad been very loud and people
(17:29):
were yelling and clapping at thetime.
As it turned out, probably noone heard it, but still, you see
one of the bar maids.
Her boyfriend was a member ofthis particular criminal group.
But I just froze.
I started to get very anxious.
I thought to myself he's blownme.
My cover is blown.
If the wrong people find out,I'm going to be taken out.
(17:52):
Bush made to dig a shallowgrave and will be shot and
dumped in it.
I slowly looked around to seeif anyone was obviously looking
at us.
There didn't seem to be, whichwas a good start.
I looked around, I leaned intoStephen and I said in a very low
voice but still loud enough forhim to hear if you pull that
(18:13):
shit again, you won't need toworry about them killing you.
I will take you out, bush, andtop you myself.
Now.
My controller and I will be outat your place tomorrow morning.
We are going to have a realrobust chat about what the fuck
you're doing and why you'rewasting your time.
Finish your drink, get on yourbike and go the fuck home.
(18:34):
If I hear you say shit likethat again, I will smack the
shit out of you wherever we are,even if we are in public.
I know you'll probably get thebetter of me in the end in the
fight, but you will be sore andsorry to start with.
He just looked at me, then downat his beer and slowly nodded
his head.
He finished his beer, saidgoodbye to a few people and left
(19:00):
.
The next morning, myself and mycontroller went out to his place
and had a really good chat withhim.
She told him in no uncertainterms what his options were and
that he needed to step up or hewas going away.
Obviously, he said he wouldstep up and start to introduce
me.
We left him and drove back toher car.
(19:20):
On the way back, we talkedabout Steven and how this was
starting to become a waste oftime.
She decided we would give itanother couple of weeks and we
could see what would happen.
I dropped her at her car andthen went back to the hotel.
I had training that night.
Now, to say I was hopeless atAFL wasn't probably accurate.
(19:41):
I could mark a ball.
I could kick a ball.
I could also handball a ball.
What I couldn't do, though, wasput them all together while
other people were trying to beltme and get the ball as well.
I had no positionalunderstanding.
It really was hit and gigglefor me, but our first game was
coming up.
That Saturday, I managed to geta jersey and a pair of the
(20:02):
smallest and tightest shorts Ihad ever worn in my life.
I am surprised I was nottalking in a squeaky voice.
They were that tight.
Anyway, I went to the game.
A lot of the regulars from thehotel came as well to watch we
lost.
I think I dislocated myshoulder by getting kicked in it
, but it was a lot of fun.
(20:26):
After the game we all went backto the club hotel for a few
afternoon drinks.
While I was at the bar, one ofthe barmaids howled I was
enjoying living at the hotel.
Yeah, it's okay.
I said Don't have to walk farwhen I want to go home, although
it is a bit noisy on a Fridaynight, I said, laughing.
Why is that?
I asked.
I have a spare room and waswondering if you'd be interested
in moving in.
She said I need the money andyou seem half decent.
(20:48):
Can I think about it?
I asked yeah, sure, but I'llneed to know this week.
She replied.
I got my beer and walked backto the pool table where everyone
was.
Now, this was an interestingdevelopment.
You see, jodie the barmaid, herboyfriend was a full member of
this organised crime group whomI was trying to investigate or
(21:09):
infiltrate.
If I could ingratiate myselfwith her, then spend more time
talking with her boyfriend, dave, then I might just get an in or
I might just get killed,because it would be too
suspicious One or the other.
The next morning I had decidedI needed to go back to the city
for a bit of a decompress Bothmy controller and I drove back
to the city and met up justoutside in the western suburbs
(21:32):
of the pub for a catch-up.
I told her about the offer of aroom at Jodie's and how it
might be a way into the groupthrough Dave.
She said that it was inherentlydangerous because if found out
I could be dead.
But she agreed to run it by hercommand and mine to see what
they thought.
With that I said goodbye andwent home for the night and got
back to being the real me.
(21:53):
Actually I lied.
I went home and became reallyrestless, thinking about the
operation and how I could moveit along, thinking about the
operation and how if I put afoot wrong then I might not come
home again.
As you can imagine, that didn'tmake it a fun day at night at
home and I decided to head back.
The following afternoon I rangmy controller and told her and
(22:15):
she said that it should be backup.
The following day I was not todo anything except sit at the
pub, not even footy training.
Reluctantly I agreed and Iheaded back up to the town.
When I got back I was just intime to grab some dinner and
have a drink or two.
I got a call from my controllerthat night and she said that I
could move in with Jodie, butthere were going to be strict
conditions.
(22:35):
Feeling somewhat elated, Ifound Jodie at the bar and I
asked her if the room was stillavailable.
It was, so I agreed to move inthat weekend.
So that's all we have time forin today's episode.
Make sure you come back nextweek to find out about how my
last ever operation went.
(22:58):
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
officer, I would love to chat toyou about your experiences.
(23:19):
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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