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Operation George

By: Mark Dickens, Stephen Bentley
Narrated by: Hannibal Hills
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Summary

Meet the real Line of Duty™ undercover team in this previously untold and gripping story of how a Northern Irish terrorist and murderer and one of his followers were caught in an audacious and brilliantly executed undercover sting on the English mainland, codenamed Operation George.

In 2006 at Belfast Crown Court, William James Fulton, a principal in the outlawed Loyalist Volunteer Force, was jailed for life and sentenced to a minimum of 25 years after the longest trial in Northern Ireland’s legal history.

Fulton was an early suspect in the Rosemary Nelson killing. Following the murder of the prominent human rights lawyer, he fled to the United States and, with help from the FBI in collusion with the British police, he was deported. On his arrival at Heathrow, Fulton "walked through an open door", a Lewis Carroll-like euphemism for an invitation created by the covert team, only to disappear "down the rabbit hole" on accepting the invitation.

That "rabbit hole" led to an alternative world: an environment created and controlled by the elite covert team and only inhabited by the undercover officers and their targets. The subterfuge encouraged the terrorist targets into believing Fulton was working for a Plymouth-based "criminal firm" over a period spanning almost two years. In that time, over 50,000 hours of conversations between the "firm" members were secretly recorded and used to bring the killer to justice.

This unique story is told by former undercover officer Mark Dickens who was part of an elite team of undercover detectives who took part in "Operation George", one of the most remarkable covert policing operations the world has ever known. You won’t know him under that name, nor the many aliases he adopted as an undercover police officer infiltrating organized crime gangs.

Together in Operation George, with pioneering Operation Julie undercover officer and best-selling author Stephen Bentley, Dickens has written a gripping account of a unique story reminiscent of the premise of The Sting and the Bloodlands setting, combining a true-crime thriller with a fascinating insight into early 21st-century covert policing.

The publisher wishes to make clear by using the Line of Duty™, there is no implied association with the Line of Duty series nor World Productions Ltd, and the trademark is attributed to World Productions Ltd.

©2022 Mark Dickens, Stephen Bentley (P)2022 Mark Dickens, Stephen Bentley
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Critic reviews

"This huge and complex operation is almost unbelievable, the bravery and courage, the risks, the challenges - it creates an epic tale that would rival any fictional thriller or detective novel." (NetGalley UK)

What listeners say about Operation George

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The dialogue is excellent

Really gripping listen, some of the accents maybe a little out! Hopefully these days are in the past now

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An Amazing Insight into Covert Policing

This book was amazing on many levels. It was truly breathtaking as to how audacious some of the scams were to get the targets talking freely. The dedication and skills of the undercover officers and their bosses are totally commendable.
The authors tease out the story bit by bit culminating in the arrests and trials of both targets. Even the legal parts were fascinating. It was clear the authors had done a great job in researching this topic. Well written and well narrated.

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Operation George

A well written and researched book outlining the dangers and stress these unique officers face on what can be a daily basis, the UCO must have balls of iron to carry out their duties with the constant risk of being compromised and discovered by the suspects they are tasked to bring to justice
A job for the elite of our brave police officers

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fantastic

what a fantastic audiobook, full of details, that fill in from what I remember about the incident in question. The narration is great, kept me gripped in the all parts of the investigation xxxxxx

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Found my new hated sound

The computer voice like Siri was my most hated sound. Not now the narrator in this was awful so bad I had to return the book it’s a shame as could be a good book

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