Operation George
Mark Dickens
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 Carrol-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 fifty thousand hours of conversations between the ‘firm’ members were secretly recorded and used to bring the killer to justice.
This unique story is told by two former undercover officers, Stephen Bentley, and Mark Dickens who was part of an elite team of undercover detectives who took part in ‘Operation George,’ Together they have written a gripping account of a unique story reminiscent of the premise of ‘The Sting’ film, and the ‘Bloodlands’ setting, combining a true-crime page-turner with a fascinating insight into early 21st-century covert policing.
Duration - 8h 1m.
Author - Mark Dickens.
Narrator - Hannibal Hills.
Published Date - Sunday, 22 January 2023.
Copyright - © 2022 Mark Dickens and Stephen Bentley ©.
Location:
United States
Description:
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 Carrol-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 fifty thousand hours of conversations between the ‘firm’ members were secretly recorded and used to bring the killer to justice. This unique story is told by two former undercover officers, Stephen Bentley, and Mark Dickens who was part of an elite team of undercover detectives who took part in ‘Operation George,’ Together they have written a gripping account of a unique story reminiscent of the premise of ‘The Sting’ film, and the ‘Bloodlands’ setting, combining a true-crime page-turner with a fascinating insight into early 21st-century covert policing. Duration - 8h 1m. Author - Mark Dickens. Narrator - Hannibal Hills. Published Date - Sunday, 22 January 2023. Copyright - © 2022 Mark Dickens and Stephen Bentley ©.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:00:24
Publishers Note
Duration:00:00:15
Dedication
Duration:00:00:20
Epigraphs
Duration:00:00:45
Chapter 1: The Targets
Duration:00:09:08
Chapter 2: Genocide
Duration:00:02:43
Chapter 3: Interview Room, Belfast
Duration:00:03:51
Chapter 4: The Nelson Family Home
Duration:00:04:22
Chapter 5: California Dreaming
Duration:00:07:45
Chapter 6: Colin Port
Duration:00:07:06
Chapter 7: Down the Rabbit Hole
Duration:00:07:59
Chapter 8: Liz
Duration:00:18:32
Chapter 9: Exeter
Duration:00:15:12
Chapter 10: Cornwall
Duration:00:06:17
Chapter 11: Lizzie
Duration:00:12:24
Chapter 12: Neil
Duration:00:10:41
Chapter 13: First Meeting
Duration:00:04:46
Chapter 14: Robbie a Fixture
Duration:00:05:11
Chapter 15: Slough
Duration:00:03:43
Chapter 16: Cash in Transit
Duration:00:10:01
Chapter 17: The Reversing Lorry
Duration:00:14:58
Chapter 18: Work of Art
Duration:00:18:30
Chapter 19: A Thousand Fags and Friction
Duration:00:09:47
Chapter 20: Torch the Trailer
Duration:00:13:59
Chapter 21: On the Piss in Plymouth
Duration:00:07:58
Chapter 22: Play Fighting
Duration:00:09:55
Chapter 23: Swinger
Duration:00:12:52
Chapter 24: Barbara Windsor
Duration:00:08:12
Chapter 25: Paranoia
Duration:00:21:56
Chapter 26: The Cutting Room Floor
Duration:00:19:57
Chapter 27: Missing Notebook
Duration:00:21:10
Chapter 28: The Voice
Duration:00:14:52
Chapter 29: The Strike
Duration:00:09:08
Chapter 30: Interviews
Duration:00:09:08
Chapter 31: Bail
Duration:00:04:13
Chapter 32: Belfast
Duration:00:11:52
Chapter 33: The Admissions
Duration:00:28:18
Chapter 34: The Crimes with the Evidence (Abridged)
Duration:01:02:37
Chapter 35: Muriel Gibson
Duration:00:18:50
Chapter 36: Sentencing and Appeal
Duration:00:06:36
Chapter 37: Unanswered Questions
Duration:00:15:00
Chapter 38: A Conversation Between the Authors
Duration:00:07:30
Publishers Further Note
Duration:00:01:52
Ending Credits
Duration:00:00:38