This article first appeared on the Stephen Bentley – Author website. The recent publication of my book ‘Undercover: Operation Julie – The Inside Story‘ has opened up an interesting debate about the “war on drugs,” undercover policing and related issues. This is the first in a series of articles about that debate and some other issues raised by reviews of my book. What does the War on Drugs, an Undercover Cop and the Philippines have in common? There is a certain irony in a British ex-undercover cop living in the Philippines. He went undercover on one of the world’s largest drug busts, Operation Julie, and now advocates decriminalization along the lines of the example set by Portugal. Social media is inundated with #warondrugs hashtags associated… Read More

Undercover policing is difficult at the best of times. That is to say, if you are an undercover cop. I speak from experience having worked undercover on Operation Julie back in the 1970’s. It seems that working undercover, at least in Britain, is going to be more difficult in the future. In 2015 the UK Government announced that there would be a full public inquiry into undercover policing.  The Home Secretary announced on 12 March 2015 that there was to be an Inquiry within the terms of the Inquiries Act 2005 into undercover policing; she announced that Lord Justice Pitchford would be the Chairman of the Inquiry. Further, the Home Secretary published the terms of reference for the Inquiry on 16th July 2015. Undercover Policing Inquiry And,… Read More

Lego Undercover Cop – Beware! This story  about Lego undercover cops on UPI amused me. I suppose mainly because of the image of the  Lego undercover cop! This is what they had to say about the incident: An Oregon man was taken into police custody after agreeing to sell stolen Legos to an undercover officer in a sting operation. Pavel Illich Kuzik, 25, was arrested while driving a stolen car and booked on multiple outstanding warrants according to a press release by the Portland Police Bureau. Kuzik was suspected of stealing expensive Lego sets from Fred Meyer superstore locations and selling them at discounted prices on online marketplace OfferUp.com. Police and Fred Meyer Loss Prevention began investigating Kuzik in February 2016 before he was arrested on March… Read More

The Male Olivia Pope Olivia Pope is the name of the leading character from the TV show  ‘Scandal.’ Pope is played by Kerry Washington and leads her own firm of crisis management consultants.   Embed from Getty Images   It is set In Washington DC and so the plot lines revolve around scandals and politicians. I found it enjoyable and in many ways it reminded me of the duplicity and shenanigans that I experienced in my undercover days. The “male” in the title of this post is a reference to a guy called Obie Chambers. He now heads up a company called The Exigency Group. This group operates in DC, Charlotte, Boston and New York and specializes in … wait for it … crisis management, strategic communications and public… Read More

To Being Completed …… Three cheers and a huge hip hurrah for my sister! She arrived in the Philippines last week suitcase full of my important stuff I had left behind in England. The Holy Bible that Dad bought for us all when we were kids. It must have cost a fortune then back in the day and boy! It’s heavy! Five kilograms in weight! I love that Book, not just because of the Scriptures, but also because it is replete with prints of famous Rembrandts and Reubens paintings depicting Biblical scenes. As you are aware, from my newsletter, I have a “forthcoming book” in the pipeline. It is my story. A true story of a remarkable part of my life as an undercover detective… Read More