Today's gangsters are streets apart from the old-style gang lords of the Fifties and Sixties. The godfathers of old were seen by many as a stabilising influence. Their power inspired respect and they well and truly kept the underworld in check. The twenty-first century gangs of Britain are far more shady.Their brutality has spread far and wide and they live and thrive in our midst, on the streets and in suburbs where ordinary folk live. The creeping tentacles of crime have never stretched further. Organised crime is now worth more than GBP 10 billion in Britain every year. The old crimes of prostitution and extortion are being dropped in favour of multi-million pound drug deals, bringing gangsters more money and power than they've ever known. It is a cut-throat industry that is conducted in the shadows and driven solely by profit. Acclaimed true crime author Wensley Clarkson has met many of Britain's richest and most powerful gangs. In this fascinating and gripping account, he provides an extraordinary insight into these feared characters and takes us on a journey into the dark and glamorous underworld that seems to prove that, for many gangs, crime really does pay.This book reveals the activities of these gangs to the world, exposing such underworld legends as Kenneth Noye, who hold continuing fascination with lovers of true crime.

From the bestselling author of GANGLAND BRITAIN and REEFER MEN. Organised crime is one of Britain's biggest industries. The number of gangland murders, shootings and kidnappings, along with the levels of drug trafficking, people smuggling and money laundering, have all experienced phenomenal growth. Multi-million pound drug deals and vicious turf wars have spread out from the inner cities and now affect even the most rural communities. The day-to-day impact of organised crime on our lives has never been greater. In GANGS, award-winning author Tony Thompson takes us on a gripping journey into the criminal underworld. From Triad human traffickers in Dover and ecstasy factory owners in Liverpool, to Albanian vice barons in London and gun-toting teenage crack dealers in Birmingham, GANGS reveals the inside story of contemporary organised crime.

In 2004, the murder of a middle-aged couple in their village bungalow lifted the lid on the great untold story of British organised crime. The slaughter of Joan and John Stirland revealed an evil empire of powerful ganglords, contract killings and police corruption. At its dark heart was the East Midlands city of Nottingham. A prosperous centre of business, education and leisure, Nottingham had fallen under the shadow of vicious gangsters. Eventually its police were investigating so many murders that their boss had to appeal to other forces for help, and the influx of drugs and weapons saw the city labelled "Gun Capital UK". HOODS traces the roots of the gangs, revealing how economic dislocation and the clash of cultures between working-class white residents and black immigrants from the 1950s onwards created an alienated underclass. In the 1990s, a more malignant breed of organised criminal emerged. Crime families who had been involved in armed robbery, protection rackets and extortion now sought to control the recreational drugs trade and forged links across Europe to import wholesale quantities of cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines. By 2002, shootings were running at one a week. HOODS uncovers how outlaw Yardies pioneered the sale of crack cocaine and imported the ruthless violence of the Jamaican ghettos; how young black gangs from the so-called NG Triangle of the Meadows, St Ann’s and Radford areas clashed in a series of turf wars; how the shadowy Dawes Cartel built a lucrative international drugs empire; and how the Bestwood Cartel and its terrifying leader, Colin Gunn, corrupted police officers and left dead and maimed in its wake. As local police struggled to cope with the mayhem, MI5 and the National Crime Squad launched a massive undercover investigation into the Nottingham ‘untouchables’. It led ultimately to the dismantling of some of the UK’s most powerful crime networks. HOODS is a stark account of what happens when the rule of the gun supplants the rule of law and fear stalks the streets.

From Tony Thompson, bestselling author of Gang Land and Outlaws, GANGLAND BRITAIN is a picture of crime from within the ranks of the Hell's Angels, the Yardies, the Triads and the Yakuza, as well as the more traditional old-style East End gangs. It gives an insight into their initiation ceremonies, their methods, their money-raising tactics; a timely portrayal of Britain's worst criminal problem.

Today's gangsters are a far cry from their earlier counterparts. The godfathers of old were seen by many as a stabilizing influence; their power inspired respect and they kept the underworld in check. Gangs of the 21st century have spread their brutality far and wide. The old crimes of prostitution and extortion are being dropped in favor of multi-million dollar drug deals, bringing gangsters more money and power than ever before. It is a cut-throat industry that is conducted in the shadows and driven solely by profit. Acclaimed true crime author Wensley Clarkson has met many of Britain's richest and most powerful gangs. In this fascinating and gripping account, he provides an extraordinary insight into the dark and glamorous underworld of British organized crime. His investigation leads to the shocking conclusion that crime is perhaps the third largest industry in the UK.

Gang Wars of London charts the development of organised crime in the capital since 1945, from the post-war street gangs to the drug barons, cyber criminals and terrorists that threaten our safety today.The underworld has thrived for more than half a century but it appears the capital has now entered its most deadly phrase, as vicious gangs from all over the globe are making this city their home. They will do anything to get what they want and challenge anyone who gets in their way: police, civilians or each other.Here, for the first time, is an up-to-date and in-depth account of London's current crime epidemic that threatens to destroy the very fabric of our capital city.

For more than a decade, an intense gang war has been raging between British and foreign criminals in Spain's sunny costal regions. The warring factions have left more than a hundred people dead and scores injured, making headlines around the world. These vicious conflicts for control of drugs turf, protection rackets, people smuggling and sex slavery have blighted the reputation of what was once Europe's number one holiday destination and given it a sinister epithet: Costa del Crime. Gang Wars on the Costa reveals the inside story of the crime mobs, their deadly feuds and how this chilling criminal gang culture has evolved at a rate and intensity unlike anything seen before in Europe. With unprecedented access to senior gang members and police officers, Wensley Clarkson traces the roots of these criminals - from Britain, southern Europe, South America and the former Soviet block - and focuses on the emergence of the main gangs, whose rise to power has sparked gun battles and even professional hits.

The Dartford Crossing: a vital transport hub connecting Kent and Essex, the busiest river crossing in Europe, and the site of some of the most vicious organised crime today... For the last decade, there has been a intense turf war in the south-east of England between two sets of criminal gangs: On one side, there's the 'Establishment' - the old-school firms that have operated for decades and weaved their way into all areas of their communities. On the other, 'The New Kids on the Bloc' - mainly Eastern European gangs who have muscled in, boasting they'll crush anyone in their way and dominate the British underworld. The Dartford Crossing, due to its location between London and the ports of the south-east, has become the epicentre of these battles. Since Brexit began, the war has become even bloodier as both gangs try to claim new territory before the borders close. In an already terrifying and volatile world of drug smuggling, people trafficking, prostitution and money laundering, all rules are out and the body count is rising... With research and interviews from both sides conducted by one of true crime's most established names, The Crossing is a ground-breaking and fascinating look inside the UK's newest crime phenomenon.

Curtis Warren is an underworld legend, the Liverpool scally who took the methods of the street-corner drug pusher and elevated them to an art form. He forged direct links with the cocaine cartels of Colombia, the heroin godfathers of Turkey, the cannabis growers of Morocco and the ecstasy labs of Holland and Eastern Europe. His drugs went around the world, from the clubs of Manchester and Glasgow to the beaches of Sydney, Australia. His underlings called him the "Cocky Watchman". His pursuers called him "Target One". This best-selling autobiography uncovers his meteoric rise to become "the richest and most successful British criminal who has ever been caught".It relates how the Liverpool Mafia became the UK's foremost drug importers; tells how Warren corrupted top-level police officers; unveils the inside story of the biggest joint law enforcement investigation ever undertaken; and reveals the explosive contents of the covert wiretaps that brought his global empire crashing down. COCKY is a shocking insight into modern organised crime and a vivid account of the workings of the international drugs trade.