Investigative journalist Paul Connolly goes undercover to reveal Britain's booming black market trade in designer clothes, dodgy medicines and dangerous booze. Everyone loves a bargain, and in the first episode Paul reveals how those cheap, knock-off labels come at a price – with the trail going all the way to organised gangs, sweat shop bosses and multi-million pound criminal operations. He also takes viewers behind the scenes of his investigation, allowing us to see just what it takes to trap Britain's dodgiest street dealers and craftiest criminals. Paul begins by looking at designer brands and the market traders making a fortune with fakes – everything from luxury handbags to designer clothes are available. And if the sellers haven't got what you want, they can conjure up a counterfeit on the spot. He goes shopping in streets packed full of dodgy shops, hunts the bosses churning out fake brands in factories and finds people running illegal cottage industries from their homes. If it's got a label, someone will want to buy it. Paul later switches his target to dealers in illegal medicines, tracking down the bloke who flogs copycat Viagra from the back of a car in a pub car park. As the stakes get higher, Paul makes plans to confront a senior figure in an operation producing huge amounts of illegal alcohol. Posing as a buyer for thousands of pounds worth of vodka, Paul's got one chance to make the sting a success – or he risks being rumbled.
Documentary series in which investigative journalist Paul Connolly goes undercover to enter the murky world of Britain's booming black market. In this episode, Paul uncovers the epidemic of dodgy and fake tobacco and cigarettes that are widely available from pavements, pubs and under-the-counter deals in corner shops.
Investigative journalist Paul Connolly goes undercover to explore the murky world of Britain's booming black market in identity theft. Using secret cameras and aliases, Paul discovers how easy it is to con people, and tries to get in and out of the country with a forged passport.
Investigative journalist Paul Connolly goes undercover, posing as a fake best man in order to halt a sham wedding. Paul discovers that the groom is prepared to pay thousands of pounds to stay in the UK and learns how sham marriages are set up, where willing participants are found and how people are trained to get around the authorities.
Paul's investigation begins in Sheffield where he attempts to get as many of life's essentials as possible via crooks, hackers and various shady characters. He meets scores of shoplifters who steal to order from high street stores, a man who winds back his electricity meter to con power companies, a bloke on benefits who sells him prescription pills and a TV bandit who hooks him up with satellite television at a fraction of the price it would cost to do it legally. Paul's investigation then moves in a different direction when he goes after a man offering fake college certificates in order to help foreigners cheat the immigration system. Finally, he attempts to crack a big-money scam. It's the ultimate in living for free – the chance to print fake cash. This get-rich-quick scheme is not all it seems, however, and Paul is hot on the trail of the conmen behind the operation.