Woodman goes undercover in his hometown of London to discover a whole new side to a city he thought he knew so well.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00London, a city built by the Romans, later flourishing on the plunder of an empire that
00:13spanned the world. Today the streets are paved with the tourist gold, brought in by 15 million
00:24visitors a year, here to soak up the tradition and the history. London's beauty may glisten
00:32and shine, but it's always had a dark side, and I'm here to find it.
00:40Well it feels a little bit odd being in my hometown looking for tourist scams, but that's
00:44exactly what I'm going to be doing for the next week, looking at London through tourist
00:48eyes, and if anyone asks me, my cover story is that I've come down on holiday from my
00:52old home town, Birmingham.
01:00I head towards London's Oxford Street, one of the world's most famous shopping streets,
01:06and a hotbed for scammers.
01:13This is a shop I've walked past many times before. It's always rammed full of tourists.
01:22I've been watching that perfume seller down on Oxford Street for a little while now. Now, I've seen him before, even though he always claims he's having a closing down sale, which may
01:30make me just a bit suspicious. So I'm going to go down with my hidden camera on, posing as a tourist, and see if his deals aren't just a little too good.
01:38If you go up to the website to buy this, it's not cheap.
01:39If you go up to the website to buy this, it's not cheap.
01:44It costs £40 to buy. It costs £40 to buy. Expensive. In Oxford Street, you only pay half-price. You can only pay half-price.
01:50You pay only £20 for this one. But because we're closing the store down, guys, today you get everything from the store.
01:56everything else to go to the store to go with it, in the bag. Over £185. Everything else is free of charge. Is that OK?
02:02If you go onto the website to buy this, it's not cheap, it costs £40 to buy, expensive.
02:09In Oxford Street you only pay half price, you pay only £20 for this one, but because
02:16we're closing the store down guys, today you get everything else to go with it in the bag,
02:22over £185, everything else is completely free of charge.
02:26No wonder there's a crowd, this guy is giving away a bag full of perfume for just £30.
02:36The crowd are lapping it up, but let's see what you get for free.
02:41Was yours a man's sir or a lady? A man's please.
02:43A man's sir, looking after yourself, I like that.
02:45Would you like to see? OK, here we go, this is free, we're closing the store down guys, free and free.
02:50Thanks for your patience mate, appreciate that.
02:52OK, thanks very much, cheers.
02:56Well, as I suspected, not everything there is quiet as it seems.
03:05First of all, he's offering free perfume, but then when it comes to it, you have to buy one to get the others free.
03:11And then when you do buy them, they're not even the perfumes that he was advertising.
03:18But what makes me really suspicious are all those other people that were buying perfumes at the same time.
03:25They can't all be genuine customers, can they?
03:27I'll be back tomorrow to check this out.
03:39For now, I dump my bag of cheap perfume and set a line to catch another type of scammer.
03:46I'm on the oldest subway in the world, looking for one of its oldest problems.
04:02Pickpockets.
04:03Pickpockets.
04:04But can I capture one on camera?
04:10Pickpockets.
04:11Pickpockets.
04:12No luck.
04:13Not even a nibble.
04:14After several hours of train hopping, I give up and head to London's trendiest new tourist hotspot, Hoxton.
04:22I've heard phone snatching gangs have been working the area, targeting tourists in restaurants
04:34and cafes.
04:38Like everyone sitting around me, I leave a phone on the table in plain sight.
04:43Let's see if someone takes the bait.
04:50It's just not my day, I've been sitting here for an hour and nothing's happened.
05:04What's this guy up to?
05:08See me somewhere?
05:13I'm pretty sure I've never seen him before.
05:19Bingo.
05:20There goes the phone.
05:22You with him?
05:23No, man.
05:24Let's go and call your friend, shall we?
05:27I don't know what happened.
05:29Let's go and call your friend.
05:31I don't know who that guy, man.
05:33Who ticked your phone?
05:34Who nicked your phone?
05:35Who snatched your phone?
05:36I only...
05:37What's your name, my friend?
05:38My name is Ashish, man.
05:39Ashish?
05:40Yeah.
05:41Ashish.
05:42I'm Connor.
05:43If you meet that guy, call that...
05:44If you meet your mate again, call that number.
05:47I don't...
05:48I tell him I don't know this guy.
05:49Okay.
05:50You say you don't know him.
05:51I think maybe...
05:52Something tells me you might bump into him again.
05:55That's not good, man.
05:56Why you give me trouble, man?
05:58I'm not getting you in trouble, Ashish.
05:59No, man.
06:00What you doing?
06:01That number.
06:02Just call me.
06:03Well, I don't call him that number.
06:06I'm sitting down having a Coke, and along comes the most blatant distraction technique,
06:13but while I was looking that way, the other guy's went over, and he's stolen my iPhone.
06:24I know it's a long shot, but I'm going to look for the guy who stole my phone.
06:31In a city of eight million people, this is going to be like looking for a needle in one almighty haystack.
06:44If I were a thief, I'd operate around London's busiest tourist landmarks.
06:52Walking around Trafalgar Square, it's clear to see what the London tourists come here for.
06:56They're distracted by the sights, the culture, and the buzz.
07:00Perfect conditions for a thief.
07:05I need some help, and from someone closer to the street.
07:08Thank you very much.
07:10And thank you to you.
07:11The exit is this way.
07:12You may come forward.
07:15My God, it's hot.
07:16Thank you very much.
07:17Thanks to meet you.
07:19Can I have a bit of a chat with you?
07:20Yeah, of course.
07:21No problem.
07:22Yeah, I got an hour and a half off.
07:23I explained to the street performer that my phone's just been stolen, but he's not comfortable
07:29talking in the square.
07:30It's quite a bit up there.
07:31The new money is.
07:32It's quite quiet around that way and out of the way.
07:36So why didn't you want to talk around there?
07:37Well, there's an Eastern European gang that operate around there.
07:38I've had problems with in the past.
07:39I've been assaulted and I've had friends who've had trouble with them as well.
07:40When you say a gang?
07:41Yeah, they're quite a large lot.
07:42They're fingering in quite a lot of pies.
07:43They do.
07:44They'reЫ.
07:45Well, they're all fine, but he's not comfortable talking in the square.
07:49But he's not comfortable talking in the square.
07:51The new money is quite quiet around that way and out of the way.
07:52So why didn't you want to talk around there?
07:57Well, there's an Eastern European gang that operate around there.
08:00I've had problems in the past, I've been assaulted and I've had friends who've had trouble
08:04with them as well.
08:05When you say a gang.
08:06Yeah, they're quite a large lot. They're doing their thing in quite a lot of pies.
08:09They do... The ones you'll see straight away as they do the live statues and stuff like that,
08:14they tend to be the really poor quality, very grabby ones.
08:16But they're kind of a front and a draw for people because they operate with pickpockets behind them.
08:23I've walked past these human statues many times.
08:26It never occurred to me that some of them may have a more sinister purpose.
08:31I got assaulted last year.
08:33You got assaulted?
08:34Yeah.
08:34I was beaten, kicked and punched and spat on by one of the gang because I pointed out what she was doing.
08:41It was illegal quite loudly. I watched her in the middle of ripping somebody off.
08:44And being of the kind of man I am, I got involved and then kind of regretted it.
08:49And was it multiple characters?
08:51There was two people involved, one of whom carried out the assault and I continued with them on the phone to the police
08:56and they've got a lovely ten-minute recording while they got there.
08:58But then when we went into an underpass, the second guy, the minder, turned around and pulled out a knife.
09:02So these guys are pretty nasty then.
09:05They do, yeah. I mean, there's one of the artists, say artists, got banned from a picture by the London Eye because he threatened to cut somebody's throat.
09:12Because they got involved, so we've seen them, they turn up in a transit van and ship out the 20 guys to do the day's work.
09:20From what Lee said, these are organised pickpocket gangs targeting tourists.
09:33Was my phone stolen by a gang?
09:42And if I keep looking for it, am I getting myself into something heavy?
10:03Lee, the street performer, told me that many of the pickpockets working London's streets are linked to bigger gang organisations.
10:11There are 300 phones stolen every day in a racket worth millions of dollars a year.
10:17But is it all controlled by an organised network?
10:20I've loaded up the tracking software to see what happened to my phone after it was stolen.
10:27And it shows quite clearly where I was in the centre of town all the way up east and stops at the exact spot there in Hoxton.
10:35After that, it goes up the road and it stops in Dalston.
10:40That's where I'm going to go next.
10:42Black cab drivers see and hear everything in London.
10:53If anyone's going to be a source of information, they are.
11:02How's London at the moment? Busy?
11:04Not today. A bit quiet, to be honest.
11:07I had my phone nicked.
11:09Really? Yeah.
11:10What, in London?
11:11Yeah, in London, yeah.
11:12Really?
11:12I've had two women in my cab in the past that have had their phones stolen, just snatched.
11:17And very close to where my wife works as well.
11:19So, grazing road.
11:21OK, not a million miles from where I had mine.
11:23Really? Where was yours pinched in?
11:25Hoxton Square.
11:26Could there be a link?
11:28What was his technique?
11:30You know, you stick it on the table and you don't think twice about it, do you?
11:33You know, you wouldn't stick your wallet on the table, would you?
11:36How much does a phone cost?
11:38I don't know. How much are the iPhones? 400 quid?
11:40Something like that. I don't know. I'm guessing.
11:41I mean, I imagine they can sell them on for, even if it's half of that.
11:45Yeah, they're making themselves a killing.
11:48The two instances I heard about, it was the same operation both times.
11:55Kids on pushbikes.
11:56One of them's barged the lady and then while she's distracted, the other one's just ripped
12:00the phone out of her hand and then they've had it away on the bikes.
12:04You hear of it all the time.
12:05You know, because you've just got to be careful, haven't you?
12:08I mean, there is a criminal element about, isn't there?
12:10Yeah.
12:11Unfortunately.
12:11I'm in Dalston, on the hunt for my phone.
12:25It's a regenerating district, but elements of its edgy past remain.
12:32Everywhere I turn have places selling second-hand mobile phones.
12:36OK, we're going to go undercover in some of the phone shops here in Dalston.
12:43I'm pretty sure my phone at some point was here.
12:46Maybe someone was trying to sell it.
12:48If they were, I want to ask some of the shop owners, first of all, do you buy phones?
12:52And secondly, if you do, have you got my phone?
12:55Can I have a look at that iPhone 3, please?
13:13How much is that?
13:14One ten.
13:15One ten?
13:16No, that's not mine.
13:18I had my iPhone 3 stolen the other day.
13:21Oh.
13:21I tracked it.
13:22I put a tracker on it.
13:23I tracked it to somewhere around here.
13:26No.
13:27Are you thinking this one?
13:28It's not that one, no.
13:31You buy all from one company.
13:33No, we don't do that.
13:34You don't buy them on the street.
13:35People do, though, right?
13:37I buy phone with the ID.
13:39If it's got the same ID, we don't buy.
13:41Right, OK.
13:42Plus 18.
13:44If it's younger than 18, we don't accept it.
13:46You put what they're calling.
13:48There's a special software in your mobile.
13:49You can find your area where the phone is.
13:51Yeah, that's what I used.
13:52And I tracked it to this part of Kingsland Road here.
13:55There is about 27 high school.
13:57I know.
13:57All right, mate.
13:58Thanks a lot.
13:58See you, guys.
13:59See ya.
14:06Hey, all right, mate.
14:07I'm looking for a cheap iPhone 3.
14:09Have you got any?
14:10Three.
14:11Yeah.
14:12You haven't got any 3s?
14:13Four.
14:14Four?
14:15Yeah.
14:15All right, fair enough.
14:16Thanks, mate.
14:17I check out more shops, but they all claim their stock is legit.
14:26No one admits to fencing hot phones.
14:29Now, I'm checking the tracking software on the iPhone again.
14:32Now, the shop in Dalston say they have no recollection of seeing my phone,
14:35but that's the last point on the map.
14:37So they must somehow have disabled the tracker.
14:40And for me, the trail's gone cold.
14:43I give up the hunt for the phone gang and head back to Oxford Street
15:08for another sniff around the perfume shop.
15:13Get your hands up.
15:14You want one.
15:14Three.
15:16We're giving things away for free.
15:18We're promoting.
15:19Three.
15:20Get your hands up.
15:21You want one.
15:22Three.
15:22Here we are, guys.
15:23Three.
15:24Three.
15:25Some of these customers have a familiar look about them.
15:29You're back again.
15:29Three.
15:30Three.
15:31You're here again.
15:32Three.
15:33You work for this guy.
15:34I don't want something to get two or three.
15:37Do you want to talk to me about it?
15:38Do you want to come talk to me about it?
15:40Do you want everybody to get stuff over you?
15:43Do you get, like, commission?
15:45Or does he pay you a wage?
15:46Or what?
15:47Come in, guys.
15:48Get moving to the line, sir.
15:50Come in, guys.
15:51You're not taking your, uh, not taking your perfume with you?
15:54No, bro.
15:55I work here, bro.
15:56You just pretend to buy it?
15:58Yeah.
15:59Just to get other people.
15:59We have free work here.
16:01Okay.
16:02So you pretend to buy it just to get other people to think that it's a real deal?
16:05Oh, man.
16:06Yeah.
16:07I'm just, I'm just interested in, in kind of how this, how this works.
16:11Yeah.
16:11Because obviously I'm watching people pretending to buy stuff from you.
16:14Yeah.
16:15And, uh.
16:17Turn around the back.
16:18The front.
16:18Turn around.
16:19Front.
16:20Frazier from Ocean.
16:21And the back.
16:22Yeah, we're not hiding nothing from nobody.
16:25Yeah, it's not, it's not completely honest, though, is it?
16:27What's dishonest about it, then?
16:29Well, if people are pretending to buy stuff.
16:30They're not.
16:31They're what you call, uh, crowd encourages.
16:34We're not breaking any laws, mate.
16:35We're not selling heroin to people, we're selling perfume.
16:37At the same time, they're still pretending to, to buy perfume, aren't they?
16:40To encourage other people to buy perfume.
16:42Well, it's the same.
16:43It's a bit of, you know, it's a business, isn't it?
16:45If you go to a wedding and there's a buffet, nobody wants to be the first one in.
16:48No one wants to be the first one in a few, do they?
16:50As soon as one person goes in, the next minute, everyone's in behind them.
16:52In life, mate, we're all cheap.
16:54All of us.
16:54You, me, everybody.
16:55We're all cheap.
16:56Simple as that.
16:56It's a clever pitch.
16:59Give them something for nothing, play to their greed and count the money.
17:04I'm not trying to cause any...
17:05It's just what people see, if people there clap when they have to clap, it gets a bit
17:08exciting.
17:08That's the show that we put on every day, you know what I mean?
17:10I'm also giving everybody a very nice free bag to carry it home in.
17:21Well, a good old-fashioned bit of British showmanship is how they see it.
17:25We're just putting it on for the tourists, mate.
17:27It's an old business and it works.
17:29And my God, they must sell a good bit of perfume to be paying the rent on that place.
17:40I cut through a few back streets and I'm in Soho, London's famous red-light district.
17:51A must-see in every visitor's guidebook.
17:57Soho's sex clubs and bars have a history of fleecing tourists which goes back hundreds of years.
18:03But do they still deserve that reputation?
18:10Excuse me, you guys, just a little bit, you know, and there's no obligation.
18:15Some instructives and live shows.
18:18Five in and want a drink, we'll have minimum.
18:21Four for stop, drink, five for beers.
18:23Good for full naked live shows.
18:26Can't see that?
18:27Okay.
18:27Why not?
18:28Oh, we're not in London very often, are we?
18:30No.
18:31You've got to, you know, if you're in Soho, you're trying to see a strip show.
18:34Come on.
18:35Aye, yeah.
18:36Have the real experience.
18:38At least.
18:38All right, thanks.
18:47All right, thanks.
18:49Glad to have a seat over there.
18:52There's no one here.
18:55This place is dead.
19:02Time to get out of here.
19:04The more I look around, the more I wonder whether I've got it all wrong.
19:12Maybe Soho sex clubs aren't the hot spots for tourists they used to be.
19:16I'm on my way to meet a guy who's wired into the area.
19:29I'm going to get the lowdown from Sid, an ex-undercover officer in the Metropolitan Police.
19:33Who still has links to known criminal networks here in London.
19:47You used to be a policeman, right?
19:48Yeah, that's right.
19:49Around here.
19:50South East.
19:51East end.
19:52Vice, that kind of thing?
19:53Well, we used to do a bit of that.
19:54Drugs, all that sort of thing.
19:55Murders, rapes, whatever you want to know.
19:56I mean, it seems to me a little bit as though the old kind of Vice Centre, which used to
20:13be in Soho, you know, going back to the 60s and 70s, has sort of moved a bit.
20:17There don't seem to be as many of the old sex bars and the strip joints and the clip joints
20:24as well, as they used to be.
20:25Nowadays, it's gone down a level.
20:28It's just become really sleazy and people try to avoid it now.
20:31It doesn't draw people like it used to.
20:33I mean, Soho's changing anyway.
20:35Can you tell me where I might find some of those places that you're talking about,
20:40the more dangerous, edgy places?
20:42Well, I can certainly take you to at least one.
20:45Maybe two.
20:46Depends on what you want.
20:47But I'm going to warn you, they are.
20:50I mean, it's murky and it's dangerous and it's not nice.
20:55So you think it could actually get heavy, it could get violent?
20:58Oh yeah, without a doubt.
20:59There's a pervading sense of violence in these places, especially when you get a bill presented
21:04to you and you go, oh my God, you ain't going anywhere.
21:08They will get their money off you one way or another, even if they haven't marched you
21:12to a cash point or anything like that.
21:14You'd be happy to show me a place like that, go in a place like that with me?
21:17Yeah, yeah, it's not a problem.
21:18I take Sid up on his offer.
21:31We make our way towards Covent Garden.
21:35This is the London of fashionable bars and cafes.
21:45Is this a clip joint, like Sid says?
21:48If it is, my plan is to try and turn one of the girls.
21:53Maybe she'll tell me some clip joint secrets.
21:56First warning signs, doorman built like tanks.
21:59Oh, that's two of us?
22:00Two of us, yeah, yeah.
22:01Thanks, mate.
22:02First off to us.
22:03How are you doing?
22:04How much?
22:0520 to come in.
22:07This place is rammed.
22:12It's in a completely different league to the club I was in this afternoon.
22:17Cheers, mate.
22:18Yeah.
22:19Five pound a beer.
22:20Yeah.
22:21A reason like that.
22:22Cheers, mate.
22:23Thanks, mate.
22:24There's a real buzz about the place.
22:27That guy's getting led up somewhere.
22:31But something tells me not everyone is happy.
22:34This is just a blast.
22:36No, no.
22:38No, no.
22:39There's a lot of tourists in here.
22:44Yeah, I mean, look at those guys over there.
22:48This is not the kind of place to get busted.
22:52I need to be careful.
22:53Come on, let's have fun.
22:56We're offered a dance by two of the girls.
23:11This could be my chance to find out what's going on in here.
23:23She can't keep her hands off me.
23:25No, no, no, no.
23:27Busted.
23:28They found my hidden camera.
23:30Are you filming right now?
23:31Yeah.
23:32Are you filming right now?
23:33Yeah, I really freaked out.
23:34Okay, we're good.
23:35We don't.
23:36Let's sit here and then we can't see you.
23:37Sit there and then it's fine.
23:40I'm really freaked out.
23:42One of the girls seems willing to talk, but the other girl is about to blow my cover.
23:48Time to go before I get thrown out.
23:51Or worse.
23:53Which one?
23:55Guys, can you come back inside?
23:57No, no, no.
23:58Listen, listen, listen.
23:59Can I talk with you?
24:00Yeah.
24:01Guys, guys.
24:02I feel a massive hand grab hold of me.
24:04Mate, mate, mate.
24:05Let go of me.
24:06Let go of me.
24:07Let go of me.
24:08Whoa.
24:09That was suddenly really, really, really heavy.
24:13They're taking our pictures.
24:15They are.
24:16That guy grabbed hold of me and shouted, guys, never ever come here again.
24:21The events of last night remind me of how dark London can be.
24:51I'm back in Soho, famous for its bars, chic cafes and sex clubs.
25:02In recent years, Chinatown's operations have expanded.
25:07Its advance guard, Chinese medicine shops.
25:10But can everyone really be coming here for ginseng and tiger balm?
25:19The cover story, I've got a dodgy shoulder.
25:24This looks as good a place as any to start.
25:28Stress pain in my shoulder.
25:30Yeah.
25:31Not even.
25:32Anything I can take for that?
25:33Yeah.
25:34It's okay, mate.
25:35Stress stinger.
25:36My phone's stolen.
25:38Your phone's stolen?
25:39Yeah.
25:40It's bad, mate.
25:42Okay.
25:43Massage.
25:44Relax.
25:45Get rid of the stress, okay?
25:48Massage and that's the solution.
25:50Sure, yeah.
25:51They help you relieve the tension from the body, from the head.
25:55Sounds convincing.
25:56You got me.
25:57You got me all right.
25:58Enjoy.
26:00Two women.
26:02That's unusual.
26:03But you know what they say.
26:05Many hands make light work.
26:07Is that okay?
26:08Oh, it's okay.
26:09Yeah.
26:10Okay.
26:11I'm so relaxed I could almost nod off.
26:25Sorry?
26:26How do you mean?
26:27Halfway through my treatment they've stopped massaging my shoulder and for an extra $120,
26:34they're offering me something a little more personal.
26:37This place promises traditional Chinese cures, but the girls are delivering a more hands-on
26:43service.
26:44Okay?
26:45No, I didn't think.
26:46I'm sure it is really nice.
26:49You're going to have to take no for an answer.
26:51Sorry.
26:52Okay.
26:53Thank you very much.
26:56Okay?
26:57Okay.
26:58Bye-bye.
26:59See you.
27:00Bye-bye.
27:01Bye-bye.
27:02Bye-bye.
27:08Wandering around Soho, suddenly I start to see these Chinese herbal shops in a new light.
27:14Are there others operating in the same way?
27:17There's only one way to find out.
27:21It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
27:32Yeah.
27:33Can you do it front there?
27:34Yeah.
27:35Yeah.
27:36I'm fine.
27:37It's a few money.
27:38If you want it, it's not a few money.
27:39Extra money?
27:40Yeah.
27:41How much extra money?
27:42£30 each.
27:43£30 each?
27:44Yeah.
27:45No, no, no, I'm okay.
27:47Okay, that's two out of two that have offered me a happy ending.
27:53Time to try a third.
27:54Thank you very much.
27:55I think I know where this conversation is going next.
28:08Oh, it's a little tea.
28:11It's time to own up.
28:13I'm making a television program.
28:15No, no, TV.
28:16TV.
28:17Yeah, yeah, TV.
28:18Look, there's a camera.
28:19Yeah, one camera.
28:20I'm not happy.
28:22Not happy.
28:23Why?
28:24Why?
28:25Yeah.
28:26Because to see what happens.
28:28No, no, no.
28:29Word of my secret filming has not gone down well with the management.
28:32It's not allowed to take photos in the room.
28:35What's not, what shouldn't be allowed is tourists come here and all they want is a nice massage.
28:39No, it's not allowed.
28:40You're asking in advance, yeah, it breaks the English law.
28:44Filming?
28:45No, it's not allowed in the UK.
28:47It's not very polite.
28:48You should ask the permission first.
28:51Yeah, but if I ask permission, maybe you wouldn't behave the way that you behave.
28:55Why do you offer massage for people who've got therapy problems?
28:59Yeah, but do massage.
29:00People who have stress.
29:01They come for treatment.
29:02They come for treatment, but it's all about sex, isn't it?
29:05Sorry?
29:06It's about sex.
29:07No.
29:08Because you come in with a genuine problem and then you get offered handjobs.
29:13Sorry?
29:14Is that the real business, is handjobs?
29:16No, it's not.
29:17Do you want please be here?
29:19I can ask please to come here.
29:21You know, they might have cleaned up a lot of the sex clubs in this part of town, but
29:31the gap in the market hasn't lasted long.
29:34Now, you pop into one of those Chinese medical centres looking for a bit of stress relief
29:38and the scammers are primed and ready to take you for a ride.
29:50The search for the phone gang has gone quiet.
30:02I'm back in Hoxton where the phone was stolen.
30:07It's become a clubber's paradise for a new generation of tourists.
30:12The kind of place where people let their hair down, get distracted.
30:17Perfect for scammers.
30:19I hit a few of the bars and clubs.
30:22Maybe the two guys who stole my phone are working the same area tonight.
30:26But as far as thievery goes, it's a quiet night.
30:32The club is closing.
30:34Time to find a cab.
30:36What's happening big man?
30:41You alright bro?
30:42I'm alright man, yeah.
30:43Just wondering what's going on here.
30:44What's your name anyway bro?
30:45Connor.
30:46Connor?
30:47Yeah.
30:48Jason.
30:49Mad ones.
30:50So what are you up to man?
30:51Oh listen man.
30:52He's coming out of this club man.
30:53He's coming out of this club.
30:54What could this guy want to talk to me about?
30:57You want to have a little, you get me a little party thing.
31:00You get me like I'll hook you up man.
31:02You get me having the connection, you feel me?
31:04Why not man?
31:05I don't know you though, do I?
31:08I don't know you.
31:09You can't just trust, just see.
31:10You get me?
31:11But me as a man like, when I approach people, when I look at their eyes, I know if you're
31:15real or you're fake.
31:16You get me?
31:17So that's what I'm saying.
31:18There's a nice club down there still.
31:20You get me?
31:25Jason's using me for something.
31:28But he's tapped into the local area.
31:32So maybe I can use him.
31:35Damn man, I had my phone nicked, so.
31:40My phone?
31:41I had it stolen, sorry.
31:42Stolen?
31:43Yeah.
31:44Look how you got your phone stolen, bro.
31:45Yeah.
31:46It's easy then.
31:47Come on, bro.
31:48You can't let no one touch you out here, right?
31:50Bro, till my last breath.
31:52You get me for someone to take something from me.
31:55You have to go on, you get me?
31:57And the most balls, it's a squid.
31:59You can't look in your eyes and snatch that, and I'm only joking.
32:08He's got a strange sense of humour, but I'm going to ride with it.
32:13Alright then, so what?
32:14What are you going to do, like, yeah?
32:15Because I'm saying we're going to hook up with these girls, yeah?
32:17Let's do it, let's do it.
32:18I'm going to finish this.
32:19Yeah, what I'm saying, like, yeah?
32:20We're going to get a cab from there.
32:21What we do, like, yeah?
32:22Because these girls, they like having a session, yeah?
32:24Just draw, like, some dough, like, get me, like, two bills or something.
32:27You get me?
32:28To go have a party with them and go chill out.
32:29You get me?
32:30Come to my yard and get me straight up, yeah?
32:32Yeah, come, come across over here.
32:33Hang on, hang on.
32:34We need to go first.
32:35There is something fundamentally shifty about this guy,
32:44and ordinarily I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him,
32:47but he does seem to know everyone on the streets here,
32:50he might be the perfect person to help me find the kind of people I'm looking for.
32:54So I'm going to tag along and see what happens.
32:58So I'll get some, get some dough and, like, I'm going to, like, line up, line up this thing.
33:03You get me?
33:04Do you have cash on me?
33:05Yeah, yeah, there's a cash machine there, man.
33:07This is the cab office as well.
33:09I need some facts, man.
33:12I don't think Jason's going to lead me to any phone gang,
33:15but he is up to something.
33:18I've got a feeling this could get interesting.
33:21I don't take it to my nest, you know?
33:24Yeah, yeah, yeah.
33:25You feel me?
33:26If I take it to my nest where I lay my hair there,
33:28I must feel your vibe, your spirit.
33:30My spirit?
33:31You understand?
33:32Because, man, where I lay my hair there, that's where my life is, bro.
33:35Yeah, I get you.
33:36So for anybody that brings it to my castle.
33:37I appreciate it.
33:38I appreciate it.
33:39I'm having a nice time.
33:40You get me?
33:41That's what I'm saying, bro.
33:42You get me?
33:43Nice.
33:44Yeah, go in this, yeah.
33:45Go in here, in here, in here.
33:46Go in here, in here.
33:47Go in here.
33:48Jesus.
33:49No, I'll just peel.
33:50Sorry, yeah?
33:51No, no.
33:52Just peel anything.
33:53Yeah.
33:54It's all right here.
33:55We're all right here.
33:56Come.
33:57All right.
33:58You take care, mate.
33:59All right.
34:00Cheers, mate.
34:01All right, yeah.
34:02See you later.
34:03This doesn't look like the kind of place to buy out-of-hours booze.
34:10And something else is starting to bug me.
34:13I realise I've lost the crew.
34:16I'm on my own.
34:18Jason's getting agitated, because I haven't handed over the cash yet.
34:23What, you want to leave now?
34:25If you don't...
34:26Listen.
34:27Hold on.
34:28Five more, yeah?
34:29If you don't want to continue this journey, yeah?
34:31Yeah.
34:32It's entirely up to you.
34:33If you're getting any...
34:34Let me put my hand so you can see my eyes.
34:35I am...
34:36I'm here, aren't I?
34:37This is what I don't even want for you to do in the public.
34:39What's that?
34:40Eight quid, eight quid.
34:41That's what you want?
34:42Is that what...
34:43Is that where you go?
34:44Yeah.
34:45All right.
34:46You see, I even pay car money for you to know I'm a good guy.
34:53Moment of truth.
34:54I hand Jason all of my money, and he promises to be back with the booze for a party.
35:02Okay.
35:03How far is it?
35:04One second.
35:05Okay.
35:06How far is it?
35:07One second.
35:08One second.
35:09Jesus, that's nearly half an hour.
35:10Doesn't it?
35:11Yeah.
35:12Yeah.
35:13Yeah.
35:14Yeah.
35:15One second.
35:16Okay.
35:17How far is it?
35:18One second.
35:19I was hoping to turn him, but he's not coming back.
35:46I've just stumbled on the London version of the false friend scam.
35:51Are you lot there?
35:53I mean, can you give me some sort of sign that this is still happening?
35:57Or has this gone pet shaped?
36:00Carl, Mike, guys?
36:03I think what's happened here is that Jason has gone and he's coming back and I've got
36:18no money.
36:19I've got no phone.
36:20I mean, I know not where, somewhere in East London and somehow I'm going to have to get
36:25myself back from here and I have no idea how I'm going to do that.
36:37I've travelled around the world and fallen victim to so many taxi scams.
36:42How ironic that, stranded in my own city, it's a taxi that comes to my rescue.
36:48Pardon me.
36:49Top of the park, please.
36:50Uh, telephone.
36:51Literally been cleaned out.
36:52Oh, loads of money at home.
36:53I'm going to go home, I think.
36:54Cool.
36:55Thanks, mate.
36:56It's a long story.
37:01Last night, London's dark side sucked me in.
37:29Luckily, it only cost me $120.
37:34It could have been a lot worse.
37:40I'm still no closer to finding the phone snatch gang.
37:47Then I get a tip from Sid, the ex-cop.
37:49The guys who snatched my phone are fencing their loot in Ilford, in East London.
37:55I head down there to check it out.
38:06So far I've come up empty everywhere I've turned, so I'm not exactly holding my breath.
38:13We're only a few miles out of the centre of town and the grandeur and elegance of London
38:17has petered out.
38:18This is the main strip through what I'm pretty sure is Ilford.
38:22I mean, I'm way out of my comfort zone here.
38:25This is not my patch, not a part of London that I ever come to.
38:29Accessories repair.
38:30We unlock iPhones.
38:31I mean, if you take in a stolen iPhone that's locked, you take it to one of these shops,
38:37presumably, and unlock it there and then for you, and then you can sell it to anybody.
38:41We trawl the area for a few hours.
38:48There's one here, look, there's a dodgy little looking mobile phone shop.
38:53A hole in the wall kind of thing.
38:56Hang on, hang on.
39:00Hang on, is that the geezer there?
39:03That's the guy there.
39:04It's both of them together.
39:06Pull over here.
39:08Pull over on the left.
39:10Pull over on the left.
39:11I'm going to see.
39:12I'm going to see if that's done.
39:18Excuse me, mate.
39:19Remember me?
39:20No.
39:21Azeesh?
39:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:23We met at Hoxton Square.
39:24Yeah, mate.
39:25We met at Hoxton Square.
39:26Definitely you.
39:27No, man.
39:28I don't know where you are.
39:29Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
39:30And you, mate.
39:31I thought you two didn't know each other.
39:32No, man.
39:33I'm not.
39:34Azeesh, listen.
39:35I'm not going to cause a problem here for you.
39:37I just want to talk to you.
39:39Okay, but you two, I mean, you two, you would, this was the guy that was with you when you
39:45came, when you took my phone.
39:46No, man.
39:47There's no guy.
39:48This is no other guy.
39:49It's not that long ago that you can't remember.
39:51I'm not, I'm not the police or anything.
39:53I'm not the police.
39:54I'm not here to cause trouble.
39:55If you want to talk, come there and I'll talk with you.
39:58This time I don't have your phone.
40:00So where's my phone?
40:01I already sell it.
40:03You already sold my phone?
40:05Yeah.
40:06And I all spend my own money, man.
40:09I don't have any phone, no money left.
40:12I'm prepared to trade my phone for a bit of information.
40:17After some convincing, he accepts the deal.
40:20If you want to show, I have to take it to my place and I show you why I do that thing.
40:26Okay.
40:27Alright, I'll follow you.
40:28Yeah, sure.
40:29Let's go.
40:33Here we go again.
40:35For the second time in 24 hours, I'm following strangers down unfamiliar streets in East London.
40:41At least this time, the crew have my back.
40:46We are jumping inside.
40:48Oh yeah?
40:49No door.
40:50No front door.
40:51No front door.
40:52No front door?
40:53No.
40:54Back door.
40:55Window.
40:59Oh, I see.
41:00Whatever they're doing, they're not investing their money on home improvements.
41:12Take care for me.
41:14And judging by the smell, they're not spending it on the plumbing either.
41:34There I live, man.
41:35This is where you live?
41:36Yeah.
41:37Living there.
41:38You both come in the home, from the window.
41:41You can see.
41:42And you both sleep in this room?
41:44Yeah.
41:45This is a long way from the sophisticated international gang of phone thieves I'd been expecting.
41:54So what's that you're smoking now?
41:56Yeah.
41:57What?
41:58Heroine.
41:59Heroine and crack.
42:00Heroine and crack.
42:01So you were chasing the heroin and now you're smoking the crack in the pipe.
42:03Yeah.
42:04And is that where all the money goes from the first?
42:05Yeah, all the money is going there.
42:07So all that money just goes up in smoke.
42:11I come in in the 2004.
42:13After that, I'm working in one place.
42:16In building side, construction company.
42:19And there they give the small, small cabin to the whole company for lunch time.
42:23The cabin is like only this mattress, you know, not too big.
42:28And two, three guys, they smoke every day.
42:31And I am inside the cabin.
42:34Nobody allowed to go out to the cabin.
42:36After they smoke, smoke, smoke.
42:38After two weeks, I feel pain in my legs.
42:41I say, why my body is not working?
42:44Two, three days, I say, something happened, isn't it?
42:47And I say, and it happened, he say, you smoke this one.
42:50And I smoke two, three lines and I feel good after I stuck in there.
42:55So you got addicted just by being near people that were smoking?
42:58Yeah.
42:59And do you always target the tourists?
43:01Yeah.
43:02And the tourists, like, if you have, if you see anybody in the new, in the country, you
43:08know he has looked like this.
43:11They look up?
43:12Yeah.
43:13See the buildings and you know this is a tourist.
43:17They mostly target the tourists.
43:20Right.
43:21Okay.
43:22When you're out, you always go into the centre of London to do the studio?
43:27Yeah, show the centre of London, where is there too many pubs?
43:31More than you go, it's stealing the, these things, pubs, clubs.
43:35You know, too much people in the drunk.
43:37Easily you have to snatch the phone.
43:39And how much drugs can you buy with one phone?
43:43With the one phone, if it's 150, then 10 bags.
43:48If the phone going only 100, 110, then six, seven bags like this.
43:55Six, seven bags of heroin?
43:56Heroin and crack both, three, three.
43:58Three and three.
43:59And how long does that last?
44:00If I smoke one time, after two hours, three bags, they finish.
44:05And then again go and find some money.
44:07Two or three hours?
44:08Yeah.
44:09And it's all gone?
44:10Yeah.
44:11So you still want...
44:12Every day we have to smoke 10 to 10, 12 or 15 bags a day.
44:17They're a two-man crime wave, three or four phones a day, every day.
44:27And do you have any boss that you have to give money to?
44:30Is there a gang?
44:31No, no, no.
44:32Just you two on your own?
44:33Yeah.
44:34Okay, guys, I'm gonna go.
44:36Okay.
44:37Yeah.
44:38You guys, you stay.
44:39You stay.
44:40I can see myself out.
44:41Yeah.
44:42Sorry for that, man.
44:44Which travel I give you.
44:45It's okay.
44:46But my problem, man.
44:47Yeah, I can see.
44:49You understand me, man.
44:50Oh, no, no.
44:51I appreciate the time.
45:01Well, I came here expecting to find quite a sophisticated criminal gang behind this scam.
45:06And actually, in this case at least, it seems more like just a couple of junkies stealing phones to buy heroin and crack.
45:13This is a million miles from the London that I know.
45:20Londoners once sailed down this river to plunder the world.
45:27These days, the plunder comes to them.
45:36Millions of tourists, distracted by the city's charms.
45:41And watching them, the scammers.
45:45Armed with an expertise honed over centuries of experience.