0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains strong language.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08Anyone need tickets? I'll buy any spare ones.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10Britain's black market is booming.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14I'm doing a raid on the near Continent tomorrow.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16Do you need any for this next week?
0:00:16 > 0:00:20It makes up an incredible 10% of our economy.
0:00:20 > 0:00:21How much for the Superdry T-shirt?
0:00:21 > 0:00:24- They're £10 each, sir. - £10, all right.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26These are some of the canniest businessmen in the country.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29£2.95, if I can open this bag.
0:00:29 > 0:00:30This Paloma Faith crowd, though,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33there'll be a lot of them tonight that don't get out much.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Supplying champagne tastes on lemonade budgets.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39If you go to Debenhams and John Lewis,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41it's £106 for the real thing.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44But up against this army of entrepreneurs are thousands
0:00:44 > 0:00:48of trading standards officers and private detectives.
0:00:48 > 0:00:49There's good and there's bad.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52We catch bad guys and we protect the good guys.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54- Hollow wall, here. - KNOCKING ON WALL
0:00:54 > 0:00:56- Have you got a spare ticket? - Yeah.- Wonderful.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00For three months, we follow the men and women of the black market,
0:01:00 > 0:01:04as they graft for a living and try to evade the prying eyes of the law...
0:01:04 > 0:01:05Unbelievable.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08I want to get through there without being stopped,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10that's my major consideration.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14Suspicion of burglary, possession of drugs, possession of firearms.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17I mean, they come out with any excuse to stop you.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20- Excuse me.- Yes?- Is it all right if I have a quiet word with you?
0:01:20 > 0:01:21They know what they're doing,
0:01:21 > 0:01:23and I think they know what they're doing is wrong.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26They're coming down the road now. Oh, here we come.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28..and ask in these hard times,
0:01:28 > 0:01:31don't we all want to make a bit on the side?
0:01:32 > 0:01:33HE LAUGHS
0:01:33 > 0:01:36This is the black market. Here it is.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Middle-class people doing this.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45My name is Philip Cooper,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47otherwise known as Slim.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49I'll buy any spare tickets for today, or other games.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51I've been in the business 35 years.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54It's like Max Boyce, like being back in the '70s.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Ticket tout, ticket broker, call me as you wish.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01I want to make it a reception, down the mines.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Slim has some simple rules -
0:02:04 > 0:02:06buy for as little as you can...
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Go on, I'll have that off you.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Cos it's only one on its own, sir, that's the problem.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12Not worth anything after kick-off, are they?
0:02:12 > 0:02:15There you go, there's your 50. All right, sir?
0:02:15 > 0:02:16..sell for as much as possible...
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Look, they're £85. I'll charge you 50 quid each, all right?
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll take £150 for the two.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25Row 13, row 13, have a wonderful time, all right?
0:02:25 > 0:02:27..avoid the police...
0:02:27 > 0:02:30First two spins I have, the Old Bill never got on to me.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33..and if anyone asks how much you've made, you just say...
0:02:33 > 0:02:34That's between me and my accountant.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Between me and my accountant.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38And sometimes my barrister.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44One of the world's biggest sporting events kicks off
0:02:44 > 0:02:46shortly here in the UK, when England take on Fiji
0:02:46 > 0:02:49in the opening match of the Rugby World Cup.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51You sound very, very nervous.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Please, it's not like going to a prostitute for the first time, sir.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58The Rugby World Cup has come to the UK.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01The next two months will make or break Slim's year.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05The Rugby World Cup in 1999 was phenomenal for us.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08How much money did you make?
0:03:08 > 0:03:09I can tell you that now
0:03:09 > 0:03:13cos, legally, after six years, all the books have been destroyed!
0:03:13 > 0:03:15A fucking lot.
0:03:15 > 0:03:16Yeah, a lot.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20You're looking at 140 grand.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25Now the way he drums up business is to post adverts on the internet.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29"We're attending the match ourselves, so it will be
0:03:29 > 0:03:33"no trouble at all to meet you on your arrival with your ticket.
0:03:35 > 0:03:36"Many thanks, Albert."
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Slim's actual name is Philip.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42I said Albert's got a particularly trusting side to it, hasn't it?
0:03:42 > 0:03:45"Oh, bless him, an old boy," you know?
0:03:45 > 0:03:47It's particularly good for boy bands.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50It's like, "I'm taking my grand daughter."
0:03:50 > 0:03:52They've got this picture of you taking the grandkids.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54"Oh, yeah, he's going to turn up, he's an old geezer,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- "you can trust him," you know? - HE LAUGHS
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Afternoon, can I help?
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Afternoon, can I help?
0:04:02 > 0:04:03Can I help?
0:04:03 > 0:04:08So far, Slim has over 50 orders for the opening game.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10But no tickets.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13He doesn't buy until he sells.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Not that his customers know that.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Whereabouts are they? They're fantastic seats, yeah.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20You won't believe where you're sitting.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22You'll enjoy yourselves there. All right?
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Neither do they know he's working from his flat in Birmingham.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28At the moment, I'm in Newcastle at the moment.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30I'm an ambulance driver, you see,
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and we can't answer phones while we're driving.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36It's merely sales.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40It's a play on words, innit? It's not really telling untruths.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43We're not out to, you know, rob anyone,
0:04:43 > 0:04:45that's the most important thing.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50Slim has been selling tickets for the nation's biggest concerts,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53theatres and sporting events for three decades.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55'How did I become a ticket tout?
0:04:55 > 0:04:57'When I was 14, 15 years of age,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00'I'd just nip in the box office and buy a few tickets
0:05:00 > 0:05:02'because the touts can't buy themselves,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04'cos they're known at the box office, you know?'
0:05:04 > 0:05:06- MOBILE RINGS - 'It evolves from there, you know.'
0:05:06 > 0:05:08Good afternoon, can I help?
0:05:08 > 0:05:10'Careers lessons probably done it for me, you know.'
0:05:10 > 0:05:11Speaking, how can I help?
0:05:11 > 0:05:16'Tracey's going to be a nurse and David's going to be a fireman,'
0:05:16 > 0:05:19and I looked at the teacher and I thought, "Do you know what?
0:05:19 > 0:05:23"You're on £40 a week. I got more at West Ham on Saturday afternoon."
0:05:23 > 0:05:26I think that made my mind up for me.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Slim has travelled down to Twickenham.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37It's only hours before the Rugby World Cup kicks off.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40There are thousands of potential customers.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42But also, lots of touts.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46Trading in their own slang is good for talking business,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49without the police, or customers keeping up.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Give us a cockle, here you are.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Got the oddie? Have you got an oddie?
0:05:55 > 0:05:57No, no, not a bottle.
0:05:57 > 0:05:58- What do you want? Oddie?- Yeah.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01You know these rugby Richards, right?
0:06:01 > 0:06:04- Very rarely see the eck here, do you?- No.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08He's asked him. Fucking, a monkey!
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Slim has internet orders worth five grand,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14but despite all the haggling, still no actual tickets.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17It's five-and-twenty past three
0:06:17 > 0:06:19and we said we'd serve them at four o'clock,
0:06:19 > 0:06:24so we've got 35 minutes to...get about 50 tickets.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27If he's going to make money, he needs to buy...quick.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30I'll buy any spare tickets for today or other games.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Buy any spare tickets.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35I'll buy any spare tickets for today or other games.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Who's got tickets they wish to sell?
0:06:37 > 0:06:38I'll buy any extra tickets for any days.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40There are tickets are out there,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43but the people selling are demanding huge prices.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45No, I can't do one-and-a-half, mate.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47They're burning a hole in your kick, ain't they, mate?
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Who's got tickets they wish to sell?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52I'll buy any extra tickets for any days.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Fuck all happening here.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56It don't look good, does it?
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Kick-off is getting closer
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and the punters who made orders with Albert are getting nervous.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08Where's my tickets? Good afternoon, can I help?
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Yeah, we're just coming down the M40 now.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13I'm going to be honest with you, miss.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15Another gentleman phoned up this morning
0:07:15 > 0:07:18and I've been out all day and I haven't got internet access.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Go on, then, mate.
0:07:21 > 0:07:22The game has started.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Fuck it!
0:07:24 > 0:07:28None of the customers that answered Albert's ad have been served.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Slim's big pay day has not materialised.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33It's almost like taking crack cocaine.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36One minute, bang, you have a great day and, equally,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40you can have an absolutely disastrous days.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43But Slim is not one to give up.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46It's the first game, so you don't take it on one match,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49you'll take it on the whole of the tournament.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Six weeks' time, we're going to get a few quid out of it.
0:07:57 > 0:08:0215 years ago, Mark used to live the high life as an ad exec in London.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04This Earl Grey just takes a little bit more to defuse
0:08:04 > 0:08:07than your regular builder's tea.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09But he left it all behind.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Now saving money is a way of life.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Come and have a look at this.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17When it was new, £1,200. Bought that for £32.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23This is a very big jar of oregano, 2.99 euros for that amount.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Last you years. These babies, free. Rosehip jam.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30These three pans, boot sale, never used. Two quid.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Pallet table, 20 quid to do.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36The fish tank itself was ten quid from the tip shop.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38I think the fish were the most expensive part about it.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Photoelectric cells fitted six weeks ago.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43We're net exporters of electricity.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46If we can see an opportunity to make money, we'll take it.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50And it just... Oh, and tobacco, obviously.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56I don't call myself a smuggler.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00I call myself a transporter of tobacco products.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04Mark has been importing tobacco
0:09:04 > 0:09:07and illegally selling it for the last five years.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11He runs the operation from his back room.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19You've got to know the people you're selling it to
0:09:19 > 0:09:22because you've got to make sure they're not connected
0:09:22 > 0:09:24to certain government agencies, etc.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26No, they're not there.
0:09:26 > 0:09:27People work.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Mark knows his clients well and provides a personal service.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34You just have to hit them right at the right time.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36They normally get down to about two packets
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and start panicking because they think,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41"God, I've got to go to the shop and it's 18 quid a go,"
0:09:41 > 0:09:44whereas I can get it for £9.50, £10.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48That's when they get quite panicky...
0:09:49 > 0:09:52..to the point of almost hysterical.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53PHONE RINGS
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Hello?
0:09:55 > 0:09:57All right, Stephen, how are you doing?
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Yeah, I'm doing a raid on the near Continent tomorrow.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Do you need any for this next week?
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I'll reserve you some.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10This is the black market.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12This is it. Here it is.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Middle-class people doing this.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Importing the cigarettes is not just about funding his own 60-a-day habit.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Do you know, they taste even better when they're cheaper.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27If they were free, they'd be even greater!
0:10:30 > 0:10:32It's also about principles.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34You've got to pay taxes.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37The country's got to run. I understand that.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39But everything is just taxed.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41When you've got savings in the bank,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44they want a little bit on the interest.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47They have rules and regulations for everything.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49It's not just the taxman,
0:10:49 > 0:10:53it's things like health and bloody safety.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54There.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Small people have to get by as well as the big people.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01We're just finding strategies that make our life easier
0:11:01 > 0:11:02and less stressful.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04And is that illegal?
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Of course it is.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10But tomorrow, he's making the round trip to Belgium to bring back
0:11:10 > 0:11:13a consignment of contraband cigarettes.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18Michelle, his girlfriend of six years, normally goes with him.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Before embarking on any trip,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24they fill up the car with sunflower oil,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27a cheaper, untaxed alternative to diesel.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29It lowers your carbon emissions as well.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Done. There you go.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Do you worry about getting into trouble?
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Well, it's not as if we're, like,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40giant smugglers of tonnes of whatever.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44It's just a couple of kilos of tobacco.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48- Basically, we know all the people we sell it to.- Yeah.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52So, they're happy, we're happy.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Do you worry about Customs?
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I don't like them!
0:12:00 > 0:12:03Tonight, one of the biggest rugby matches
0:12:03 > 0:12:05ever played in the south-west.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08We're live at Sandy Park with history in the making
0:12:08 > 0:12:11as the World Cup draws in fans from all over the world.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16- Oh, you- BLEEP!
0:12:17 > 0:12:20It's the second week of the Rugby World Cup.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Slim has driven the 170 miles down to Exeter.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29The helping hand today is a man called Teatime.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31Don't ask me while we call him Teatime.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Teatime does not want to be identified.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Your back was always the best side of you anyway, wasn't it?
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Who you work with depends on a number of things.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43It might be that they are very close friends
0:12:43 > 0:12:46that you might have grown up with.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48It might be a geographical thing.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51You could have been in prison together and formed a bond that way.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53There's different reasons why.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55You need some starters, don't you?
0:12:55 > 0:12:57That is for purchasing tickets.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00It's merely the tools of the trade, innit?
0:13:00 > 0:13:02You could quite easily go to a World Cup final
0:13:02 > 0:13:05or a European Cup final and you might have to have
0:13:05 > 0:13:0720, 30, 40, £50,000 on you.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10You can't start writing cheques out in the street, can you?
0:13:10 > 0:13:13Would you take a cheque off a man like me?
0:13:17 > 0:13:21Authorised vehicles, that's a bit of us, innit?
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Slim and Teatime decide to park in the official car park.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27- Hello, mate.- Just dropping off? - No merchandise security.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29We've got to park up and collect our passes.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Without a pass, they pose as trading standards officers.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35We've got to drive round and look out for these bootleggers.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38You know what they're like, selling all these scarves and all that.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41- All right.- Fucking busybodies, these helpers!
0:13:41 > 0:13:42All right, young man?
0:13:43 > 0:13:45We can get out now.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Anyone got any spare tickets they wish to sell?
0:13:47 > 0:13:49I'll buy any spare tickets.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51I'll buy the extra tickets.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Who's got tickets they wish to sell?
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Namibia versus Tonga might not be one of the glamour ties
0:13:57 > 0:13:59but they think there's money to be made.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02What you've got to try and do in this business
0:14:02 > 0:14:03is work the numbers game.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06Now, this ground holds, what, 12,000 people?
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Hopefully, there's only going be two or maybe four, five workers
0:14:10 > 0:14:12here at the most.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13So if you work out the percentages,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15that's better than going to Twickenham,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18when there's probably 70 or 80 workers there
0:14:18 > 0:14:20and it holds 70,000 people.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26With few other touts, there's less competition,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29but they're much more visible to security.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Selling tickets outside a ground is a breach of street trading law.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- Got busybodies, security, Old Bill. - That geezer, was he a busybody?
0:14:40 > 0:14:42Fuckin' hell.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Touts can be arrested
0:14:44 > 0:14:48and their money confiscated under suspicion of money-laundering.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49Buy any spare tickets.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51Slim could lose the hundreds in his pocket.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Any extra tickets you want to sell, girls?
0:14:54 > 0:14:57'It's very difficult because you need to draw attention to yourself
0:14:57 > 0:14:59'to potential buyers and sellers.'
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Any spare tickets you want to sell, miss?
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Any extra tickets you want to sell, girls?
0:15:03 > 0:15:06'If you're drawing the attention to those people, invariably you're
0:15:06 > 0:15:10- 'going to draw attention to yourself, to the authorities.' - Has it sold out?
0:15:11 > 0:15:14- Do 30?- Not for one on its own, mate.- Really?- No.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18They need to buy and deliver 18 tickets to fulfil their orders,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20but it's not that straightforward.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25- Excuse me.- Yeah?- Is it all right if I have a quiet word with you?
0:15:25 > 0:15:28There's been a report of possible ticket touting, something like that,
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- and you're matching the description that's been given to me.- Yeah.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34When a police officer approaches you, you obviously don't just
0:15:34 > 0:15:36say, "Yeah, I'm a ticket tout, blah, blah, blah."
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- Are you here to watch the game? Have you got tickets? - I've got a ticket, yeah.
0:15:40 > 0:15:41OK, that's all right.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43'I mean, they come out with any excuse to stop you.'
0:15:43 > 0:15:46You probably knew straightaway what this was about.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- We're trying to get to the bottom of it...- Yeah.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Despite the police being suspicious,
0:15:51 > 0:15:56it's selling tickets that's illegal, and Slim has only been caught buying.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59- So you haven't got a problem with me buying tickets, no?- No.
0:15:59 > 0:16:00You're very kind.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04Don't forget, most of the coppers are half my age, anyway!
0:16:04 > 0:16:06So they're on the back foot straightaway!
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Thanks for your civility, officers.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10I'll go and buy some more tickets for myself.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12- No worries. Good luck.- Cheers.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Fucking...couldn't have worked out better, that one.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17Slim and Teatime are on the radar now,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19but it's not going to stop them working.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Keep away from me.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26You haven't got a spare ticket you want to sell, have you, miss?
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Give you £20. All right?
0:16:28 > 0:16:31- Thank you.- Thank you. - Thank you, sir.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33- You all right, boys and girls? - Hello, there.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36- Are you buying a ticket off of this...?- Yeah, I've got one now.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39The unlucky punter gets pulled for selling.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41I feel sorry for that gentleman, cos, erm, you know,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43he had a spare ticket.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Once more, Slim, as the buyer, is in the clear.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49This gentleman's got a spare ticket. I could buy one off of him.
0:16:49 > 0:16:53- Here you are, sir. Have you got a spare ticket?- Yeah.- Wonderful.
0:16:53 > 0:16:54Whereabouts is it?
0:16:54 > 0:16:57But again, the police are on him as he tries to make a deal.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01You're not going to check this gentleman out and all, are you?
0:17:01 > 0:17:02He's on holiday.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05This time, he knows he's in the right.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Where are all...? I'd like to find a tout to buy the tickets off him.
0:17:13 > 0:17:14- What, in Exeter?- Yeah.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17- Are you sure you're not a tout, sir?- Yeah.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19You seem to have a lot of spare tickets.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Oh, I'd keep your voice down in front of an officer, you know.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Could be bordering on corruption, here, you know?
0:17:28 > 0:17:30International money-laundering and all sorts.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Cheers.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Don't worry, it's not that serious, otherwise we'd be both carted off.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38Yeah.
0:17:39 > 0:17:40Lovely.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43Thank you. Cheers.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46Thanks for your civility, Officer. Appreciate it.
0:17:46 > 0:17:47Thank you.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Keep them peeled, as Shaw Taylor used to say, for these ticket touts.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53That was a close one, wasn't it?
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Of course we're not, I got you out of that. Take your 20 and fuck off.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Despite the problems, Slim - or Albert,
0:18:01 > 0:18:04as his customers know him - has picked up the 15 tickets.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08All right, princess? Got two great seats there, look at that.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Category-A tickets, the best in the house. All right?
0:18:12 > 0:18:15- You're Albert, are you?- Yeah. Thank you ever so much.- Hi, I'm Dave.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Hello, David. I wish my daughter treated me like this. All right?
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Well, there was just a misunderstanding.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23They thought I was a ticket tout, which...
0:18:23 > 0:18:26You know, clearly, they haven't got any evidence, have they?
0:18:26 > 0:18:29So, erm, we was all agreed it was a big misunderstanding,
0:18:29 > 0:18:32but they're coming down the road now. Oh, here he comes.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35They're coming down with security now!
0:18:37 > 0:18:39A right rigmarole, weren't it?
0:18:41 > 0:18:43You got your cap on?
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Get me out of this piss hole.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00I've got roasting chickens on today, two for a fiver.
0:19:00 > 0:19:04Legs like Tina Turner, breasts like Dolly Parton.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Britain has got a big counterfeit problem.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11There are estimates that the UK economy loses 13 million a year
0:19:11 > 0:19:13in the sale of fakes.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15That one there, smells like a Gucci.
0:19:15 > 0:19:16I've only had that in a week.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20My name's Eric, Eric Bert, and my wife...
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Mary Bert.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24We're both market traders.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Eric and I have always worked together from the day we met.
0:19:29 > 0:19:3335, 36 years, we have worked together every day.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38We make a good partnership because 95% of the time,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40Eric does as he's told.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44What happens the other 5%?
0:19:44 > 0:19:46I don't speak to him.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53Eric and Mary have one of the most popular stalls on Widnes Market,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56supplying perfumes to a loyal clientele.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59But they, too, are trading on the very edge of the law.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06A smell-alike is a perfume or an aftershave
0:20:06 > 0:20:11manufactured to have a similar fragrance to the brand.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17£2.95. If I can open this bag, I'll pack it in for you.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Produced in British factories,
0:20:19 > 0:20:23their tribute scents smell almost identical to well-known brands.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Yeah, my daughter actually...
0:20:25 > 0:20:28I can't think of the brand she wears,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30which she paid £70 for, but she comes here
0:20:30 > 0:20:33and she buys this stuff, what she says is for work, and it's as good.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37I don't understand the women's thing, but they say it's for work.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Yes, I'm probably modelling some now.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43I'm wearing...I think it's Silver something or other.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45Silver Mist, I think it's called.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49It's a profitable business but it has risks.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51If trading standards think they are overpromising,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54they can shut them down and take them to court.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57"If you like Poison, you might like this."
0:20:57 > 0:21:00We're not saying you WILL like it. You MIGHT like it.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04It would be illegal if we said it was a copy of a Calvin Klein
0:21:04 > 0:21:06or a copy of a Poison.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09It's not illegal because it's not a copy, it's a smell-alike.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13The worst that can happen is you make the stall smell nice.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15One of the reasons smell-alikes
0:21:15 > 0:21:19are so much cheaper is, they don't spend money on expensive advertising.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23"A magic love potion of sweet temptation..."
0:21:23 > 0:21:26I ought to say "that".
0:21:26 > 0:21:30"..that leaves a trail of embracing sensuality."
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Now, what that means, I've no idea.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Yeah, I mean, that's one I actually made up myself.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40"A rock'n'roll fragrance for a tough guy with a tender heart."
0:21:40 > 0:21:43HE LAUGHS
0:21:45 > 0:21:47That's enough to make you want to buy it!
0:21:47 > 0:21:50It's not labels alone that attract the customers.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Their scents can be 95% cheaper than the perfumes they're imitating.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58This one, if you go to Debenhams and John Lewis,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00is £106 for the real thing.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02- And how much is that?- They're a fiver.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05But not everyone loves their bargain prices.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08If the perfume companies could shut us down, legally,
0:22:08 > 0:22:10they would do it in a heartbeat.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17Graham represents some of the UK's biggest brands.
0:22:17 > 0:22:19Is there a moral grey area?
0:22:19 > 0:22:21No.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26HE LAUGHS
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Sorry, mate! I had to do that.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Graham Thomas Mogg. 31 years in the police
0:22:32 > 0:22:36and four-and-a-half years running my own investigations company.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38You actually think I'm a complex character,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41but I'm not, I'm black and white. There's good and there's bad.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Bad is evil. We catch bad guys and we protect the good guys.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46That's life. That's easy.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50But all this fluffy stuff in the middle, of people feeling
0:22:50 > 0:22:53warm and cosy and carrying a Louis Vuitton handbag, well,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56excuse my French, but bollocks, you know. It's like...
0:22:56 > 0:22:58It's black and white, bad and good.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Today, Graham and his colleague Mike are going
0:23:03 > 0:23:05undercover on a surveillance mission.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08- When does mist become fog and fog become mist?- Fantastic.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- That's one for an academic, that. - It is one for an academic, yes.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19'In the '80s and '90s, it was all CDs, DVDs.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23'21st-century, it's all high-value designer goods.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27'Clothing, the footwear, handbags, belts, accessories,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29'makeup, jewellery.'
0:23:29 > 0:23:35They've been hired by several fashion labels to trap people selling fakes.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40They're on their way to one of the most-renowned markets in England.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Monday to Saturday, Bristol fruit market is a legitimate market,
0:23:45 > 0:23:49selling fruit. Renowned nationally and internationally.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52On Sunday, it turns into a counterfeit market,
0:23:52 > 0:23:54which has got the same reputation.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58People in the past have had bus tours to Bristol fruit market
0:23:58 > 0:24:01on a Sunday just to buy the counterfeits.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Any sign of filming and the market would empty within minutes.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12So Mike is wearing a disguise and a hidden camera.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Mike is the type of person that blends into most places,
0:24:17 > 0:24:21which is what you need to be to do this type of covert work.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Mike will be doing the buying whilst Graham will be watching his back.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Markets can be a dangerous place for investigators.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38In the past, detectives have been chased out by stallholders.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42Some are now known to employ security to keep them out.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Mike sees a sea of suspiciously cheap trainers.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49Graham provides cover as he goes to make a buy.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Got any children's sizes?
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Have you got anything like a girl's pink or something?
0:24:54 > 0:24:56- Or something girly?- Over there.
0:24:56 > 0:25:00- That's not too bad. Are they £30 as well?- Yeah.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Thank you.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Thank you very much, sir.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Two stalls along, they notice a hidden room.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Once Graham is in position, Mike heads behind the curtain.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Hiya.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28The room is full of what appears to be big-name brand clothes.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32- You all right?- How much for the Superdry T-shirt?- They're £10 each.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35There you are. I'll have one of them, please, mate.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38It's 60% less than the real thing would cost.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42- How much are they, mate?- £10. - They're £10 as well.- Small, yeah?
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Marvellous.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46- Thank you.- Thank you.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49But outside, Graham thinks their cover might have been blown
0:25:49 > 0:25:52by two of the security guards.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54- Gentlemen, thank you.- Thank you.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Fearing hostility, the moment Mike is out, they make their escape.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08Once they are a safe distance, they check their purchases.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10If they can confirm the items are fake,
0:26:10 > 0:26:12they will hand the case to trading standards.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16Previous investigations have led to hundreds of arrests.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20- Do you feel anything for them?- No.
0:26:21 > 0:26:22No.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25They know what they're doing, they know what they're buying,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27they know what they're selling.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29They've chosen to do that as a career.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33So, you know, if they get caught, they know it's illegal,
0:26:33 > 0:26:35they know the consequences.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39It's one of the hazards of the job.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46ALARM BLEEPS
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Right.
0:26:53 > 0:26:54CAT MEOWS
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Tickets, passport, Lifesavers...
0:26:58 > 0:27:01- CAT MEOWS - Bye, cat, be a good girl.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Right, that's it. Bye!
0:27:04 > 0:27:05INDISTINCT COMMENT
0:27:05 > 0:27:08I shall. Love you. Bye!
0:27:12 > 0:27:15Mark runs the gauntlet of customs every month as he makes
0:27:15 > 0:27:18the round trip to Belgium to buy cigarettes.
0:27:23 > 0:27:28Jesus Christ! You're in a hurry, mate. Fuck's sake!
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Desperate to get to work to please the boss
0:27:30 > 0:27:32and they're prepared to kill themselves
0:27:32 > 0:27:34and probably me at the same time.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Ten years ago, Mark left behind his nine-to-five.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42Used to work in advertising. Very successful.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45I guess, in a good year, £100,000 a year.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Five-bedroom house, Victorian place, Aga in the kitchen...
0:27:49 > 0:27:51Had a Porsche.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55A Ferrari, which is a dreadful thing.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58You just think there's more to life than that.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04The black market has helped fund a new-found freedom.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07I'm much more content now because I can do things
0:28:07 > 0:28:09when I want to do things.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11I've been able to discover that...
0:28:13 > 0:28:18..time is the most precious thing all of us have got, as human beings.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21And yet most of us don't seem to understand that.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33Mark takes the ferry from Dover to Dunkirk.
0:28:33 > 0:28:38From there, it's a short drive to the low-cost cigarettes of Belgium.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40On the Richter scale of lawlessness,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44it registers about 0.1, which is not even an earthquake.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51I mean, you can't stereotype it.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56It's all walks of life that do it, from the richest to the poorest.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00I feel I'm taking some back from what the government has
0:29:00 > 0:29:02taken from us for decades.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07That's why I do it. It puts me back in control a bit.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11That's how I view it. That's how I rationalise the whole thing.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15Now, if people take a dim view of that, that's their business.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19But if you want to make a few bob, you could do what I do!
0:29:19 > 0:29:23That means getting off your backside and getting it done.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Like anything else in life.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33It's estimated that almost 20% of cigarettes in the UK
0:29:33 > 0:29:34are illegally imported.
0:29:37 > 0:29:42Obviously, it's a free world but, well, we know smoking kills.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45My dad was 51 when he died.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48It was a narrowing of the arteries.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52You know, had he been a non-smoker then he might not have died.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56Lee is a trading standards officer on the frontline in the battle
0:29:56 > 0:29:58against illicit tobacco.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02It's a very quickly evolving market
0:30:02 > 0:30:06and I think if you're not careful, you can get caught on the back foot.
0:30:07 > 0:30:12She focuses on newsagents selling cigarettes under the counter.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14This is London Road in St Leonards.
0:30:14 > 0:30:19This is one of our target roads, if you like.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22There are multiple shops in this road where we've had several
0:30:22 > 0:30:25prosecutions of the same premises.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29The volume of shops shows the volume of the market, really.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33If they weren't making money, they'd be closing down, wouldn't they?
0:30:33 > 0:30:37Lee conducts sting operations to capture the shopkeepers
0:30:37 > 0:30:39and the gangs that supply them.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44Most smokers will say 20 Marlborough or 20 B&H or whatever, but
0:30:44 > 0:30:50customers for the illegal tobacco tend to ask for just cigarettes,
0:30:50 > 0:30:54though that phrase tends to open up the market as being
0:30:54 > 0:30:58a customer for illegal tobacco.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01What I like to try and do is take a £5 note,
0:31:01 > 0:31:06so that if they say they've only got the full-priced tobacco,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10I've then got the opportunity to say I don't have any more money.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16They've heard rumours the shop is selling contraband cigarettes.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20I don't enjoy test purchasing.
0:31:22 > 0:31:28There's always a risk associated with going to a shop alone.
0:31:31 > 0:31:36I may know that the person behind the counter has a record.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40- Hiya.- Hi.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42Have you got any cheap cigarettes?
0:31:45 > 0:31:47CASH REGISTER BEEPS
0:31:47 > 0:31:51Thank you. Bye.
0:31:57 > 0:31:59Well! Success!
0:31:59 > 0:32:02It was £5, which is quite pricey,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05because usually round here, we are paying £3.50.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09I've never seen him before. I think these are probably duty evaded.
0:32:09 > 0:32:13So they're not legal to sell in the UK.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15I'm a bit more worried about the energy drink, 35p,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18because that's probably going to kill me!
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Lee now has enough evidence to raid the shop.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24If they find more illegal cigarettes, they could prosecute.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33It's the third week of the World Cup. Slim is at home in Birmingham,
0:32:33 > 0:32:37and the morning headlines bring reports of a clampdown on touting.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Do I look like a Guardian reader?
0:32:42 > 0:32:47"Swarms of touts have been spotted around stadiums." Blimey!
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Should have been in fucking Exeter the other day -
0:32:49 > 0:32:50there was only two of us
0:32:50 > 0:32:53and we got driven mad! We was hardly swarming, was we?
0:32:54 > 0:32:56It was them that was swarming around us!
0:32:56 > 0:33:01Swarms of busybodies, all in their blue uniforms.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04Here you are, they've admitted it themselves.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08"Although reselling Rugby World Cup tickets is not in itself
0:33:08 > 0:33:12"a criminal offence, the Metropolitan Police said six men
0:33:12 > 0:33:15"were arrested at Twickenham under the Proceeds of Crime Act."
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Well, how can you nick someone under the Proceeds of Crime Act
0:33:18 > 0:33:20if a crime's not being committed?
0:33:20 > 0:33:23I mean, what a lot of bollocks.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26In over 30 years of touting professionally,
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Slim has had hundreds of run-ins with the law.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32I mean, they come out with any excuse to stop you.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Suspicion of burglary, shoplifting...
0:33:37 > 0:33:40..possession of drugs, possession of firearms...
0:33:40 > 0:33:44Oh, here we are - handling stolen goods. I remember that one.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47In Norwich. And street trading!
0:33:47 > 0:33:49If I kept all these stop-and-searches,
0:33:49 > 0:33:50the thing would be up here.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53"Forged tickets for the tour of Buckingham Palace."
0:33:53 > 0:33:55I got a not-guilty on that one.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58It doesn't have any impact on my thinking because, you know,
0:33:58 > 0:34:02my thinking has just evolved over the last 35 years.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06Just doing this, it's nothing more than disruption tactics for us.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09You know, they're making our lives difficult.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18# If you knew
0:34:18 > 0:34:22# How much I love you... #
0:34:22 > 0:34:25Working as a tout can take its toll on family.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30The one constant in Slim's life has been his 84-year-old mum Doris.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32As far as the police are concerned,
0:34:32 > 0:34:34I only moved out about three months ago.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39Well, it's always been my bail address, so...
0:34:40 > 0:34:44- All right, Mum? How are you? - I'm all right, thanks.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47- KISS - All right?- All right?- Yeah.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55I think PG Tips has got a warrant out for this tea, hasn't it?
0:34:55 > 0:34:57- Yeah!- There ain't none in it!
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Oh...
0:34:59 > 0:35:04He was about 17 and somebody said, a very good friend said,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07he would sell a fish to an Eskimo.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10And they believed it, they needed it.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12You put it right up to six.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15- No, I want that!- Oh, right.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20- I'll leave you to it, then. You're in charge of the toast.- Mm.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23I help Gordon Ramsay out when he's busy.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26You don't need to tell me how to use a toaster!
0:35:26 > 0:35:28He was quite...
0:35:28 > 0:35:32quite bright at school. He's always been good at numbers.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Yes, he's always been good at numbers. Always.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40Slim hasn't always had to work on the streets.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43In the '90s, he had an office-based ticket brokers
0:35:43 > 0:35:45and lived with his young family.
0:35:45 > 0:35:48I had a hugely successful phone business.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52The trimmings of that lifestyle was very good.
0:35:52 > 0:35:57Nice homes, nice holidays, nice motor vehicles, nice clothes. Um...
0:35:57 > 0:36:00Really, anything you wanted.
0:36:00 > 0:36:05At his peak, he had a business address in the heart of the West End.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09He's always done well in business. I mean, Harley Street was very good.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13But then he closed that down and you know the story of that, so...
0:36:13 > 0:36:19In 2006, Slim sold hundreds of tickets for events at the new
0:36:19 > 0:36:21Wembley Stadium.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24But the opening of the stadium was delayed and he was left with
0:36:24 > 0:36:28a cripplingly large number of tickets that nobody wanted.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32At that moment in time, you just couldn't cope with it.
0:36:32 > 0:36:34And in the end, I literally lent over the desk
0:36:34 > 0:36:37and just pulled the wires out the wall and that was it.
0:36:37 > 0:36:39And everything went quiet.
0:36:43 > 0:36:46All I know is that he was going through a bit of a bad...
0:36:46 > 0:36:48He had a nervous breakdown.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56You know, basically, I didn't really do a lot of work for 24 months.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00But took a lot longer to recover.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Slim lost his house and all of his savings.
0:37:04 > 0:37:08It's probably only been the last two or three years that...
0:37:09 > 0:37:13..things are getting back to somewhere near normality.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16He could have just said, "I'm giving up and that's it,"
0:37:16 > 0:37:22and gone and lived on the dole and sort of just lived, you know,
0:37:22 > 0:37:27given up. But he didn't. He's carried on and carried on.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29All right, Mum. Thanks for having us, all right?
0:37:29 > 0:37:31Yeah, thank you for coming.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Eventually you say to yourself, "Hang on a minute,
0:37:33 > 0:37:36"I've never had a job and this is all I know, really."
0:37:36 > 0:37:38- See you later, Mum. Ta-ta.- Bye-bye.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40You've got to pick yourself up,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43dust yourself down and put your nut back into the wind.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45See you, Mum.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47Bye!
0:37:51 > 0:37:56I'm proud, very, very proud of what he's done. Um...
0:37:56 > 0:38:00All his life I've been proud of him and I still am. Still am.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08The sleepy Belgian town of Adinkerke is easy to miss.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11But thanks to the weak euro, lower taxes
0:38:11 > 0:38:16and its proximity to the UK, it has become a magnet to British shoppers.
0:38:16 > 0:38:21It has one grocer, one sex shop and 24 tobacconists.
0:38:30 > 0:38:31Hello.
0:38:31 > 0:38:34My name is Mrs Susan Batt and this is my husband,
0:38:34 > 0:38:39Mr Batt, and this is my shop, Big 7, in Adinkerke in Belgium.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46Here we are today, here in Tobacco AD, in Adinkerke in Belgium.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49The first village in Belgium.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57We are here now already 15 years and we are selling tobacco to
0:38:57 > 0:39:00the English people because it's a lot cheaper.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02Er...
0:39:07 > 0:39:13If you're a smoker, it's... It's positively nirvana-ish.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Only a matter of metres from the border with France,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19the town has a long history of smuggling.
0:39:19 > 0:39:23In the Second World War it was famed for the trade in bootleg butter.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Now, to discourage illegal smugglers,
0:39:26 > 0:39:30shops limit how much tobacco they will sell.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33But the determined know to shop around.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02You can't stop people to go to different shops.
0:40:02 > 0:40:07We can't see where they go. They are free. They can do what they want.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13It's not a risk for us. We say, "You can take that."
0:40:13 > 0:40:15If they go to other shops...
0:40:16 > 0:40:20Yeah, that's their own risk, I think, yeah.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Mark, however, always buys from his favourite shop.
0:40:24 > 0:40:28- Hey, Mike, how are you doing? Long time no see.- Everything OK?
0:40:28 > 0:40:32- Yeah, cool. How's the family?- Good, good. How's the dog?- Dog's good.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34The dog says hello.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36- Nice and busy here.- Yeah.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46The cigarettes he buys here retail at less than 50% of what
0:40:46 > 0:40:48they cost in the UK.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52He can make £4 profit for every patch of tobacco
0:40:52 > 0:40:55he sells back home.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58Oh, nice new bags, Mike. They're really good.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00Right, what do I owe you?
0:41:00 > 0:41:04Er...£620, please.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06£620.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09There are no official limits on how much people can bring back,
0:41:09 > 0:41:13but if it's more than 800 cigarettes, or 1kg of tobacco,
0:41:13 > 0:41:16customs are more likely to stop and investigate you.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18Four, five...
0:41:18 > 0:41:21- OK, see you next time See you later. - Bye.- Bye.
0:41:22 > 0:41:26The greedier you get, the higher the risk of being caught.
0:41:26 > 0:41:29And then, whatever that punishment is, you have to take it.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Whatever business you're in, keeping afloat can be hard.
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Eric hasn't always run a stall.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53He and Mary used to have a family business importing
0:41:53 > 0:41:55top-of-the-range kitchen appliances.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02One of these days, I'm going to sort this shed out.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07That's going back a few years. We were turning over in those days...
0:42:07 > 0:42:111.5 million to 2 million.
0:42:11 > 0:42:16We went to Barbados and, to be honest with you,
0:42:16 > 0:42:19it was too hot for me.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22I was a right miserable sod over there.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28Yeah, it was OK. The trouble is, you never think it's going to end.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30And then of course it does.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33The business folded in 1993.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36They were left with huge debts.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39Eric's one luxury was following Liverpool Football Club.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43Whenever we appeared near the stadium
0:42:43 > 0:42:47and we got the flags out, we got mobbed.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52On a pre-season tour to Guangzhou, China's manufacturing heartland,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55Eric stumbled across an opportunity,
0:42:55 > 0:42:58a chance to fill a gap in the market.
0:42:58 > 0:43:00'I had a queue of lads at the door.'
0:43:00 > 0:43:02There we have...
0:43:02 > 0:43:04'To them, I did a special offer of £10.'
0:43:04 > 0:43:06A German national shirt.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09The one problem, the shirts were fakes.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15There is big money in phoney football shirts.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17Last season, the Premier League
0:43:17 > 0:43:21confiscated over three-million-worth of fake football goods.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26As the business got bigger, I began to feel uncomfortable.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30Not because of the products, not because of the price,
0:43:30 > 0:43:34but because I was worried that Eric may be doing something that
0:43:34 > 0:43:36he could get into trouble for.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Somewhere I think we have...
0:43:38 > 0:43:40an Ireland one.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45Went and tried an open market.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49Along came a lady from trading standards,
0:43:49 > 0:43:52purchased a child's kit...
0:43:53 > 0:43:56I think it was the last one of that size that I had.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59Did a deal on it at ten quid.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05No, I wasn't angry at Eric at all. He...
0:44:05 > 0:44:07He was having a really good day.
0:44:07 > 0:44:11He was selling shirts to children, old ladies, people with...
0:44:11 > 0:44:15such a limited disposable income.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18The lady in question took it away and...
0:44:20 > 0:44:22..returned...
0:44:22 > 0:44:25confiscated everything that we had.
0:44:27 > 0:44:30The worst part of that whole experience for me
0:44:30 > 0:44:34was seeing Eric standing in court like a common criminal.
0:44:35 > 0:44:38It has been...difficult.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42I didn't expect to end up with a criminal record.
0:44:42 > 0:44:47Eric was convicted. He escaped prison but was made to wear an ankle tag.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49He was 69.
0:44:49 > 0:44:53He'd done absolutely nothing wrong, not even a parking ticket.
0:44:53 > 0:44:58We never misled anybody where the shirts came from.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03I regret it, because I've got... a criminal record.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05Um...
0:45:05 > 0:45:10Do I regret it for selling to people?
0:45:14 > 0:45:16I'd have to say no.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20Personally, I don't think it is morally wrong.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24England's Rugby World Cup dream is over.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28They lost 33-13 to Australia at Twickenham.
0:45:28 > 0:45:30- TV:- 'England's World Cup over,
0:45:30 > 0:45:34'the inquest into what on earth went wrong will now begin.'
0:45:34 > 0:45:38England are out of the World Cup. The nation is grieving.
0:45:38 > 0:45:41But it's a different story elsewhere.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43THEY ALL SHOUT
0:45:45 > 0:45:48THEY CHANT
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Japan are the surprise package
0:45:51 > 0:45:54and are surfing a wave of popular support.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58They're playing the USA in Gloucester.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02Slim and Teatime have travelled down to try and cash in.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05Take the rest of them, try and flog them.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10Anyone need tickets? What?
0:46:11 > 0:46:13You ain't got a coin!
0:46:15 > 0:46:19I'll buy any spare tickets for today or other days.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Slim has picked up a ticket for 50 quid.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24Almost immediately, he has an American punter.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26We take dollars, it's not a problem. Yeah.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29And an opportunity to make a little extra.
0:46:29 > 0:46:3280 and 40 sterling.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34It's very easy.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37I mean, a lot of people you can bamboozle them with figures because
0:46:37 > 0:46:41they went to nice schools where they got taught mathematics, you know?
0:46:41 > 0:46:43- Do you understand?- No.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45- You gave me 120, right?- Yeah.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47Tell you what, call it 140
0:46:47 > 0:46:48and it stays with the sterling.
0:46:48 > 0:46:50All right?
0:46:50 > 0:46:53Well, maths is not arithmetic. It's two different things.
0:46:53 > 0:46:54You put a pound sign in front of something
0:46:54 > 0:46:58and we have no trouble working it out.
0:46:59 > 0:47:02Sterling? That's about £90. But we've got to change 'em up,
0:47:02 > 0:47:04so we lose a tenner.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08- Plus the one-off transaction fee. - So it's £80?- Yeah, £80, yeah!
0:47:08 > 0:47:11- Yeah, but we've got to change then. - £80.- Mm.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13But we've got to change then.
0:47:13 > 0:47:17That'll work at about £70 by the time I change it up. That's 120.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20Yeah, you've got to give me another 10.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Yeah, course, yeah! We've got to change 'em up, haven't we?
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I'm not planning on going to America any time soon!
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Here you go. No problem. Cheers.
0:47:30 > 0:47:31Thank you.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35With a tidy £36 profit, Slim is on a roll.
0:47:35 > 0:47:36Are you at the stadium now, sir?
0:47:36 > 0:47:39Keep that number. If you need anything in future,
0:47:39 > 0:47:41give us a ring for other matches, all right, sir?
0:47:41 > 0:47:45Are you at the stadium now? Have a wonderful time, OK?
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Sales have been good and even the police have not given them
0:47:47 > 0:47:49too much bother.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55You all right, son? No problem, mate.
0:47:55 > 0:47:58Slim and Teatime have sold in excess of 40 tickets.
0:47:58 > 0:47:59We've made money
0:47:59 > 0:48:02because, at the end of the day, we've supplied our customers
0:48:02 > 0:48:05and we've bought the tickets cheaper than what we had them sold for.
0:48:05 > 0:48:08So in that respect it's been a good day. You know, we done something.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10CROWD ROARS
0:48:10 > 0:48:12The World Cup is finally delivering.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Dodging the taxman and the law is nothing new.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25I know that Sussex is a very, very famous area for smugglers,
0:48:25 > 0:48:30way back hundreds of years, but it still doesn't make it right.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34Lee polices the illegal tobacco market in East Sussex.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38She is one of thousands of officers investigating shops using ever-more
0:48:38 > 0:48:41sophisticated methods to sell under the counter.
0:48:43 > 0:48:49When we began inspecting the shops, we were finding larger quantities
0:48:49 > 0:48:54hidden in fake walls, fake plug sockets, fridge freezers...
0:48:55 > 0:48:59Very quickly, the number of shops increased.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03The shop's not terribly far so we won't have a long walk!
0:49:03 > 0:49:06Lee thinks she may have found another one of these shops.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10They've been watching it for weeks.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15Now they've come to investigate if their suspicions are correct.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20As they arrive, the man behind the till disappears.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24All they need to do now is find the cigarettes.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32KNOCKING ON WALL
0:49:34 > 0:49:36Hollow wall here.
0:49:36 > 0:49:37KNOCKING
0:49:43 > 0:49:45It's all quite new. This...
0:49:45 > 0:49:48You know, all these fixtures are quite new.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51I'm a bit suspicious.
0:49:51 > 0:49:55It's not just the peculiar fixtures catching Lee's eye.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58This type of display fridge is what you'd perhaps normally
0:49:58 > 0:49:59see in the supermarket.
0:49:59 > 0:50:03You know, over 50% of this selling space is made up of soft drinks.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07But when you actually look at the soft drinks, he's got, um...
0:50:07 > 0:50:10some of them aren't very... There's not a lot of depth.
0:50:10 > 0:50:14You see here, there's only one facing.
0:50:14 > 0:50:19So...from the outset, it looks like it's full. If you look, um...
0:50:19 > 0:50:21Sometimes, behind the tissue...
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Yeah, there's only one facing.
0:50:28 > 0:50:32So although the shop looks full, and it looks well stocked,
0:50:32 > 0:50:34there is no depth of stock.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37There isn't any depth behind the facings.
0:50:39 > 0:50:44It makes me think that the main business of the shop isn't
0:50:44 > 0:50:48toilet tissue or kitchen roll, you know, it's something else.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51And, obviously, given the volume of customers we've seen, um,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55I'd suggest that perhaps the customers are coming in
0:50:55 > 0:50:58for illegal tobacco rather than for the food.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04Something has grabbed the attention of one of Lee's colleagues.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10He's found an electric key fob behind the counter.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17BEEPING
0:51:17 > 0:51:19WHIRRING
0:51:21 > 0:51:23Unbelievable.
0:51:27 > 0:51:29Yeah, it's a slick thing.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32If that was my garage door, I'd be over the moon!
0:51:32 > 0:51:34Six Richmond...
0:51:35 > 0:51:38The cigarettes and tobacco are confiscated
0:51:38 > 0:51:42and will form the basis of a case against the shopkeeper.
0:51:43 > 0:51:48I could be doing illegal tobacco every day, Monday to Friday,
0:51:48 > 0:51:51Saturday, Sunday, evenings, weekends.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53I could be doing it full time.
0:51:53 > 0:51:56We really could be doing it full time.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00The person in the pub,
0:52:00 > 0:52:04where you ask whether he's just doing it to sort of make
0:52:04 > 0:52:07a bit extra on the side, that kind of thing,
0:52:07 > 0:52:11I personally think that's as bad as somebody selling it in a shop.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14If they were to be caught, I wouldn't have any sympathy for them
0:52:14 > 0:52:17because I think they know what they're doing,
0:52:17 > 0:52:19and I think they know what they're doing is wrong.
0:52:20 > 0:52:24There you go. Yeah, just me.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26Mr Lonesome!
0:52:26 > 0:52:30Mark is on the final leg of his trip, just a ferry-ride away from home.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Thanks a lot, fella. Cheers, bye.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42These expeditions have become a monthly ritual.
0:52:45 > 0:52:50I think a lot of people zigzag their way through life.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55What I try to do is zigzag, try and do things a bit different.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00I feel quite liberated by it.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03I'm not constrained by all this control nonsense
0:53:03 > 0:53:07that seems to get ever and ever and ever tighter in the UK.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11I feel I can do something without being controlled.
0:53:16 > 0:53:21In 2013, there were over 400 prosecutions for smuggling tobacco.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25I want to get through there without being stopped, basically.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27That's my major consideration.
0:53:27 > 0:53:30Customs make random stops.
0:53:30 > 0:53:33Don't look nervous, obviously.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38They also employ sniffer dogs and X-ray machines.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40Don't do anything suspicious.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42Don't play loud music.
0:53:44 > 0:53:49Take off your sunglasses, because it looks like you're hiding something.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52Don't go in a car with tinted windows.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57Don't have a cigarette in your mouth.
0:54:01 > 0:54:02Don't go fast.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04They'll pick you up on that, as well.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14Don't make direct eye contact with them.
0:54:33 > 0:54:38Safely through customs, and another tax-free consignment makes it ashore.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43But Mark is only one of thousands who bring in cigarettes every year
0:54:43 > 0:54:45under the radar.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49I think the black market touches everybody.
0:54:49 > 0:54:51I'm not saying every day,
0:54:51 > 0:54:55but some time in your life you will get sucked into it.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07Twickenham hosts the Rugby World Cup final this afternoon.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Australia take on New Zealand,
0:55:09 > 0:55:12who go into the match as marginal favourites.
0:55:13 > 0:55:17I don't care about the fucking music! I'm asking you a question!
0:55:18 > 0:55:20Is this your phone number?
0:55:20 > 0:55:23For Slim, today could be the biggest day of the year.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27Some tickets are going for over a grand.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29But it's not started well.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31It's not scanning properly, no?
0:55:31 > 0:55:34One of his customers has been turned away from the ground.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38No, I will forward your number on and the ticket will be replaced, OK?
0:55:38 > 0:55:41The turnstiles have only been open ten minutes,
0:55:41 > 0:55:44so I don't know why he wants to go in now.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48Even worse, he's having to work the game by himself.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50Teatime has been arrested.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53Well, he got chored last week.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56The bail conditions are that he can't go within
0:55:56 > 0:55:59a sports stadium until his bail is up.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04Slim has some lucrative orders. His customers are waiting for him.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08But so are the police.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12It's going to be extremely difficult for me if you're filming me,
0:56:12 > 0:56:16because what will happen is, it will only draw attention to me,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19so obviously the law are going to think,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21"What's the focus on him for?"
0:56:21 > 0:56:23Put it this way, in the nicest possible way,
0:56:23 > 0:56:25I'm glad I'm here, I wish you weren't.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28I don't want to see you for the rest of the day.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32There's always been people selling on the edge of the law.
0:56:32 > 0:56:37And it's not likely they'll be out of work any time soon.
0:56:37 > 0:56:41Money in this country, for a lot of people, is running out.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45I put the proposition in front of them. And that's it.
0:56:45 > 0:56:48It's up to them whether they want it or not.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51If it's a good deal, they'll take it.
0:56:53 > 0:56:57I think it's made Eric think twice about what he does,
0:56:57 > 0:57:01which is probably why, now, we're doing everything legal.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05And as his wife and his best friend,
0:57:05 > 0:57:11if he ever tried to sidestep the law now, it wouldn't happen, full stop.
0:57:12 > 0:57:16For Slim, the Rugby World Cup is finally over.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19In the last six weeks, he's made 40% of his yearly profit
0:57:19 > 0:57:22and stayed out of trouble.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24The plan for the rest of the year is
0:57:24 > 0:57:27Cats at the London Palladium, I think.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30As long as there's a ticket, someone's going to buy
0:57:30 > 0:57:31and sell it, aren't they?
0:57:33 > 0:57:35My kids haven't gone into it, no.
0:57:35 > 0:57:38I wouldn't want them to be in my business.
0:57:40 > 0:57:46I'd like my sons to be punters. I don't want them selling to punters,
0:57:46 > 0:57:49you know? I want them to have a good enough job, where they're saying,
0:57:49 > 0:57:53"Right, give us two of them," and enjoying their day out.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57Is that the sad walk into the darkness,
0:57:57 > 0:58:01the one where everyone feels sorry for me?
0:58:01 > 0:58:05# Because you're mine I walk the line
0:58:14 > 0:58:18# I find it very, very easy to be true
0:58:18 > 0:58:22# I find myself alone when each day is through
0:58:22 > 0:58:26# Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
0:58:26 > 0:58:30# Because your mine I walk the line. #