Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Behind every drug bust, there’s a story… and HM Customs were the original Hunters.
This marathon dives deep into some of the most extraordinary real-life smuggling operations ever uncovered — from hidden narcotics in cargo containers to major international trafficking rings worth millions.
Undercover officers reveal how they tracked the smugglers, set up covert surveillance, and built airtight sting operations — and we see the exact moments the criminals got taken down.
With rare access, unseen footage, and detailed reconstructions from the case files of the world’s oldest law enforcement agency — HM Customs & Excise — this compilation shows how drugs were smuggled, how the smugglers nearly got away with it… and how they were finally caught.
This is the battle between the traffickers who will risk anything to get drugs across borders — and the customs teams trained to stop them.
Subscribe to True Lives: bit.ly/3dBMxvl
This film was first broadcast: 1997
Check us out on Facebook: facebook.com/OurStoriesChannel
Watch More Documentaries
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True Lives brings you fascinating stories of social interest from around the world. You can discover award winning documentaries, films and groundbreaking reports that capture the complexities of our daily life, with stories that will entertain, inspire and inform.
Content distributed by ITV Studios.
Behind every drug bust, there’s a story… and HM Customs were the original Hunters.
This marathon dives deep into some of the most extraordinary real-life smuggling operations ever uncovered — from hidden narcotics in cargo containers to major international trafficking rings worth millions.
Undercover officers reveal how they tracked the smugglers, set up covert surveillance, and built airtight sting operations — and we see the exact moments the criminals got taken down.
With rare access, unseen footage, and detailed reconstructions from the case files of the world’s oldest law enforcement agency — HM Customs & Excise — this compilation shows how drugs were smuggled, how the smugglers nearly got away with it… and how they were finally caught.
This is the battle between the traffickers who will risk anything to get drugs across borders — and the customs teams trained to stop them.
Subscribe to True Lives: bit.ly/3dBMxvl
This film was first broadcast: 1997
Check us out on Facebook: facebook.com/OurStoriesChannel
Watch More Documentaries
True Lives - bit.ly/3A8xRMJ
Up Close - youtube.com/@UpCloseITVS
Our History - bit.ly/3rUpdhL
Our World - bit.ly/3ftuckM
Our Stories - bit.ly/3ynfFyk
Taste - bit.ly/3OZoDcV
Blueprint - bit.ly/3ZK5UdD
True Lives brings you fascinating stories of social interest from around the world. You can discover award winning documentaries, films and groundbreaking reports that capture the complexities of our daily life, with stories that will entertain, inspire and inform.
Content distributed by ITV Studios.
