Meet Mr and Mrs Smith

As undercover police officers, Mr and Mrs Smith have been many different things to a huge range of people. To some they have appeared to be trusted business associates. Others saw them as close friends. They had different jobs and different names, entirely different lives depending on who they were speaking to. Mr and Mrs Smith aren’t even their real names.

So, what can we tell you about this elusive duo?

Firstly, they are both Ex-Detective Constables who worked undercover extensively. Mrs Smith has over 10 years’ experience in the field; she worked within Counter Terrorism and Serious Crime, dealing with cases such as contract killings and high value frauds. Mr Smith worked against Serious Organised Crime Groups including Terrorist organisations; he worked as a deep Undercover Officer for 15 years in various guises such as an HGV driver, multi kilo drug dealer, and corrupt Police Officer. 

And secondly, they really are a couple. 

So, what kind of cases have they worked on? What is it really like to work as an Undercover Police Officer? And how do you balance a personal life with such a demanding job? 

Recently, we caught up with Mr and Mrs Smith to find out more: 

CrimeCon UK (CCUK): Welcome to you both Mr and Mrs Smith! We were wondering if you could give us an idea of some of the cases that you’ve worked on?  

Mrs Smith: Of course, would you like to hear about the time I used a couple of lobsters to uncover several cannabis factories?

CCUK: Absolutely we would!

Mrs S: Well, the word came through from my Senior Investigating Officer (whom subordinate officers all call the "Boss") that there were some cannabis factories in the area. The police force didn’t yet know the precise location of the factories, but I had built up "relationships" with a variety of criminal subjects within the community ("subjects" are an Under Cover Officers’ criminal contacts) including subjects within the Vietnamese community. The Boss therefore tasked me to use these subjects to find out as much as I could about the cannabis factories within the force area. 

CCUK: How interesting, but how did you get from the initial brief to buying two lobsters? 

Mrs S: It isn’t an obvious leap! But being an Under Cover Police Officer (or "UC") is all about using the resources available to you and thinking creatively to achieve the desired outcome. I knew my subjects knew where the cannabis factories were, I just needed to gain the information without causing suspicion. The subjects had previously told me about their love of seafood and that they were skilled at cooking lobster, so I visited them at their business premises with the lobsters and mentioned that I would like to learn how to cook it for myself. They agreed to show me and invited me round straight away for lunch at their new home. 

CCUK: Wow! So they invited you over, just like that? 

Mrs S: Just like that. One of the key skills of undercover work is being able to build up real relationships with people; there needs to be a rapport between you and the subjects so that they trust you. Once you have that, then you can start to use that relationship to find out useful information.

CCUK: That’s fascinating. So how did it play out with the two lobsters?

Mrs S: The subjects showed me how to cook the lobsters as promised, and during my time with them I was introduced to the Vietnamese Gardener ("Gardeners" are usually illegal immigrants trafficked into the UK to care for and maintain the cannabis crop within the cannabis factories). During my time with the subjects, I was able to find out where some of the cannabis factories were. I surreptitiously collected all the relevant information, such as the names of those involved and the amount of cannabis being grown, then I left. At a later date the subjects even pointed the factory locations out to me when I went along with them on "drive past" so that they could check on their crops! I reported all the information back to my Boss, and the subject’s homes, business premises and factories were raided.   

CCUK: That’s amazing, and did the subjects ever suspect you?  

Mrs S: No, they never did. That’s another key skill of a UC; never break your cover, even once the job is done. These relationships take a long time to build up, so you want to keep them active for as long as possible in case they are useful again. Let alone wanting to remain undercover from a personal security point of view. I saw one of the subjects a few days after the cannabis factory had been raided and they were telling me about what had happened with the police. They had no idea that I was the source, and they still don’t to this day. 

CCUK: That so impressive, it must take a huge amount of skill to conduct an operation like that, let alone to maintain your cover throughout. Thank you for sharing such a fascinating story Mrs Smith.

Mr Smith, you’ve worked on some very complex cases; how do you manage to keep your cover story straight in your mind?  

Mr Smith: There’s a very simple answer to that: when you lie, keep it as close to the truth as possible. That way, if you’re ever in a situation when you have to think quickly, the answer isn’t difficult to find. 

CCUK: That sounds like a brilliant tactic, can you give us an example of when you’ve used this method?  

Mr S: Of course. I found out that one of my targets (another term for a UC’s criminal contacts) was planning on killing his estranged wife. To stop this from happening, I made sure that I was involved in the plan. This was useful for three reasons. Firstly, I knew I had control of the contract and could therefore influence how it "played out". Secondly, since I had accepted the contract, I could be confident that the target wouldn’t look for anyone else to assist him. And finally, it allowed me to collect enough evidence to convict him. 

CCUK: So, what sort of preparation did you have to do before starting the job?   

Mr S: Before every job you meet with your Boss to work out the parameters. All sanctioned actions on the part of the UC are signed off in advance; that way, the UC knows exactly how far they are lawfully allowed to go within each step of the operation.

CCUK: That makes sense, so what were the parameters of this job?

Mr S: The Boss and I already knew the target’s broad plan; he had stated that on the day that he was going to kill his wife, he and I would meet up and swap cars. He would then drive my car to kill his wife whilst I drove his car around so that it was picked up on CCTV cameras and provide him with an alibi. As far as the Boss and I knew, the target’s intention was firstly for he and I to meet and just discuss the finer details of the plan. So, for this step of the operation, the official line from my boss was simply to meet with the target and find out more information.   

CCUK: And did the operation go smoothly?  

Mr S: Well, there was one bump in the road. When I arrived at the meeting with the target, he wanted to kill his wife there and then. Now, as I said, a UC is only sanctioned to behave in certain ways during an operation depending on what has been signed off by their Boss. So what the target was proposing was way out of the remit of the agreed operation, which meant I was stuck; I couldn't make promises "on the hoof" because that would go against my Boss’ briefing, but backing out without a reasonable excuse would raise suspicion with the target.  

CCUK: That is such a difficult situation to be in. How did you manage to get out of it?  

Mr S: I used the rule we discussed earlier: when you lie, keep it as close to the truth as possible. The target wanted to go and kill his wife there and then. I needed to stall for time. My answer? “I can’t do it tonight; I've got to collect my kid from karate club."

CCUK: That’s such a clever answer! But so simple. Did it work?  

Mr S: Like a dream. It bought me time to go back to my Boss and work out how best to play the situation, but the relationship I had built up with the target remained strong. It was the best of both worlds. And when I spoke to the target again, I was able to reel off the lie I had told him with ease because it was so close to the truth.

CCUK: That’s incredible, what a brilliant insight into the world of undercover police work, thank you so much for your time Mr and Mrs Smith!

So, there you have it, real undercover police officers sharing what it is really like to work undercover. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. To find out more about Mr and Mrs Smith’s fascinating careers, follow them on Twitter @UndercoverMrMrs (https://twitter.com/UndercoverMrMrs).