Product Description

Organised crime is now the country's third biggest industry. The number of gangland murders, shootings and kidnappings, along with the levels of drug trafficking, people smuggling and money laundering, have all experienced phenomenal growth. Multi million pound drug deals and vicious turf wars have spread out from the inner cities and now affect even the most rural communities. The day-to-day impact of organised crime on our lives has never been greater.



In GANGS, award-winning author Tony Thompson takes us on a gripping journey into the underworld. From Triad human traffickers in Dover and ecstasy factor owners in Liverpool, to Albanian vice barons in London and gun-toting teenage crack dealers in Birmingham, GANGS reveals the inside story of contemporary organised crime.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73296 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Observer
'Fascinating ... Thompson has a keen eye for the whimsical side of orchestrated illegality'

Review
'Fascinating ... Thompson has a keen eye for the whimsical side of orchestrated illegality' (Observer )

'From snakeheads to yardies, kidnap to cocaine, Tony Thompson provides a vivid account of our country's underbelly. Amid the explosion in 'crim-porn' publishing over the last decade Tony Thompson has been a lone voice adding some much needed perspective. In the best tradition of the crime beat reporter, Thompson goes down the mean streets of the most insalubrious parts of Britain so we don't have to.' (Word magazine )

'Detailed and thoroughly riveting ... always grimly honest and provides an intensely readable and vivid first-hand account of criminals' lives and the impact of their activities on society' (Herald )

Manchester Evening News
'Powerful reading'

Customer Reviews

Terrific
This book is absolutely phenomenal. It reads like the Sunday papers, but you won't put these papers down until you've finished. In Gangs, Thompson takes the reader through a fascinating journey of Britain's underworld. There are chapters on armed robbery, human trafficking, kidnapping, drugs syndicates, money laundering, gun running and more. The most incredible thing is that this is investigative journalism at it's best. It's not some toff sitting behind his desk and speculating. Thompson actually goes in there and meets these people, he goes into prisons and travels to Jamaica, he chats to men who are proud and men who are frightened for their lives, but mostly, he just listens... as is evident by the stories he relays.

If you've ever watched (and enjoyed) Trainspotting, Snatch or Layer Cake, I recommend you read this book. It's as close to the real thing you're going to get.

Top Dog!
What a top class book, brilliant in depth writing from Thompson with all facts and details presented brilliantly in sections of crime by crime. It was also refreshing to read a journalist who goes through the actions in many situations himself in order to gain perspective something i admire a great deal. This presentation of fact and not stark judgements means that if you are interested in any of the related subjects this is the book for you.

A true true crime Book
I read a lot of true crime books and this is probably one of the best...
An excellent book written by the same another that wrote gangland Britain...
It's a very detailed and probably one of the most accurate true crime books around
because the author Tony Thompson is also a journalist who has had the opportunity to interview a range of people who tell their own story about the crimes they've been involved in or have heard about . This book also separates different crimes into different chapters there are 13 altogether which are: Armed robbery, money laundering, Cocaine, Crack, Heroin, Cannabis, Synthetic drugs, People smuggling, Bikers, Kidnap, Guns, Fraud and Hi-tech crimes. It describes how different crimes has changed over the years because the techniques used to catch criminals have advanced.... It's now a fact that organized crime has rose to be third biggest profitable organization that is running in Britain at the present time.