BBC Sounds will release a new six part series of the podcast Gangster on 7 August. Hosted by Livvy Haydock, the series focuses on Brian Brendan Wright, a racehorse owner who operated a cocaine trafficking network during the 1990s. The production involves interviews with former customs officers, cartel insiders, and associates of Wright.
The series details the logistics of a transatlantic operation that moved cocaine from Colombian laboratories through Venezuela to British coastal marinas. The investigation started following the seizure of 600 kilos of cocaine from a fishing boat called the Sea Mist in Cork Harbour. Investigators recovered a UK mobile number and a GPS trail from the vessel, which led to a pursuit across three continents.
Barry Clarke, a former HM Customs and Excise officer involved in Operation Extend, provides testimony regarding the intelligence gathering process. This included the tracing of payphones and the decryption of codes used by the network. The series also documents the personal impact of the drug trade through an interview with Clare Campbell regarding the death of her brother, journalist Bill Frost.
The narrative covers the intersection of Wright's criminal activity and his public profile within the horse racing industry. The series reports on police raids of a flat in Chelsea Harbour following allegations of doping and race fixing. A separate covert operation at a lock up in Essex resulted in the discovery of cocaine with an estimated value of 61 million pounds. The series is produced for BBC Radio 5 Live.