If you tell people you’ve spent your career in tax and customs, the responses are remarkably predictable. Tradespeople assure you their books are immaculate. Anti-establishment types explain why taxation is state-sponsored theft. Almost everyone wants help with their tax code. What nobody ever says is: “That sounds exciting.” Netflix’s Legends may finally change that.
The six-part series is written by Neil Forsyth (whose 2023 series The Gold about the investigation into the Brink’s-Mat robbery also features a key contribution from a customs officer) tells the story of HM Customs and Excise’s investigation division in the 1990s as it battled with the ever-increasing import of heroin into the UK. It focuses on the creation and work of a new unit to undertake long-term infiltration of the Turkish and Merseyside crime groups that controlled the heroin trade.
At the time, customs officers, not the police, had lead responsibility for investigating large-scale drug smuggling. This meant that HM Customs and Excise had to develop what became one of the most capable covert investigations operations in government, even if few outside the department knew it existed.
I come to Legends with more than a passing professional interest. I led HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, the modern-day successor to the investigation division portrayed in the series. That perhaps makes me more forgiving of the occasional dramatic shortcut – but also better placed to recognise just how much the series gets right. Inevitably, the wide-range and complex nature of this type of investigation has been simplified for television and those trained in surveillance will spot some unrealistic tradecraft. But these are minor quibbles. Much more importantly, the series captures the psychology of long-term undercover work: the isolation, the pressure of living a fabricated identity and the extraordinary trust placed in relatively junior officers.
Steve Coogan is perfectly cast. Better known for comedy, he has become increasingly accomplished in dramatic roles and brings warmth, humour and authority to the role of Don Clarke, head of operations. Don selects, leads and mentors the new team of undercover investigators. The new recruits were chosen not from the police (deliberately as customs mistrusted the levels of police corruption at the time) but from civil servants working in HMCE – previously checking suitcases at the airport, working as a secretary or investigating imports of pornographic material. The selection process certainly wouldn’t meet current civil service standards but it is extremely amusing. One potential recruit asks whether they will get expenses for lunch money, to which Coogan replies: “What are you? Twelve?”
"Civil servants will enjoy the Whitehall politics. Douglas Hodge’s director of investigations spends almost as much time navigating ministerial expectations and departmental rivalries as he does directing operations"
Key to my enjoyment of this series is that it’s a true account. It’s essentially the story of one of the new recruits who operated under the identity (or “legend”) of Guy Stanton. The ‘real’ Guy told his story in the book The Betrayer - co-written with long-term drugs war and customs investigation chronicler Peter Walsh. For those wanting the definitive account of the wider battle between HMCE and the drug traffickers, I highly recommend Walsh’s Drug War – The Secret History.
Civil servants will also enjoy the Whitehall politics. Douglas Hodge’s director of investigations spends almost as much time navigating ministerial expectations, departmental rivalries and competing agency priorities as he does directing operations. Anyone who has worked across government will recognise that operational success depends as much on influencing stakeholders as it does on catching criminals.
Viewers looking for relentless action may find the early episodes slower than they are used to but that measured pace pays dividends as the operation gathers momentum. I found it a gripping drama with pace, humour and a satisfyingly complex plot. I loved it.
Beyond an engrossing crime drama, Legends shines a light on a remarkable group of civil servants whose work was largely invisible at the time. For those of us who followed them, it is a reminder that some of the most extraordinary stories in public service have remained hidden in plain sight.
Simon York was director of HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service and is now a strategic advisor on financial crime and tax compliance