Empire of Crime: Organised Crime in the British Empire - Couverture souple

Sometimes the best intentions can have the worst results.

In 1908, British reformers banned the export of Indian opium to China. As a result, the world price of opium soared to a new high and a century of lucrative drug smuggling began. Criminal producers in other countries exploited the prohibition and gang wars broke out across South-East Asia. It was the greatest gift the British Empire gave to organised crime.

Empire of Crime introduces the reader to a whole new collection of heroes and villains, including pioneering narcotics investigator Russell Pasha, commandant of the Cairo police force; master criminal Du Yue-Sheng, drug lord of the Shanghai underworld; and tough North-West Frontier police chief Lieutenant-Colonel Roos-Keppel, nemesis of Afghan criminal gangs.

Tim Newark weaves hidden reports, secret government files and personal letters together with first-hand accounts to tell the epic story of a global fight against organised crime.

"Snappy as Spillane, this book is packed with girls, guns and guts. The violent milieu explored by Newark is not South Side Chicago but the British Empire" (The Independent)

"Probing areas which historians have usually tactfully avoided, Newark has lifted the curtain on a hidden era of the British Empire" (The Herald)

"Tim Newark's vivid account of the exploits of law enforcement agents during the British Empire is captivating. He brings to life these talented international policemen - the drug-busting cops of the day - superbly. Agatha Christie meets The Godfather!" (Andrew Roberts, Author The Storm Of War)

"As fascinating and exciting as any crime novel, a truly gripping exposé" (Ian Knight, Author Of Zulu Rising)

"History as it's meant to be: clear, unpretentious, exciting, authoritative and enthusiastic . . . unquestionably one of my books of the year" (City AM)