London is in the grip of an ever-increasing spate of knife crime and murder. Most of these crimes relate to drug warfare on large council estates, which have become no-go areas for the police.

The Metropolitan Police know an Albanian, Arian Mehmed, supplies the gangs with their cocaine. After a two-year enquiry costing millions of pounds, the police are no closer to arresting Mehmed or stopping the flow of drugs onto the streets.

A new Commissioner of Police and a new Home Secretary are determined to solve the issue. They remember a time in the 80’s when detectives, using unorthodox and possibly unlawful methods, returned incredible results.

They approach a retired Detective Chief Inspector, with a reputation for pragmatism, to assemble a group of like-minded ex-detectives to resolve the problem of Mehmed and the drugs on the estates.

What follows is a homage to the way things were done when the police were feared by criminals and respected by the public.

Is it possible to use methods frowned upon today to solve a modern crime?