Fraud Squad (UK)

Return of the documentary following the work of detectives from City of London Police. The first of three programmes reveals how criminals make millions conning victims into buying worthless land they claim is ripe for property development. Footage seized from mobile phones shows how one gang ruthlessly targeted victims and squandered profits on lavish holidays and luxury homes. Incredibly, as the ringleaders faced court, with their passports confiscated and bank accounts frozen, they set up another multimillion-pound fraud. Narrated by Richard Armitage

In a recent three-month period the number of counterfeit cheques rose by 400 per cent, and detectives suspect one particular gang is behind this huge increase. In a series of dawn raids, police carry out arrests at 20 addresses in Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Barnsley and Wakefield, and recover hundreds of stolen chequebooks and credit cards, as well as printing equipment and false identity documents. However, with no sign of the ringleader, a nationwide manhunt begins. Narrated by Richard Armitage

The documentary series exploring the work of detectives from the City of London Police unit concludes with an insight into an operation to shut down a large-scale bank-cheque fraud empire. Run by a Zimbabwean gang, the scheme involved counterfeiting cheques from thousands of people, government institutions, small businesses, and even a hospice in Scotland. The criminals used an army of `mules' to cash their fake cheques for a small commission. Funds were then being transferred to Zimbabwe in the form of luxury cars, by a ringleader who viewed his crimes as payback for his native country's colonial grievances against the UK.