Dope Kings of London by John Lucas

Dope Kings of London by John Lucas

It was the Roaring Twenties and they were the original narcos - criminals who thrived when drugs like cocaine and heroin were made illegal during the height of the jazz age. To the press and the public, they were known as Cocaine Kings or Opium Kings, or the all-encompassing Dope Kings. Some were luckier than others.

Dope Kings of London explores the lives of these villains, as well as the coppers who tried to shut down a global trade in a world without instant communications and monitoring technology. One of the most notorious drug barons, Brilliant Chang, has become famous once again after featuring as an important character in the crime saga Peaky Blinders. This book lays out the true, mysterious story of Chang and his gang, including May Roberts, otherwise known as the White Queen of Limehouse, and her supplier, the Montreal-based international man of mystery Max Faber, as well as his associate, the anarchist Laurent Deleglise. The life of Chang's contemporary Eddie Manning, a trigger-happy gangster known as The Worst Man in London, is also explored.

Drawing on previously secret police and intelligence reports, this book contains stark revelations about Richard Cadbury Butler, a member of the illustrious Cadbury's chocolate family, who got mixed up in the drug trade, as well as the former American journalist Johannes Steel, who was once celebrated for standing up to Hitler but who was later unmasked as a Soviet spy. Cadbury Butler's case was successfully covered up at the time, while Steel's was the first drugs case to be investigated by MI5 and MI6. The case also involved serious allegations about the Duke of Manchester, revealed here for the first time.

Featuring never-before-published photographs and information, this book is perfect for fans of Peaky Blinders or anyone interested in the secret history of the early twentieth century.

John Lucas is an East of England-based investigative journalist. He was the chief crime correspondent for the region's major daily, _The Echo_, and his work now appears in national publications on a regular basis.