Liverpool Narcos

The series Heroin is a documentary that delves into the illicit drug market that erupted in Liverpool throughout the 1980s. It follows how local dealers built a sprawling operation that quickly grew beyond street‑level sales, evolving into a massive enterprise worth billions of pounds. The programme notes that what began as street dealing rapidly ballooned into a venture measured in billions of pounds, underscoring the scale of the trade. By charting this rapid expansion, the film shows how the trade not only reshaped Liverpool’s criminal landscape but also left an indelible mark on the whole of Britain, altering social, economic and law‑enforcement dynamics for years to come.

When ecstasy first entered Liverpool, it ignited a sweeping cultural upheaval that altered the city’s social landscape. The drug’s debut set off a wave of change, reshaping how people gathered and interacted. At the same time, a newly emerged group of opportunistic offenders instantly recognised the massive financial lure, understanding that the trade could generate millions of pounds. Their swift realisation of the profit potential drove a rapid expansion of illicit activity, intertwining the cultural shift with a burgeoning criminal enterprise. This twin phenomenon—both the radical cultural shift and the emergence of profit‑focused crime—defined the early impact of ecstasy in Liverpool.

In the 1990s, the cocaine market surged dramatically, ushering in the most lethal phase of Liverpool’s drug conflict. This period marked the start of the city’s bloodiest drug‑war chapter.