In the early 1990s, Paul Manning joined the UK's Royal Military Police — shortly after, he was recruited into the Special Investigations Branch, a Covert Operations unit.

One of his first major targets was the infamous 'Essex Boys', a gang who have since been immortalized in eight films. The drug dealing trio of Tony Tucker, Patrick Tate and Craig Rolfe had a reputation for extreme violence, and robbing other drug dealers at gunpoint — they are alleged to have sold the ecstasy tablet that killed teenager Leah Betts, whose death was front page news in British newspapers in November 1995.

"I was asked to infiltrate the gang not long after that. I got in with them through the gym — they were heavy steroid users and spent a lot of time pumping iron. It quickly became obvious authorities were running wires on us without legal authority. When I briefed members of the Regional Crime Squad about my activities, they knew things I hadn't told them yet. I'd only been infiltrating a couple of weeks when they got killed," Paul told Sputnik.

On December 5 1995, the three ringleaders were shotgunned to death in a Range Rover, down a quiet country lane. Two local petty criminals, Mick Steele and Jack Whomes, were convicted of the crime, based exclusively on the questionable testimony of 'supergrass' Darren Nicholls. The pair protest their innocence to this day, and have spent 22 years in prison.

Paul wormed his way into the Essex Boys gang by feeding their narcissism — when he first met Tucker, he spoke of his adoration for boxer Nigel Benn. He knew in advance Tucker had been Benn's bodyguard — all he had to do was "feed the narcissism" of the target, and doors began opening for him.

"Names are big stuff in the underworld. You'll find members of a mob family have bigged up their familial connections from an early age — 12, 13, 14, when they're at school. There's a romanticism that comes with the Mafia. They'll have big egos about, and play on, their names — I'm a Musitano, a Papalia, a Lappino, so on. Show a reverence for certain names, and connected people lap it up — they'll show off about knowing so and so, and will often offer to introduce you," Paul told Sputnik.

Such was the efficacy of Paul's flattery offensives, he infiltrated both the mafia and the Hells Angels within mere weeks — "I s*** you not," he laughs. These daring infiltrations were conducted in Canada, where he moved in 2005. In Toronto, he entered a coffee shop — The Gathering Spot — that was a well-known hangout for local crime families.

"I went in with a newspaper, and was circling advertised apartments as I made my order. I knew there was living space available above the establishment. My target, a Hells Angel, served me my coffee, then came back and asked if I was looking for an apartment. My new landlord, and criminal business partner, was a local City Councillor," Paul told Sputnik.

While infiltration was easy — keeping his cover while 'inside' was difficult. Intense questioning was frequent, as were invasive searches and tests of various kinds. Mock executions were a common occurrence. On one occasion, he met with members of the Papalia family, and they said they needed to talk with him — in the basement. He thought that would be the end of him — although he reasoned were was an undercover team shadowing him outside, so at least the murderous 'wisguys' lying in wait for him would get "done" for something.

He duly walked to the basement, legs trembling, waiting to get shot in the back of the head. He calmed himself with the consideration that he wouldn't hear the shot or feel it enter his brain — "it would be quick!".

At the bottom of the stairs, he was instructed by an enforcer to turn on the lights — fully expecting the switch-on to reveal a team of armed killers. He complied, only to be greeted by a newly renovated apartment.

"They wanted me to move in, and laughed about how I thought they were going to whack me. Stuff like that happened all the time — they put me in the back of a car, told me they knew I was a cop and were going to kill me. The mob up here doesn't mess around, and operate with impunity. They will happily kill members of American families if they cross the border and things aren't amicable, and vice versa," Paul told Sputnik.

The undercover infiltrator had a lucky escape. He was once told about a Canadian who was selling heroin in the US, with the permission of the infamous Stefano Magaddino crime family. For boasting about how he was going to take over Magaddino's operation, the unlucky Canuck was snatched by a mob family and tortured for four days — during that time 30 pounds of 'meat' was cut from his body, his teeth and penis were torn off and his eyes were burnt out with a blowtorch.

He was then wrapped in barbed wire, dumped in a field outside Rochester, New York, and set on fire. The coroner concluded the individual was alive when he died, as the body had inhaled smoke prior to death.

Asked how the mob gets away it north of the US border, Paul's answer is simple — corruption is absolutely endemic.

"Organized crime has infiltrated police services throughout Ontario. Gangsters run officers, officers sell intelligence back to gangsters. I know scores of officers in the province who are 'dirty', and there's no one to report it to. As long as these guys don't get arrested, they're going to continue doing it. There was one guy I gave up a few years ago, who's only just going to trial now. He was suspended for five years on full pay before that," Paul told Sputnik.

Despite his various brushes with execution at the hands of the Mafia, Paul believes his closest brush with death is related to his internal corruption busting activities. At the time, he was a thoroughly feared and protected character in the underworld — his connections were known, and he could leave his car unlocked. Nobody — "not even the crackheads" — would dare steal from him.

One night, Paul was stood on The Gathering Spot's patio smoking, when four local drug dealers, who he'd purchased from previously, approached him. They said "how's it going cop?" and jumped him.

"I was fighting for 10 minutes, even though they were armed with bricks and knives. I called for my cover team and they never came. I made it back to my apartment, and rang in — they promised to send a cruiser as a distraction, allowing me to escape. Two minutes later they said the cruiser was there — but it wasn't. The dealers were still there though, so I ended up fighting them for another 15 minutes before we'd all had enough. It was a mess," Paul told Sputnik.

The operation ended when the Ontario Provincial Police suffered an intelligence breach which not only revealed Manning's true identity, but his home address, and he was transferred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Combined Forces Special enforcement Unit.

As a result, his mind was a "f***ing mess" — fellow officers were warning him to return to the UK, as there were allegedly numerous 'contracts' out on him. Everywhere he went, he was armed with a gun. Wanting answers, he tracked down Hells Angel Lou Malone.

"I found dirt on Malone, which I used to illicit intelligence under duress. He gave up everything — it seemed I'd been sold out by a Police Inspector. That inspector suddenly retired, and I discovered there were over 400 outstanding offenses against that same Inspector over a 20 year period, for fraud, selling out informants, etcetera — all covered up by Senior Management," Paul told Sputnik.

Paul threatened to go public, so Senior Management charged him with low-level Police Act offenses. The Inspector claimed he'd given all the money he stole to charity, and was mentally unwell. He pled out to one charge, and no charges emerged for the conspiracy to murder Paul.

Lou Malone continued giving Paul information — right up until November 2013, when he was shot in the face with a shotgun.

As of March 2018, Paul has been 'off sick' for four years due to post-traumatic stress disorder, contracted following the attempt on his life — and suspended for three years for "speaking to the media" on full pay.

He has made numerous attempts to alert Canadian authorities to the widespread corruption in national police ranks, but decisive action has been unforthcoming. There's quite simply no one to report it to.

"I found out two officers in Hamilton were trafficking women, reported it to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police — they said they don't investigate police officers, and refused to get involved. The only method available to me, which I've tried — it always fails — is to approach magistrates courts and lay charges. I can still do that as a serving police officer. When it gets to the crown, they pull the charge. I get contacted all the time by victims of police corruption and malfeasance, who have no one to report the crimes to. I advise them to litigate. There's no protection for whistleblowers in Canada," Paul told Sputnik.

Paul has repeatedly been offered sizeable compensation payouts by police, which come replete with non-disclosure agreements — "hush money," to his mind — which he has declined. The election of Doug Ford, brother of controversial Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, as Progressive Conservative party leader in Ontario March 10 2018 offers the undercover infiltrator much hope. He has contacted the new leader, in an attempt to effect legislative change. Still, whether his entreaties are heeded or not, he's not giving up his fight.