Over two key decades in the 1980s and 1990s, Dublin went through a seismic transformation, morphing from a recession-blighted backwater to one of the wealthiest cities in Europe. As the city’s fortunes changed, so did those of its criminals who spotted new opportunities in sourcing and selling a succession of illegal substances: heroin, ecstasy and cocaine. As these drugs exploded in popularity, they came to re-define life and crime in Ireland, making millions for some, while fuelling a rise in addiction, violence and organised crime which persist to this day.

Fusing drama and documentary, Dublin Narcos tells the story of how drugs changed the fabric of a city forever, along with the fortunes of the opportunistic criminals who sold them; from the crime family who saw the potential in bringing heroin to Dublin’s impoverished estates, to the canny gang who began manufacturing ecstasy on Irish shores, to the cocaine heavyweights whose imports helped fuel Dublin’s party town boom in the 90’s. These are the ‘narcos’ who fought bitter battles to control territory and stay at the top of a ruthless game.

This ground-breaking series hears first hand from an extraordinary cast of characters swept up in the burgeoning new business of drugs: from the kingpins, to the cops who struggled to find new ways to bring down the new breed of criminal; from local mums who fought battles with dealers to cocaine couriers and club owners; and from ravers who rode the wave of drug fuelled euphoria to users whose forays into dealing lead to their own downfall. Crucially we also hear from the fearless journalists whose attempts at exposing the drugs barons eventually lead to the death of one of their bravest, Veronica Guerin.