The Gold | Season 2 | Episode 3 - PBS

The police close in on the criminals laundering the proceeds of the Brink’s-Mat gold.

The police close in on the criminals laundering the proceeds of the Brink’s-Mat gold.

As pressure builds on the criminals laundering the proceeds of the stolen Brink’s-Mat gold, the police surveillance picks up pace as they pursue the suspects around the world.

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Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking and Raymond James with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.

As pressure builds on the criminals laundering the proceeds of the stolen Brink’s-Mat gold, the police surveillance picks up pace as they pursue the suspects around the world.

Problems playing video?  Report a Problem | Closed Captioning Feedback

Before you submit an error, please consult our Video Help page.

The Gold is available to stream on pbs.org and the PBS app.

Learn some amazing truths about real gold, from its indestructibility to its being edible.

The Gold: A brisk true-crime drama about London’s 1983 Brink’s-Mat gold heist. Season 2 Oct. 18.

Find Charlie Miller and get enough on John Palmer to bring him down.

♪ ♪ You're gonna clean my money, then give it to him.

I'll pay it back double in a couple of weeks.

He wants to start with a million dollars a week.

There's no questions we can't answer.

BOYCE: You know who I am, you know who I want, and you know it's not you.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (dog barking in distance) ♪ ♪ (inhales) (exhales) ♪ ♪ (tires squealing) (softly): If you get caught tapping phones on the Isle of Man, give this to the lieutenant governor.

If you get caught tapping phones in Spain, give this to the embassy.

In both cases, you'd have to resign.

(door closes softly) ♪ ♪ (grunts) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Excuse me, mate?

(clears throat) I'm, uh, looking for the train station?

Uh, two streets over-- can't miss it.

Looks like something from the bloody Soviet Union.

(exhales) ♪ ♪ (inhales) (car horn beeps, church bell ringing) (door closes) Next week, double.

People like you bring money to this island.

The tourists, the drinking, now the drugs.

That bloody rubbish is all over the island.

We confiscate it, slap a few heads.

I won't have it in my resorts, I can promise you that.

You do some good here, Señor Palmer.

But you have enemies, too, so I need double.

I pay the police, I pay the bank, and I pay you.

(drawer opens and closes) The police ignore you because I tell them to.

The bank do not tell Madrid about your accounts because I tell them not to.

And I'm telling you, next week is double.

And it's gone where you wanted it to go.

That's a bigger bag than the last time.

If it was easy, they wouldn't need us.

To hide that much bad money in the system, you need more good money in the system.

And you are running out of things to sell.

(sighs) (door opens) (sighs) Who's he?

Bowman-- he'll stay out here and keep an eye on you.

'Cause right now he might as well be wearing a (muted) uniform.

I have to piece it together like a bloody jigsaw.

You're going to need someone who knows what's in there and what's not.

People don't know how clever John is.

They don't know how dangerous he is, either.

No, no, no, I'm fine, don't waste your energy on me.

(scoffs) (sighs) Well... It was lovely to see you.

I've seen you in Tenerife, with your envelopes.

I am not one of your (muted) envelopes.

This is more complicated than that.

(door opens) This is more complicated than that.

♪ ♪ (sighs) (door closes) Where are they?

We wait weeks, then you turn up like this.

♪ ♪ (sighs) (gulls calling) NICKI: I accept there is a way to look at things where I'd maybe owe you an apology.

(scoffs) I should take myself off the case.

If he sees me again, I'll... The next time he sees you, he'll be in cuffs.

(sighs) If you're that worried, you could always shave off your 'tache.

I don't think the '90s is gonna be very kind to 'taches, Tone.

You need to get your head round that.

(breathes deeply) (phone ringing) (phone ringing) (phone continues) Yeah?

ERRICO: There were a couple of complications, but that's the game we're in.

(both grunting, water splashes) And now you take the profits back to our friend on the island.

Yeah, then we do it again, and you get even richer.

ERRICO: You know, buddy, whatever you wanted to do when you're rich... Let's go.

♪ ♪ (exhales) (phone buttons beeping) (ringing) (phone ringing) (phone continues) Baxter Investments.

♪ ♪ (softly): That pub near your office.

Was nearly hospitalized by their scampi.

(hangs up) (groans) ♪ ♪ (groans) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (gears shift) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (people talking in distance) (inhales) I could go in.

(phone ringing in background) I need all this land here, behind my place.

Perhaps I can hide the sale, but building permits would be very difficult.

♪ ♪ No overtime, no drinking at lunchtime, no Freemasonry.

Her Majesty's Customs doesn't look kindly on overtime, I only drink on Saturdays, and I don't believe the Masons are keen on women.

Thank you for accepting the secondment.

fraud, which is actually less exciting than it sounds.

Have you reviewed Palmer's accounts?

I'd need time to work through them properly, but I can tell you they aren't the accounts.

A rapidly expanding business that fronts a lot of money for construction before recovering it with sales with not a penny of debt.

Which means there are other accounts.

Hm, they're all our contact has access to.

Then they'll have to look a little harder.

You buy a timeshare, one week a year, you come here, and live like a king.

And today, you lot are in luck, because we've just released our new timeshares, which we're building right now, up here.

(exhales) Best views of the island.

And when you speak to this lot, you'll be surprised how cheap paradise comes.

(phones ringing, people talking in background) (inhales sharply) (exhales) (exhales) (door closes) I need to talk to you about the accounts.

Would be, if you told me what was happening.

You need to give me the whole picture.

I've never given you the whole picture.

If I'm getting nicked, I'll get nicked in bloody England, not here.

Not in England and certainly not here.

So you make do with what you got, and don't be asking me questions like that again.

Right, yes, um... Yes, I'm, I'm excited to see them.

I should go to the bathroom more often.

(Campbell chuckles) I didn't, but then, I don't come here much.

(bottle opens) I'll show you these tonight.

I could put some through other areas of the business.

The bars and the restaurants-- maybe then... Maybe then we say there are other bars, and other restaurants.

I, I would need the accounts, the proper ones.

I mean, Shirley ain't exactly a grafter.

♪ ♪ If we slow down, they get worried.

Our friends from Florida, your friends from England.

Don't come here through the (muted) airport.

How can a man like you be this insecure?

These islands, that ocean, they hold secrets better than you realize.

(folder drops) Two bodies have been found off Fort Lauderdale.

No, they were drug dealers, last seen with a man called Scott Errico, who has links to organized crime.

He flew into Tortola on a known alias yesterday.

And if your police can't find him, then I'll bring in D.E.A.

We'll find him-- it's a small island.

Small islands can hide more than you'd think.

I'll take this to the police commissioner.

This is nothing for you to worry about, Kadene.

(plane engines humming) (pilot speaking over P.A.)

(pilot continues) Are you getting enough rest?

Well... (breathes deeply) I think it's a case of, um... ...just putting one foot in front of the other for now, isn't it?

I don't... What is this one foot... I'm... Look, I'm under a lot of pressure, love, okay?

(scoffs) I have a child inside me, John.

You're only here to see if I am here.

Look... I say, "I need more," and you say, "(muted) me."

I ain't got a big vocabulary, okay?

And now that life will be with your child, which means that life will be with you.

So, next time you come here, you come with a plan.

You come with more than just, "(muted) me," okay?

(plane engines humming) (inhales deeply) (exhales) (snorting) (exhales, sniffs) (sniffs) (exhales) (sniffs) I'm over here!

(growling, girls laughing) (all laughing) Big trouble!

(girls talking indistinctly) How are you, girls?

Because if you know him, you need to give him up or he's going to give us up.

(hangs up) ♪ ♪ (television playing softly) Um, I want to put a bit of security around this place.

Maybe get a bloke to watch the drive.

(television continues) What's going on, John?

Look, um, Tenerife is getting a little hotter, a little rougher, with the people involved.

But that's, that's good for us, because it means what I'm doing now, it can't last forever.

♪ ♪ You won't be putting up no fences around me, John.

'Cause the only time I don't feel safe is when you're here.

(snorts) You know, if this is how you come back, and this is what you bring back with you, then maybe you shouldn't be coming back here at all.

CAMPBELL: The Rainbow Bar in Road Town.

♪ ♪ (breathes deeply) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (door closes) (radios running) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (crickets chirping) (door closes) ♪ ♪ LUNEZ: Secure all exits-- nobody leaves.

♪ ♪ (engine revs) ♪ ♪ (slurps) (lock turns) Where's he off to, then?

(drill whirring, hammers pounding) I'm afraid this is a private marina.

We have some day boats over there, that would perhaps be more appropriate.

It's being repaired, it's already sold... Who to?

He's a QC, so not a man to be trifled with.

Well, you'd better tell me the third problem, because I haven't heard a real one yet.

You think this bloke from Cirencester has the money and I don't.

And I'll give you ten grand on top, and you can tell them I want it ready in a week, and I got a name for it, too.

You know, considering where I'm from, and who I'm from, to be standing here in the sun, and buying a boat like that, I reckon my luck's looking all right.

(drill whirring) LUNDY: I think Miller's buying a boat.

If he suspects we're on him, it's a clever way to leave the country, or so he thinks.

But it could play right into our hands, sir.

Unless you want me to try and catch him on a pedalo.

An arrest needs to be watertight or we'll risk the conviction.

Well, have a look at my conviction rate, sir.

I'll speak to Gibraltar, line up naval support.

And it's hard to count miles out there, what with all the waves... Ten miles, Lundy.

(hangs up) (sirens blaring in distance) (knock at door) JERREN: Mr.

(exhales) ♪ ♪ JOHN (calling): Hello?

♪ ♪ Don't be coming in my house, son.

The vol-au-vents are conspicuous by their absence.

I can't discuss the vol-au-vents again, Douglas.

You wouldn't have to discuss the vol-au-vents if there was a coherent policy in place.

We don't have a vol-au-vent policy.

Well, you should, because this place is like the last days of bloody Rome.

(phone ringing out) (phone rings) Harper.

BOYCE: Answering questions you can't.

Which means he shouldn't know that you're following him.

Yeah, I think I remember that from Hendon, sir.

(hangs up) IVAN: Everything is okay?

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ JOHN: What you doing in here, Shirl?

You're good at not doing time that's meant for you.

(exhales) (chuckles) (sighs) Okay, John.

(sighs) (door clangs) (panting) How you doing, all right?

(panting) ♪ ♪ (whimpering) (shoes skidding) (door handle rattles, Shirley gasps) (lock turns) (birds chirping, insects buzzing) (Shirley panting) (door handle rattling) (pounding on door) (gasps) Who have you spoken to?

(yelps) This is my life that you're offering up!

(Shirley gasping) Who's coming for me?

It's that stuff you're taking, it's making you paranoid!

HARRY: This place is like a bloody maze!

They all look the same, don't they-- where's my key?

That Spanish beer's stronger than you'd think.

(grunts) These two... (whimpers) These two are trying it on.

Don't worry, lads, there's plenty more fish in the sea!

I got her out, but she won't testify.

(sighs) HARRY: And now Palmer will be more suspicious than ever.

But she reckons what she saw in there was a lot more than creative accounting, sir.

Bring her back-- I'll get her conviction quashed, thank her for her service.

Oh, well, Sarah, you and I were a little more than that.

(laughs) (chuckles): Well, it was a long time ago, Dougie.

Well, time does not wither childhood sweethearts.

Well, I think that's slightly overstating what we were.

Well, you never get past the first rush of love.

(chuckles) (people talking in background) Why are you here?

Well, um, you weren't at the reunion, uh... I'm in town on business.

You know, I had, had a little bit of time to play with, so... I've seen the watch, Dougie, for Christ's sake.

And I heard you got caught taking coke at a bus station.

I mean, you were always a little... Not unhinged, but you know what I mean.

(chuckling) The love of my life dumped me on the day of our graduation.

Come to London, get a little place in Parsons Green.

We had a whole plan, Sarah, a whole life!

And then you left me for some mystery man and knocked me for bloody six!

I took (muted) jobs for (muted) practices, and I hit the vino, and the next thing you know, I'm on my knees in the toilet of a Berni Inn in (muted) handcuffs!

♪ ♪ And then he left me about a week later.

(scoffs) Why would you tell me that?

Because 20 years ago, we went to the same university, and, on occasion, I allowed you to sleep with me.

And those things mean far more to you than they should.

And whatever it is you're looking for, Douglas, you won't find the answer with me.

And you certainly won't find it in there.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (phone ringing) (phone continues) (sniffs) Baxter Investments!

They actually have some proper banking laws.

Now, who said anything about America, hm?

♪ ♪ (people talking in background, children calling in distance) I know what you say about drugs.

But on the island, they're becoming big business.

They can supply coca very pure, very cheap.

What you have been taking, the drugs that we confiscate, it is full of rubbish.

This will give you what you need... (softly): Not here.

(sighs) It's only been the last few months.

No, I just... (sighs) I needed a few more hours in the day, you know?

♪ ♪ (exhales) ♪ ♪ (object moving) (metal jingling) ♪ ♪ (furniture scraping) ♪ ♪ (birds chirping) CAMPBELL: Oh, uh... These are heliconias.

They grow all over the island, but I, I'd never noticed.

We call them the bird of paradise flower, even after people like you came and told us we were wrong.

♪ ♪ (breath trembles) About my home.

(chuckling): It's strange, seeing you nervous.

My father proposed to my mother through his solicitor.

(laughs) I'm not leaving the island.

Whatever happens to me will happen to me here.

♪ ♪ I believe, traditionally, you are supposed to give some sort of response.

♪ ♪ ITV are planning a documentary on Palmer in Tenerife, "The Mirror" have heard you're operating in Spain, and "The Times" have reason to believe you're on the Isle of Man.

If any of that becomes public, everyone runs for the hills.

We're giving them nothing, but they'll get it one way or another.

How close are you to nicking these two?

Then it's between you and the press.

And if they get there first, it's over.

The corruption allegations against Lundy.

(breathing heavily) Oh, it's strong stuff, that, son.

♪ ♪ What's that been cut with, then, eh?

(door closes) I told you to give him up.

Well, that would have been a mistake for both of us.

Instead, you looked cooperative to the D.E.A.

We said that right at the beginning.

Clean any money you want, but no drugs.

All you need to know about my money is that it got you all the way to governor.

No one lives here in peace if I do not want them to, especially a foreigner.

Oh, yeah, um... (clears throat) Kadene and I are getting married.

With all the extradition protection that affords.

You think it's the Americans you have to worry about.

I could sign legislation to make everything you do illegal again tomorrow.

Then Tortola would be bankrupt within a week.

Whatever it is you're doing, I can stop it.

There's, um... There's good money, which is slow, boring, and the only ones who get rich from it are the ones who already have it.

Now, you didn't have any good money, so you let in dirty money, which is fast, and it's exciting.

And any person, any country, any island can get rich from dirty money.

But you, you sacrifice yourself to get it.

'Cause once dirty money's in, it doesn't leave.

(grunts, sighs) (moans) So what's going on here, then?

You know, son... (laughs) ...my missus, she warned me about you.

I knew we'd get to this when you started talking about cowboys.

I knew not to take that stuff you gave me.

You were right about one thing, though.

(grunts) (falls) I've been calling all day.

And tell her I have a team of D.E.A.

Our police have work to do and not enough resources to do it.

There's something going on on this island.

(footsteps departing) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ When you are bitten by a snake, you do not let it go.

JOHN: He'll leave the island tonight.

(grunts) We'll get back to work tomorrow.

(car door closes) Viktor will take you.

Plenty of English blokes on Tenerife who are handy enough.

We are partners now with your business.

Baxter's at Heathrow Airport meeting an unidentified male.

(radio squawks) There are systems to what Logan and I do, and those systems do not involve going to a bank in London, withdrawing £500,000 in cash, and bringing it to Heathrow bloody Airport.

I'm going to Spain to see our friend and you're coming with me.

(scoffs): Why the hell would I do that?

And when people are out of their depth, they make bad choices.

(bag zips) I want you where I can see you.

You think this is where my bad choices start?

Well, my friend, that ship has very much (muted) sailed.

Look, the Feds have two bodies on me.

But if you get me pulled, then they'll have three bodies on me.

♪ ♪ DOUGLAS: I need to refresh myself.

And if you don't want to attract attention, then you probably wouldn't want to risk the consequences of that.

(door closes) ♪ ♪ (lighter clicks) (phone ringing) (phone continues) Yeah.

The American's in London and he's a bloody psychopath!

Look, we're at Heathrow and he's making me bring him to you.

He's threatening to do me in, for Christ's sake!

(gasps) (blows out) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (toilet flushing) (water running) (running) Baxter's running.

Miller's running, sir, and it won't be on the boat.

(glass shattering) The one that's (muted) running!

(people yelling in background) (officer grunts, people gasp) (Douglas panting, whimpering) (both panting) How can I help?

It would be an illegal detainment that could prejudice our entire... LUNDY: If he gets away now, he's got the money to stay gone forever!

You have no jurisdiction, and there's still a chance Miller doesn't know we're on him.

(softly): I'm not sure about that, sir.

(engine idling) ♪ ♪ You're a long way from home, son.

(engine revs, tires screech) ♪ ♪ (inhales) (exhales) (phone ringing) (button beeps) Hello.

("Zombie" by the Cranberries playing) I need a bit of help.

(sirens blaring) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ KENNETH: I think I'm gonna stay here.

DOUGLAS: Your jurisdiction ends at borders, but money doesn't respect borders.

IVAN: Whatever happens, you send us money.

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Preview: S2 Ep3 | 30s | The police close in on the criminals laundering the proceeds of the Brink’s-Mat gold. (30s)

Desire. Ambition. Betrayal. Watch the lavish new period drama now on MASTERPIECE.

Sam Claflin and Jeremy Irons star in this new TV adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ iconic novel.

Funding for MASTERPIECE is provided by Viking and Raymond James with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The MASTERPIECE Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.