The life and adventures of the members of The Armed Robbery Squad. Amid numerous security van robberies, bank robberies and gem heists with a lot of car chases, shouting and guns blazing, the squad members private lives are revealed in slices. From the uxorious D.I. Scott to womanizing D.S. Tate, and the sharp capable D.C.s Harris, Dryden, and Ash, every plot possibility is explored.
Supplied as a 6 DVD Set, recorded from VHS, the quality rating (compared to a retail DVD) is Video 6, Audio 7 (Good!)
Disc One
Thief Takers Series 1 Episode 1: No One Likes to See That
A heavy-duty villain escapes from jail to help pull off an audacious robbery and bump off his wife's lover into the bargain.
Thief Takers Series 1 Episode 2: Company of Strangers
A building society is raided by three crack addicts in debt to a gangster and Oxford's investigations result in the murder of his informant Marcus. More violence erupts as the robbers turn on their boss prompting the impulsive Tate to rush unarmed into a deadly confrontation.
Thief Takers Series 1 Episode 3: Whispers in the Dark
Three ex-Army men raid a security van and use their military training to stay one step ahead of Charlie's squad, who for once find themselves hopelessly outclassed. The case is given a tragic dimension by one of the crooks' twisted relationship with his daughter, which is casting a shadow over her life, but provides Ash with the clue she needs to get a result.
Thief Takers Series 1 Episode 4: Wild Card
Tate is shot while trying to thwart a raid on a casino and rushed to hospital in a critical condition. Harris goes undercover to nab the thugs responsible, but gives herself away by lapsing into police jargon. And as if that weren't bad enough, a highly unprofessional session between the sheets with Donachie diverts her even further away from official duties.
Disc Two
Thief Takers Series 1 Episode 5: Lie Down with Dragons
Having recovered from being shot, Tate infiltrates a Chinese crime gang. Unfortunately, his cover is blown and he's forced to make a desperate deal to stay alive using a consignment of machine guns as a bargaining chip.
Thief Takers Series 1 Episode 6: Hungry Ghosts
As the Chinatown robberies continue, Charlie takes a desperate risk, asking New Scotland Yard for a consignment of dummy weapons to lure the Big Circle into a trap. Tate reluctantly agrees to continue working undercover, but at the crucial moment crime boss Chan Ming realises he's wired for sound and it takes a bloody shoot-out to resolve the situation.
Thief Takers Series 1 Episode 7: The Outcasts
Two teenagers pull a string of audacious armed robberies, soon adding arson and murder to their list of crimes. Charlie and his squad race helter-skelter to catch them, scouring London's population of rent boys and underage prostitutes for leads but getting a result proves easier said than done.
Thief Takers Series 1 Episode 8: Wasteland
A bank is ram-raided in broad daylight and Charlie's investigations lead him to a fanatical religious cult whose members are prepared to die for their charismatic leader. While wife Steph is in hospital giving birth to their first child, he spearheads a raid on the sect's base but a gunfight breaks out and it soon starts to look like he won't be around to enjoy the pleasures of family life.
Disc Three
Thief Takers Series 2 Episode1: Going Under
Armed gang members discover Alan Oxford's true identity, police infiltrator.
Thief Takers Series 2 Episode 2: Nasty Boys
Following a spectacular but unsuccessful raid on a security depot, Tate decides to infiltrate the gang responsible. He makes the acquaintance of their getaway driver and persuades him to turn informer little suspecting the multiple crises of loyalty his actions will trigger.
Thief Takers Series 2 Episode 3: A Dead Man
Charlie makes a disturbing discovery while investigating an audacious robbery an old enemy he thought he'd killed years ago is very much alive and out for revenge against him and his family. The race is on to bring the villain to book before more corpses are added to his already impressive tally.
Thief Takers Series 2 Episode 4: Bad Blood
Two female crooks raid a security van, temporarily taking a handsome passer-by hostage while they make their escape. DC Harris interviews him about his ordeal and succumbs to his charms, ending up spending the night at his flat a lapse of judgement that ultimately proves very costly indeed.
Disc Four
Thief Takers Series 2 Episode 5: Remember Me
A man Donachie arrested on a rape charge 12 years earlier is released from prison and sets out for revenge, committing an armed robbery and setting up an elaborate plot to pin the blame on his old enemy. The outraged detective insists he's innocent but is his conscience entirely clear?
Thief Takers Series 2 Episode 6: Black Russian
Ruthless Russian gangsters determined to carve a niche in London's underworld steal items worth millions from a safety deposit centre, with a little help from the crooked manager. Dryden poses as a prostitute to flush them out and finds herself forced to confront demons from her past.
Thief Takers Series 2 Episode 7: Collateral Damage
The Squad get their knuckles rapped for arresting an Irish ex-terrorist who turns out to be working undercover for Special Branch and DS Tate's further investigations lead him into some very murky waters indeed, uncovering a conspiracy involving his first wife and the faceless spooks of MI5.
Thief Takers Series 2 Episode 8: Deja Vu
The trial of DI Scott's arch-enemy Frank McGrath gets under way, with the smooth-talking defence lawyer leaving the police testimony in tatters. Following the inevitable acquittal, Scott considers his future in the force but it becomes all too clear that McGrath is not about to let bygones be bygones.
Disc Five
Thief Takers Series 3 Episode 1: Shadows
DCI Nick Hall takes over from DI Scott as head of the Met's Armed Robbery Squad. He's a copper of the old school with a chequered past, who returns from a stint of duty in Hong Kong to clean up the streets of London and immediately finds himself caught up in a robbery case with racial overtones.
Thief Takers Series 3 Episode 2: Fashion Victims
Gun-toting robbers gatecrash trendy designer's fashion show and make off with thousands of pounds' worth of clothes, leaving the Flying Squad with a puzzle on their hands. Investigations are hampered by a visiting Dutch policeman bent on catching a murderous arms dealer until a possible link emerges between his obsessive quest and the haute couture heist.
Thief Takers Series 3 Episode 3: One Last Hurrah
DCI Hall believes the theft of plastic explosives is the work of ruthless armed robbers he tangled with back in the 1970s. Matteo isn't convinced until several violent incidents suggest rival underworld gangs are gearing up for a full-scale shoot-out.
Thief Takers Series 3 Episode 4: Sisters in Arms
A pregnant women is so disgusted at her husband for committing a violent robbery that she goes off the rails herself, shooting a security guard during a bungled hold-up. Persuaded by her no-good sister to persevere in her life of crime, the mixed-up mother-to-be heads for the nearest jeweller's where she promptly goes into labour.
Disc Six
Thief Takers Series 3 Episode 5: Road Rage
Villains kill two patrolmen during a shoot-out and compound the felony by taunting the Flying Squad about their crimes at every turn, leading to a final tense showdown at a service station.
Thief Takers Series 3 Episode 6: After the Goldrush
The squad's investigation into an audacious bullion robbery leads Matteo to probe the relationship between a veteran armed robber and a stripper, while Hall faces danger among the local Asian business community.
Thief Takers Series 3 Episode 7: Black Mist
Japanese crooks try to kidnap a leading stock market trader and the squad's investigations soon take on a deadly international dimension. Pitted against two of the world's most feared and formidable crime cartels, they face a fight for survival and the odds are made worse by tensions in their own ranks.
Thief Takers Series 3 Episode 8: Brand Loyalty
DC Oxford fights alone and unarmed to save the witnesses, while DI Matteo jeopardises both personal and professional relationships in his desperate search for Takahashi. With an all-out war between the Mafia and their Japanese Yakuza counterparts looming, the squad find they have to use every trick in the book just to stay alive.
