UNDERCOVER: THE COP WHO LIVED A LIE

Real Crime with Adam Shand · Oct 25, 2026 · 38m · transcript

For two years, Queensland police officer Jason Somerville lived a dangerous double life. Under the assumed identity of Michael Bates, he posed as a heroin dealer, infiltrated Brisbane's drug trade, befriended hardened criminals and earned their trust to gather evidence against them. He even went undercover in a police cell to obtain a confession from an accused double murderer. But living a lie comes at a price. When the operations ended, Somerville discovered that leaving his undercover identity behind was far harder than adopting it. The constant danger, deception and paranoia had taken a…