The infiltrator : undercover in the world of drug barons and dirty banks

Robert Mazur spent five years undercover infiltrating the criminal hierarchy of Colombia's drug cartels.

The dirty bankers and businessmen he befriended knew him as Bob Musella, a wealthy, mob-connected big shot living the good life.

Together they partied in expensive hotels, drank the world's finest champagnes, drove Rolls-Royce convertibles and flew in private jets.

But under Mazur's designer suits and hidden away in his quality briefcase, recorders whirred quietly, capturing the damning evidence of their crimes.

Then, at his own staged wedding, he led a dramatic takedown that shook the underworld.

In the end, more than eighty men and women were charged worldwide.

Operation C-Chase became one of the most successful undercover operations in the history of US law enforcement, and evidence gathered during the bust proved critical to the conviction of General Manuel Noriega.

The Infiltrator is the story of how Mazur helped bring down the unscrupulous bankers who manipulated complex international finance systems to serve drug lords - including Pablo Escobar - corrupt politicians, tax cheats and terrorists. It is a shocking chronicle of the rise and fall of perhaps the biggest and most intricate money-laundering operation of all time - an enterprise that cleaned and moved hundreds of millions of dollars a year. And, at its heart, it's a stunning and vivid portrait of an undercover life and the sacrifice it requires.

Filled with dangerous lies, near misses and harrowing escapes, The Infiltrator is as exciting and explosive as the greatest fiction thrillers - only it's all true.