The Service

The Raid


Listen Later

In the final episode, we close in on the details around the joint MI6/SIS operation targeting the Czechoslovakian Embassy. Finally, someone who was on the raid breaks their silence. But there's a twist...

To see more images and details about the series, vist the website here.

Wadestown, Wellington: 1986. A group of MI6 and SIS intelligence officers break into the Czechoslovakian Embassy to steal codes used by Warsaw Pact countries to share secret messages. It's the height of the Cold War and knowing what the enemy was up to could, it was argued, save the world from nuclear war. But breaking into an embassy also put New Zealand outside international law, in breach of the Vienna Conventions.

Over five episodes, John Daniell and Guyon Espiner have investigated the politics, spycraft and alliances that led up to one of New Zealand's biggest missions of the Cold War. As Gerald Hensley, the Co-ordinator of Domestic and External Security 1987-89, says, being able to decipher the enemies codes was "the dream". They've also told the story of John's family and the work they did for the SIS, known as The Service.

Now, in Episode 5, we tell the story of the raid itself and what happened that night in 1986.

We also talk about how the codes work and the people whose job it is to crack them, and ask why the Czechoslovakians were targeted and who approved the mission. Czech investigative reporter Robert Brestan tracks down archives in Prague and speaks to diplomats and officials about what they know of the raid.

Then we talk to the man who led the mission for the NZSIS... and hear his surprising version of events.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The ServiceBy RNZ

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

29 ratings


More shows like The Service

View all
SpyCast by SpyCast

SpyCast

1,506 Listeners

Here Now by RNZ

Here Now

1 Listeners

Gone By Lunchtime by The Spinoff

Gone By Lunchtime

26 Listeners

Secrets and Spies Podcast: Current Affairs | Geopolitics | Intelligence by Secrets & Spies

Secrets and Spies Podcast: Current Affairs | Geopolitics | Intelligence

270 Listeners

FROM ZERO by RNZ

FROM ZERO

1 Listeners

The Science Of… by RNZ

The Science Of…

1 Listeners

Go Ahead Caller by RNZ

Go Ahead Caller

2 Listeners

Voice of the Iceberg by RNZ

Voice of the Iceberg

28 Listeners

Slice of Heaven by RNZ

Slice of Heaven

2 Listeners

The Lost by RNZ

The Lost

41 Listeners

Pants on Fire by RNZ

Pants on Fire

104 Listeners

Cold War Conversations by Ian Sanders

Cold War Conversations

450 Listeners

American Scandal by Wondery

American Scandal

18,946 Listeners

The Worst Sitcom Ever Made by RNZ

The Worst Sitcom Ever Made

7 Listeners

A Moment In Crime by NZME

A Moment In Crime

46 Listeners

Best of Storytime by RNZ

Best of Storytime

2 Listeners

The Citizen's Handbook by RNZ

The Citizen's Handbook

3 Listeners

True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics by SPYSCAPE

True Spies: Espionage | Investigation | Crime | Murder | Detective | Politics

1,961 Listeners

After the Virus by RNZ

After the Virus

0 Listeners

Short Story Stack by RNZ

Short Story Stack

0 Listeners

Fight for the Wild by RNZ

Fight for the Wild

3 Listeners

SPYCRAFT 101 by Justin Black

SPYCRAFT 101

320 Listeners

Sci Fi / Sci Fact by RNZ

Sci Fi / Sci Fact

3 Listeners

Hair and Loathing by TAHI

Hair and Loathing

0 Listeners

DELVE by newsroom.co.nz

DELVE

199 Listeners

Deer Wars by RNZ

Deer Wars

3 Listeners

The Spy Who by Wondery

The Spy Who

551 Listeners

Voice of Tangaroa by RNZ

Voice of Tangaroa

0 Listeners

REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana by Wondery | Ballen Studios

REDACTED: Declassified Mysteries with Luke Lamana

1,003 Listeners

Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story by Apple TV+ / AT WILL MEDIA

Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story

62 Listeners

The Stolen Children of Aotearoa by RNZ

The Stolen Children of Aotearoa

0 Listeners

Kelly Tarlton's Final Treasure Hunt by RNZ

Kelly Tarlton's Final Treasure Hunt

3 Listeners

Liberty Lost by Wondery

Liberty Lost

692 Listeners

Devil in the Desert by ABC News

Devil in the Desert

1,146 Listeners