Name: What It’s Really Like to Work Undercover in San Francisco
Uploaded: 2026-04-23T00:17:51.000Z
Description: Elmore shares firsthand experiences from his time working undercover in San Francisco, offering insight into the risks, the strategies, and the realities of narcotics investigations. From navigating dangerous situations to building trust in high-stakes environments, he reflects on what it takes to operate behind the scenes.

Steve is an investigative reporter based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Steve Ispas

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“Bay Area Innovators” tackles the compelling, life-changing, fearless, and compassionate stories from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, providing a platform for discussion and discovery. We bring to our program the legends, the innovators, and the hardworking people who are shaping the future of the Bay Area in a positive way by finding solutions and improving people’s lives.

Steve Ispas is an investigative journalist with The Epoch Times and the host of Epoch TV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program. Steve grew up in Eastern Europe, and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 35 years. He worked in the tech industry for 15 years at LSI Logic and Rambus, and has been with The Epoch Times in various positions since 2003. His recent coverage includes an in-depth exclusive investigation of the secret Chinese biolab discovered in Reedley, Calif., in 2022.

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What is it really like to work undercover in narcotics enforcement?

In this unfiltered episode of Bay Area Innovators, 27-year SFPD veteran Britt Elmore takes us deep inside the shadows of San Francisco’s narcotics trade.

Elmore shares firsthand experiences from his time working undercover in San Francisco, offering insight into the risks, the strategies, and the realities of narcotics investigations. From navigating dangerous situations to building trust in high-stakes environments, he reflects on what it takes to operate behind the scenes.

Elmore pulls back the curtain on high-stakes operations like Operation Cold Day, a massive 18-month fencing sting that utilized wired warehouses and “mercenary” informants to arrest more than 125 traffickers. He walks us through the “Iron Triangle” of modern law enforcement—weak laws, lenient judges, and the devastating impact of Proposition 47—explaining why even the most successful arrests often result in dealers being back on the corner before the paperwork is dry.

The conversation also explores broader questions about crime, enforcement, and how these experiences shape one’s understanding of the system.

<em>Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of NTD.</em>

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