The Real Story Behind ITV’s Safe Harbor

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I’ve been quite captivated recently by the news that several well-known personalities have joined forces with the mastermind behind Ozark for his gripping international crime series titled Safe Harbor. This intriguing narrative delves into the chilling reality that hackers, in today’s digital age, can potentially be involved in the illicit trafficking of narcotics by organized crime groups.

According to ITV’s summary, the series titled “Safe Harbor” focuses on the character Tobias, a talented hacker, and his driven friend Marco. They aim to break through the circle of tech billionaires together.

Marco and Tobias find themselves unexpectedly thrust into the tumultuous world of organized crime after encountering the Irish mafia.

The story ends by revealing that Sloane (Charlie Murphy) and Farrell (Jack Gleeson) are in charge of managing family affairs in Holland. They recruit Tobias and Marco to hack the security system at Rotterdam harbor, Europe‘s largest shipping port, for discreet drug deliveries.

Although it isn’t an exact reenactment of real events, this gripping thriller draws from actual experiences. The producer, Femke Wolting, points out a similar occurrence as the initial spark that ignited the creation of this series.

In the UK, the true occurrences that inspired “Safe Harbor” are now available for viewing, as this joint production between Belgium and the Netherlands makes its debut on ITVX.

Safe Harbor true story: What inspired the ITV drama?

Safe Harbor draws inspiration from a real-life incident where a criminal organization employed skilled hackers to sneak their illicit drugs into Europe through digital means.

Femke Wolting, the producer, expressed her fondness for the story and immediately recognized its potential to become an exceptional international thriller series. Later on, she joined forces with Mark Williams, a co-creator of Ozark.

Femke shared with me an intriguing concept: a group of tech professionals entangled in a drug conflict. This idea struck me as both fascinating and amusingly unusual, which is exactly the type of material I seek as a screenwriter,” said the screenplay author.

It seems plausible that the pair are investigating the case from Antwerp Harbour in June 2013, as this was one of the earliest incidents Europol believed to be similar in nature.

According to a recent update from the law enforcement team, a joint effort between Belgian and Dutch officials led to the apprehension of 12 individuals and the confiscation of approximately 2,000 kilograms (kg) of illicit drugs. This includes 1,000 kg of cocaine and an equal amount of heroin.

The criminal organization responsible for smuggling activities managed to infiltrate container terminals at the port by employing key loggers and sending Trojan emails. This enabled them to secretly obtain login credentials and monitor their shipments, thereby seizing them before they were spotted.

Europol characterized the group as “skilled and highly networked,” and at that point, they voiced worry that their strategies might be shared with other unlawful groups.

This method closely mirrors the scenario portrayed in Safe Harbor, where Alfie Allen plays the role of hacker Tobias, employed by an Irish criminal group to penetrate the security network at Rotterdam’s harbor.

To be clear, though real-world hacks might’ve sparked ideas for the ITV show, it seems that the series itself has veered off into a predominantly fictional realm, building upon its original inspirations.

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2025-04-20 11:35