In 1924, the agency’s Helsinki office was founded with a cover assignment to support the enforcement of Finland’s prohibition laws and combat alcohol smuggling. Incredibly, this same office would eventually become one of the most profitable illegal “speakeasy” bars in the city. Frequented by powerful business leaders, politicians, and diplomats, the speakeasy operated “hidden in plain sight” and was never raided, although rumours of the enterprise caused considerable damage to the Trillby & Chadwick’s image at home and abroad.

Following the repeal of prohibition in 1932, the office was kept under lease but abandoned, receding into obscurity until its destruction by unknown arsonists in 1941. The case remains unsolved.Over 70 years later, pipe renovations at the site of the old Helsinki office have recently uncovered a fire safe bearing dozens of Agency journals and papers, including Trillby and Chadwick’s own personal diaries. These stories gave rise to the Trillby & Chadwick Detective Agency.