Looked into this a few times, I dont think its real. Seems unlikely that they would go on for so long without leaving clues to their existence. And a graffiti of a smiley face is common, probably coincidental. Although the manchester pusher may be a real person or a very small group of people that loosely collaborated for a period.
I think some of these men were murdered and perhaps even kidnapped by unrelated individuals or copy-cat killers. Some others may have fallen in and struggled to get out because of steep edges and being drunk.
I think there is foul play involved but its not a case of some secretive syndicate that only kidnaps one type of individual and in one specific way. If they have that clear of a modus operandi, theyd just be leaving themselves wide open for police and investigators of all sorts.
I think there is all sorts of criminal networks in eurasia and latin america that are extremely secretive and go to deeper levels than we think possible. Theyd be doing all sorts of these things and have ties to every government in one form or another.
Beyond criminal networks, id imagine there are other more politically motivated secret societies. Surely there are a series of these around the world, most of which are not connected and have vague ideas about other groups/societies at best. Its not just one big secret group that runs the whole world, although a few of them may be larger and more connected than we'd think realistic and they can stay hidden through world-class compartmentalisation, forcing members to partake in incriminating activity for blackmail, brainwashing, and use of threats of violence/torture to members and relatives of members.
Most are practical while a few partake in the occult. The occultists could be as a result of some charismatic psycho cult leader or have been passed down from generations, often perhaps having started with groups of individuals continuing to practice pagan religion secretly after having come under the thumb of the catholic church. The same is true for islam and all other societies with oppressive leadership.
Its also in the nature of humans to congregate secrelty to push their agendas. This happens at all levels of life. Who is to say there arent many groups of ultra-wealthy doing the same, especially when they are all constantly brushing shoulders with each other.
Look how effectively the US government does it and the batshit crazy stories we hear leak out about mass surveillence, social engineering, insane experiments, ufo sightings, and so on. Or think about how long Weinstein waa doing what he did and the amount of people that knew about it yet it was not public.
This video gives me the fucking creeps, and the type of societies that i think are entirely possible: