GTA Online Update: How To Start Operation Paper Trail Mission

One of the biggest content drops of the year just arrived in GTA Online. The Criminal Enterprises update was released on July 26 and it delivers a plethora of content to the online world of Los Santos.

Among the content that arrived with The Criminal Enterprises update is a new IAA mission for players to undertake. Called “Operation Paper Trail,” this mission allows players to go undercover to figure out why the oil prices have skyrocketed in Los Santos. Players can expect espionage, criminal conspiracies, and high-speed action every step of the way in this operation. However, there’s been some confusion as to how actually start Operation Paper Trail in GTA Online. Below, we lay out all of the details you need to know about the new IAA mission.

Starting Operation Paper Trail

As with most IAA missions in GTA Online, Operation Paper Trail begins with Agent ULP. This agent is the player’s liaison for the IAA in Los Santos. This time around, Agent ULP has caught wind of a conspiracy behind the rising oil prices in Los Santos. The agent believes that the Duggan family and the FIB are in cahoots to drive up the price of oil. For what reason is unclear, but that’s where you come into play. Agent ULP needs your help to get to the bottom of the conspiracy.

In order to start this mission, there’s actually nothing you physically have to do. Agent ULP will eventually call you on your phone whenever he’s ready to begin Operation Paper Trail. You don’t have to visit a specific location or call anyone else to trigger the start of the mission. It all comes down to Agent ULP eventually calling you. Once he does, you obviously want to pick up the phone, listen to what he has to say, and then go to the mission start point that will appear on your map. This start point is at the Los Santos IAA building.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a set timetable for when Agent ULP will call you on the phone. Players have reported waiting anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour waiting for the call to begin Operation Paper Trail. However, an easy way around this wait time is to preemptively go to the IAA building and wait for another player who has gotten the call to invite you to join the mission. Every mission in Operation Paper Trail can’t be completed solo, so you’ll need to join someone else’s game or create your own and invite other players to it to complete each mission. If you wait by the IAA building, there’s a high likelihood you will be quickly invited to someone’s game.

The first mission you receive for Operation Paper Trail depends on you and your party members. However, at some point or another, you will complete every mission available in the operation. After one mission is complete, players will need to wait for Agent ULP to call them again or they can go to the “U” marker on the map. In total, there are six missions available in Operation Paper Trail, and they are as follows:

• Intelligence
• Counterintelligence
• Extraction
• Asset Seizure
• Operation Paper Trail
• Cleanup

The GTA$ and RP you receive for each mission will vary depending on which mission you completed. It’s wise to complete as many missions as possible this week, though, as it’s triple GTA$ and RP all week long. The GTA$ you receive isn’t too substantial but the RP you gain is quite significant, and it can even advance players multiple levels.

Operation Paper Trail is certainly one of the highlights of The Criminal Enterprise update in GTA Online. It has six unique missions that see players taking on two different entities in the Duggans and FIB and features varying jobs to complete. If players want to see everything else available in the update, they can check out our full guide.