Crime World

The Regency hotel trial lifted the lid on the once secretive links between Dublin's gangland criminals and armed republican groups.Secret recordings of conversations played in court showed how Gerry Hutch still believed the IRA had the power to call a halt to the feud on the city's streets. But unlike previous generations of criminals who feared Republicans, the Kinahan cartel were not cowed by dissidents and took the fight to the paramilitaries.Niall Donald is joined by Dr Brian Hanley from Trinity College Dublin about his book 'Republicanism, Crime and Paramilitary Policing in Ireland' and about the IRA's uneasy relationship with so called ordinary crime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The intriguing story of IRA double agent Freddie Scappaticci is one of mystery and fascination and for years has been the subject of the Operation Kenova investigation due to be published in coming weeks.Nicola speaks with author and former Provision IRA prisoner Richard O’Rawe whose book 'Stakeknife’s Dirty War' exposes British intelligent's top informer and his role in the IRA’s Nutting Squad.He tells Nicola about a narcissist who turned traitor and his sinister role as a notorious torturer who may have told his handlers who was going to live and die during Northern Ireland’s dirty war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The murder of 19 year old Una Lynskey is set to be the subject of a Garda cold case review 52 years after she was snatched from a roadside in County Meath.But behind the mystery lie layers of scandalous allegations surrounding the Garda’s so called Heavy Gang - a team of interrogators who have been criticised for extracting false confessions in murder cases from suspects using force, coercion and even violence.So should the Gardai be investigating their own or is it time for a full public enquiry into their activies throughout the 1970s and 1980s?Nicola speaks to award winning Irish Daily Mail journalist and columnist Jenny Friel who has written extensively about their Lynskey case and the ripple effects it has had on families, friends and a community torn apart by the heavy handed tactics of Gardaí. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Remains found behind a wall under the stairs in missing Tina Satchwell home have been confirmed to be the 45 year old woman.And a man remains in custody but Gardai will have to make a decision by tonight on whether to charge or release him.Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about the sensational developments and the body under the stairs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spanish judges have approved the extradition of Kinahan mobster Liam Byrne to the UK where he is set to go on trial with his brother-in-law Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh and others for weapons offences.In jail in a Palma prison since his arrest on Majorca earlier this year, he will now face the journey back to the dock and the case against him compiled by the National Crime Agency.But where did it all go wrong for the head of the Byrne Organised Crime Group and his brother-in-law the mighty Bomber Kavanagh who once held the position as Daniel Kinahan’s number one?Did they believe they were untouchable, that they had perfected their trade-in wholesale drug dealing and that they would never be caught?Nicola talks to Niall Donald about the fall of Liam Byrne and his uncertain future doing porridge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

***Episode first published in February 2022***It’s the white gold that has turned street dealers into billionaires and corrupted politicians, police and even the judiciary with its promises of wealth beyond dreams.Cocaine starts out life as a leaf on a tree in the jungles of south and central America but how does it get to the streets of Ireland and how many people die along the way?Nicola speaks with film maker Toby Muse as he traces a kilo of coke from its source in the makeshift laboratories of Colombia to the Pacific Coast where it sets sail to the US and Europe.He tells me of the grinding poverty, the violence and the tragedy that touches so many as the kilo soars in value on its journey to a population of Europe with an insatiable appetite for a sniff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A man has been arrested after suspected human remains were found during a search of a property in Cork by gardaí investigating the disappearance of Tina Satchwell in 2017.In a series of developments today, suspected human remains were located, with State Pathologist Margaret Bolster being brought on site, along with a forensic anthropologist and a sniffer dog.A man in his 50s was then arrested at a property in Youghal. Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about the dramatic developments in the cold case mystery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The death of rap icon Tupac Shakur has been the stuff of books, films and even song but now a Nevada grand jury has charged a 60 year old former gang leader with the cold case killing.Duane Keffe D Davis was one of the four original suspects for the Las Vegas shooting in 1996 which came about after hostilities between the Bloods and the Crips gangs spilled over and celebrities took sides.Nicola speaks to Doug Century who covered the hip hop scene as a journalist for the New York Times during the 1990s and last year co-authored Split Decision with rapper and former LA gangster Ice T.Doug tells Nicola about the origins of Tupac Shakur’s untimely death and the suspect who has talked himself into a courtroom. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The conglomerate of mobs who ordered two tonnes of cocaine nabbed off the Irish coast last week is yet to be firmly established but what is know is that it was shipped by the Clan Del Golfo - Colombia’s largest cartel.6000 strong and based in the jungles near the border with Panama and the Caribbean and Pacific Coasts the cartel are a massive military armed with high powered weapons and responsible for thousands of deaths, the corruption of police and politicians and the rape of young children.Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about the notorious outfit who ship 20 tonnes of cocaine each month and who rule the territory once controlled by Pablo Escobar.They talk about it’s leaders and the close relations it has forged with the European Super Cartel including Daniel Kinahan’s mob. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s 20 months since Ukraine was first attacked by Russian forces in a ruthless war that has shocked Europe and left millions displaced.A massive death toll, horrific injuries and untold trauma has followed for the people of the towns and cities under attack while a catalogue of war crimes by Russia are being documented.But amidst the chaos a former Irish rugby star has found a way to help with urgent medical supplies and supports by using his business brain to react to the humanitarian disaster.Nicola speaks with Shane Leahy about his One4Humanity organisation which has brought together friends, contacts and big business from Ireland to deliver millions of euro of medical supplies and supports in a country stunned by war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.