The Underworld Podcast

The final show in our Chechen trilogy focuses on the republic's current gangster-in-chief, Ramzan Kadyrov, and his rise to become one of the world's most fearsome—but also bumbling—despots.Kadyrov has cozied up to Vladimir Putin, dispatched hired killers to quell dissent, empowered Chechen mafiosi and even launched his own film studio to create a North Korea-style cult of personality in the Caucasian state. And of course, there's football, boxing with Mike Tyson and Kadyrov's successful forays into MMA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Camorra clans of Naples had always played second fiddle to the Sicilian Mafia and the Calabrian 'Ndranghetta. Until Raffaelle Cutolo started building up his Nuovo Camorra Organization while locked up in a notorious prison. When he wasn't writing poetry or challenging other bosses to knife fights, his old school charisma and genius leadership skills, as well as his insanity, saw him take a small prison crew and build it into an army of thousands ready to die for him. Many of his soldiers would get that opportunity as he started a war trying to rule all of Naples, but it was his battles with the government that ended up really taking their toll. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sean, on assignment for Sports Illustrated, visits a tiny village in India where villagers establish a fake cricket league to fool Russian bettors; however, the Russians were pulling the strings all along, revealing a money-laundering scheme involving organized crime. The podcast explores the dark world of fake cricket, match fixing, betting scandals, and money laundering operations.

Deborah Bonello, author of 'Narcas: The Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels', discusses female narco bosses in Mexico, the violent life of Argentine smuggler Yolanda Sarmiento, women in El Salvador's brutal gangs, and Emma Coronel, El Chapo's wife.

Journalist Joshua Yaffa joins the podcast to discuss the rise and fall of the ex-con turned Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin and his mercenary outfit Wagner. Topics include Wagner's recruitment efforts, their involvement in Ukraine and Syria, the evolution of the group from elite units to Russian prisoners, conflicts and reputational damage, the future of Wagner, and compromises in Putin's Russia.

The Soviet Union is toast, Chechnya is at war and Grozny, its embattled capital, is being bombed to dust. Gangs of Chechen criminals are getting rich off the bloodshed, capitalizing on gun- and drug-running networks that flourished under Communism.When the war ends a new breed of Chechen mobster-terrorist emerges, empowered by Arab Jihad and financed by goons who've grown fat on the patronage of oligarchs. After a brutal period of rocket strikes, school sieges and plane hijackings, Chechnya enters a new, stable—but semi-feudal—stage, led by a family of boxers and religious zealots: the Kadyrovs.Sign up today at butcherbox.com/underworld and use code UNDERWORLD get $20 off your first order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exploring the concept of the Chechen Mafia from ancient invasions to the creation of 'outlaw-exile'. The rise of illicit empires carved out by Chechens in Siberia and Kazakhstan. The connection between the Chechen independence movement and a brutal double-murder in central London. The violent history, conflicts, and resistance of Chechnya. The emergence of the Chechen folk hero, the 'abrecht', and their resistance against Russian forces. The conflict between the Vori and the colluders in the criminal underworld of Russia.

Uncover the dark origins of the Camorra clans, tracing back to rural banditry and the evolution of organized crime in Naples. Explore the socio-economic disparities fueling their violent expansion, as these clans battle for control over lucrative smuggling routes. Dive into gripping stories of key figures like Paulo de Loro and Cosimo, whose reckless ambitions ignite deadly conflicts. Discover the intricate workings of a drug trafficking network and the chaotic consequences that follow as loyalty and betrayal intertwine in Italy's underworld.

The Messina family came from Sicily, then Malta and North Africa, before settling in 1930s London—whose underworld was about to be supercharged by wartime blackouts and love-lorn American G.I.s.They would soon control an empire of brothels and gambling dens in the British capital, conning, bribing and killing their way to gangland dominance. And while the Messinas' flame died in the early 60s, their mantle would be taken up by a new generation of Maltese mobsters, whose legacy lasted until the 21st century arrival of another viceland behemoth: the Albanians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mexican Cartels have always had a penchant for violence, but the brutal tactics of Los Zetas plunged Mexico into never before seen levels of bloodshed. Originally formed by only a few dozen special forces soldiers who went rogue and became the enforcement wing of the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas eventually broke away and ran roughshod all over Mexico, warring with everyone from the Sinaloa Cartel to the Mexican army at the same time. Gone were the days of gangbangers, instead Los Zetas would usher Mexico's cartels into a new era of paramilitary forces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices