The Chechen Mafia Goes Global: Ramzan Kadyrov, Car Bombs, Guns-for-hire and The World's Weirdest Reality Show
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The final show in our Chechen trilogy focuses on the republic's current gangster-in-chief, Ramzan Ka...
The Knife Fighting Italian Gangster Who Built an Army while in Prison
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Camorra clans of Naples had always played second fiddle to the Sicilian Mafia and the Calabrian ...
How Russian Mobsters Masterminded a Crazy, Fake Cricket League for Betting Riches: Sean's in the Field!
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This May, on assignment for _Sports Illustrated_, Sean visited Molipur, a tiny village in Gujarat, I...
The Secret Rise of Female Narcos in Latin American Cartels with Deborah Bonello
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Deborah Bonello is a Mexico City-based reporter who's distilled years of reporting on some of the mo...
Ex-Con Mercenaries, Wagner, Prigozhin, and the Russian Mafiosos Fighting in Ukraine with Joshua Yaffa
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Russian mercenary/state aligned outfit Wagner emerged from the early days of the war in Ukraine,...
The Chechen Mafia Strikes Back: War Profiteering, School Sieges and a Turncoat Named Kadyrov
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Soviet Union is toast, Chechnya is at war and Grozny, its embattled capital, is being bombed to ...
Becoming the Chechen Mafia: Ancient Outlaws, Soviet Scabs and a British KGB Plot
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we track the concept of the Chechen Mafia—not an easy thing to define—from anci...
The Camorra Clans of Naples: Italy's Most Violent Criminal Organizarion
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The origins of Naples' feared criminal clans known as the Camorra go back hundreds of years to the d...
The Maltese Mobsters who Ruled London's Empire of Vice
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Messina family came from Sicily, then Malta and North Africa, before settling in 1930s London—...
Los Zetas: The Brutal Cartel Formed By Mexican Commandos
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mexican Cartels have always had a penchant for violence, but the brutal tactics of Los Zetas plunged...
Bootlegging All Over the World: Illegal Brews from North Korea to Pakistan
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The term ‘rumrunning’ might be associated with Prohibition-era goons in the American Midwest. Bu...
The Brutal Burmese Human Trafficking Syndicates of Southeast Asia: Classic Underworld
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been made by a vicious network of organized crime figures throu...
A Romanian Mob Illicit Arms Deal With a Twist - with Trevor Aaronson
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Trevor Aaronson is a contributing writer at The Intercept. The second season of his show Alphabet Bo...
North Korea's Crypto Crimes: Special Episode from Click Here
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We have a special episode swap from the good folks at the Click Here podcast. For years, North Korea...
Ridouan Taghi's Murderous Rampage, and the Cocaine Kings of Antwerp and Rotterdam - with Mitchell Prothero
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mitchell Prothero has been on the tail of Ridouan Taghi, the Mocro Mafia and the Marengo Trial for y...
Tiger Traffickers, Narco Zoos and the (Even Darker) Truth Behind Joe Exotic
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In 2019 Sean spent weeks on the road between Oklahoma and Miami, investigating roadside zoo owner—...
The World's Most Powerful Cocaine Broker: Inside the 'Ndrangheta with Antonio Talia
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In recent years, another one of Italy's feared criminal groups has risen above the Sicilian Mafia to...
The Robber Baron Mafias of the Lawless Amazon Rainforest
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Last year’s murders of journalist Dom Phillips, and indigenous rights campaigner Bruno Pereira, sh...
The Time Sean Went to Burma to Find A Billion Dollar Meth Lab
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The biggest drug cartel in the world isn't Mexican, or Colombian. It's Asian. Buried deep in the Bur...
The Golden Era of Clubs, Club Drugs, and Mafia Crews in NYC Nightlife to Miami and Back
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1990's, Manhattan's booming dance club scene was hit by two massive trends: Ecstasy and Techn...
A Brazilian Murder, Narco Evangelists and Holy Warfare: The Gangsters of the Global Pentecostal Movement
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Pentecostalism has exploded everywhere—and with it a whole new wave of grifters, crooks and machin...
The Antwerp Diamond Heist and the Gads Hill Train Robbery: History Daily Swap
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week we bring you guys an episode swap with the good folks at History Daily. In the first segme...
The Time the Mexican Army Ruined My Cartel Sleepover
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Even the best laid plans of mice and men don't stand a chance when the federales get involved. In th...
Underworld Special - On The Hunt for Himalayan Purple Haze in Nepal
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For thousands of years, Nepali farmers grew some of the world’s trippiest marijuana, in Himalayan ...
The Narco-paramilitaries of Northern Ireland
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For generations, northern Ireland has been no stranger to armed militant groups willing to dispense ...
Acid, Greasers, Hippies and Violence: The Brotherhood of Eternal Love
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With slick hair, a wry smile and a penchant for violence, John Griggs was the picture of a Sixties C...
The Jamaican Posses Take Over America: Kings of the Crack Era
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Wall Street of Patrick Bateman was just ramping up, and rap had taken over the Bronx and Brookly...
Calabria’s ‘Ndrangheta vs the Good Mothers with Alex Perry
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For decades the ‘Ndrangheta rose to become the world’s most powerful organized crime group—and...
The Rise of Jamaica's Warring Gangs & Bob Marley's Attempted Assassination
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1960's, Jamaica's leading politicians saw an opportunity in the street gangs that were formin...
Australia's Brutal Gang Families Waging War in Sydney
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sydney has long been Australia’s “Sin City”, a pot of gold for crooks with the right connectio...
The International Kingpins: Montreal's Rizzuto Family
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
International organized crime has rarely seen a figure as powerful and connected as Vito Rizzuto, Mo...
How FIFA’s Godfather and Brazil’s Biggest Gangster Forged a Deadly Alliance, ft. Conor Powell
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Castor de Andrade might just be the most powerful mobster you’ve never heard of. Born into a life ...
Introducing: The Last Resort
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Last Resort explores big, crazy, dangerous ideas – ideas that no one took seriously, but which...
Japanese Schoolgirl Gangs and Kamikaze Bikers: How an Assassin’s Sword Kicked off a Criminal CountercultureDraft Episode for Dec 13, 2022
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When a fascist killer plunged his sword into Japan’s socialist leader on live TV, few could have p...
Sex Money Murda, Pistol Pete and the United Blood Nation (and Young Thug!)
06 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is the story of Pistol Pete, one of the most revered killers to ever walk the streets of New Yo...
Scammers, Traffickers and Bribes: The Dirty, Criminal Secrets Plaguing FIFA’s World Cup in Qatar - featuring Philippe AuclairDraft Episode for Nov 29, 2022
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As things heat up in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Sean meets soccer journalist Philippe Auclair...
The Brazilian Prison Gang Dominating South America: The PCC
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In less than 3 decades, a Brazilian gang formed during a prison soccer tournament has become one of,...
BONUS: George Chidi on Atlanta's Rap Murder Spree
01 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sean met Atlanta crime reporter George Chidi to talk about the city's rap labels and their role in i...
Update: Sean *Did Not* Get Kidnapped for Unpaid Cricket Bets
07 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We've got new episodes ready to go. We hear you guys. SOON. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
The Slave Armies Powering a New Kind of Golden Triangle Cybercrime
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When the pandemic took punters from Southeast Asia’s most notorious gambling dens, their gangster ...
Felix Mitchell:The Druglord That Took On The Black Panthers, and Oakland's Kingpin Wars
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Felix "The Cat" Mitchell was like nothing Oakland had ever seen before. He took over the city's hero...
The Death of "God's Banker", the Vatican, a Pope's Murder, Mafia Plots and a Secret Masonic Coup
28 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Roberto Calvi's body was found swinging from a London bridge in 1982 it sent shockwaves through...
The Jewish & Redneck Gangsters that Beat the KKK: Charlie Birger w/ Jake Hanrahan
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the era of prohibition, Charlie Birger built a bootlegging and gambling empire in southern Illino...
Vladimir Putin, the KGB and the German Nazi Gangster Who Was a Communist Spy
12 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Rainer Sonntag was just your run-of-the-mill, anti-state East German petty criminal—until a black ...
Chechen Mobsters, Bombs, Bumps and Special Ops: The Criminal Tale of Caviar
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Caviar has been considered a delicacy since ancient times. But when the Soviet Union collapsed, a bl...
The Punjabi Indian Gangster Rapper Killed in a Gang War: Moosewala
28 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, better known as Moosewala, was on the cusp of becoming a global superstar. Ra...
The Bank of the Underworld: Kingpins, Arms Traffickers, Pablo Escobar and Saddam Hussein
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was headed by a messianic, Karachi financier named Agh...
The Cartel Heroin Queenpin Who Ran Juarez for 50 Years with Benjamin Smith
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Before El Mencho or El Chapo, even before Pablo Escobar, there was Ignacia Jasso, otherwise known as...
Fentanyl's Surge from China To Mexico to St Louis
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last three years there's been an explosion of fentanyl on the streets of America and it's l...
Who Rules Porn? From Hot Money
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re shaking things up today and sharing a preview from Hot Money, a new podcast from our friends...
Belize's Gangster Politics and Ukraine's Battle for the Donbas
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Sean gets into the details about his story for Rolling Stone on Jamal "Shyne" Barro...
A Sicilian Rugby Team Fighting the Mafia - And Ukraine Update
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Danny's in Ukraine, and Sean's cover story at Sports Illustrated—about a Sicilian rugby team facin...
Daniel Kinahan, Tyson Fury and the Irish Drug Cartel that Built a Boxing Empire - with Nicola Tallant
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For years, Dublin-born Daniel Kinahan built on the work of his heroin-lord father Christy, aka the D...
The Shady World of Cryonics: Missing Heads, Bank Robbers and an Italian Funeral Mogul
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're joined by journalist and writer Peter Ward, whose upcoming book The Price of Immortality: The ...
Murder Inc: The Jewish & Italian Hit Squad that Terrorized the US
12 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1920's, high level gangsters like Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky had a plan to bring some sem...
TEASER: From Cautionary Tales: Death on the Floor
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here’s a special preview of the new season of Cautionary Tales from Pushkin Industries. On Caution...
Whitey Bulger, Jai Alai, the Winter Hill Gang, & the Tycoon Murder that Stunned America
29 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
*Note: technical difficulties with Sean's microphone this episode, apologies* By the late Seventies ...
Lord of the Skies: The Man Who United Mexico's Cartels
22 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're joined by author Noah Hurowitz to tell the story of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, one of the most po...
PATREON TEASER: A Former Gangster on his Life in Belize City's Crips - and how Cartels are Changing Everything
14 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here's a little teaser from this week's patreon episode, with Sean on the ground in Belize doing a b...
The Brutal Russian Mafia Wars of Tolyatti, Russia's Detroit
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1980s, as the Soviet empire crumbled, organized criminals eyed up the sprawling VAZ automobil...
Carjacking and Fentanyl: Down and Out in Philadelphia & St. Louis
22 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode thrown together because of a last-minute delay, Danny recounts recent reporting trip...
The Wild Cowboys of Washington Heights: NYC's Most Dangerous Crack-era Gang
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
New York City in the late 1980's and early 1990's was a war zone. The crack era ushered in a record ...
Colombia's Narco-Soccer: Pablo Escobar, Los Pepes, and the Murder of The Gentleman
08 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the early Nineties Colombia had one of the world’s best soccer teams. Some even tipped them for...
Glasgow's Ice Cream Wars: Drugs, Police Framing, and Soft Serve
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As badly-planned 1960s projects pushed Glasgow's poorest people to the city's fringes, ice cream van...
The Raskol Gangs of Port Moresby: Tribal Wars, Street Battles and Homemade Guns in Papua New Guinea
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The ‘raskol’ gangs that terrorize Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea’s chaotic capital city, have ...
SPECIAL PROMO: From Deep Cover: Who Was Bob Cooley?
24 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
SPECAL PROMO: Deep Cover tells true stories of crime and corruption. Pulitzer Prize-winning journali...
The Punjabi Mafia and the Indian-Canadian Celeb Hitman Bindy Johal
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In Vancouver and the little known city of Surrey, violent gang wars between rival factions in the In...
El Mencho and CJNG: Mexico's Most Wanted and Sadistic Narco
11 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
He’s a recluse, a cockfighting high-roller, a former cop and a maniac. But will Nemesio Oseguera C...
Born To Kill: The Vietnamese Refugee Gang that Terrorized the US
04 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the late 1980's, a new gang threw asian immigrant communities across America into chaotic spurts ...
Sergeant Smack, Frank Lucas, and the Bangkok Heroin Corpse Connection
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Leslie "Ike" Atkinson rose from Army sergeant to international casino hustler, to Bangkok bar owner ...
50th Episode/holiday Q+A Special!!!
14 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We meant to get this up a few episodes back for the 50th episode special but figured it would work f...
Can a Former Gangster Rapper Stop Belize's Deadly Bloods vs Crips Wars?
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Belize City, rival factions of Bloods and Crips clicks have turned the south side of the city int...
How Meth Turned New Zealand's Biker Gang Scene Upside Down: Mongrels, Black Power and Killer Beez
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, New Zealand's biker gangs fought each other for turf, cash and kudos. Violence between ...
West Africa's Cocaine Empire: Guinea Bissau's True Narco State Status
23 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Does any country deserve the title of narco-state more than tiny Guinea-Bissau? The West African nat...
The Gangs Controlling Haiti: A Dead President, Amish Hostages, and a Psycho Named BBQ
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A President assassinated. Amish missionaries from Ohio held for million dollar ransoms (per person!)...
Gangs of England: The Real Peaky Blinders and the Racecourse Wars
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the smog-filled streets of industrial Birmingham, groups of ‘Peaky Blinders’ earned a reputat...
The Rise and Recent Capture of Colombia's Most Brutal Narco, Otoniel, w/ Toby Muse
02 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Out there in the jungle, something evil and powerful grows. This is the story of Dairo Antonio Usaga...
The Out of Control Arab Israeli Crime Clans Driving the Murder Rate Sky-High
26 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the last 5 years, murders in what's known as Israel's Arab sector have increased 50%, setting new...
The Burmese Heroin Jungle Kingpin & the Transgender Opium Queen
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Khun Sa was a mercenary, a rebel, a warlord and a freedom fighting drugmaker who all-but created the...
NY’s Chinatown Wars: Ghost Shadows, Hong Kong Triads, Tongs, and the China White Heroin Connection
11 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When Nicky Louie stalked the streets in the 1970's, he was the first gangster to scare Chinatown in ...
BONUS PATREON EPISODE: Knives, Drugs, and Albanian Takeovers in London with Max Daly
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Something a little different this week: No regular episode but we've decided to put the patreon bonu...
The Story of Sweden's Gang Crime Chaos: From Yugoslav Kingpins to Bombings, Rifles and Roadblocks
28 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sweden: ABBA, IKEA, third-wave coffee. A wealthy paradise? For some. For others, the Scandinavian st...
Taliban Heroin Gang and the Failed War on Afghanistan's Opium
21 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last two decades, the Taliban have moved from simply taxing Afghanistan's opium farmers to ...
The Golden Age of Hijacking, Kidnapping and Radical Cold War Terror
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Ulrike Meinhof is dead and the remaining founders of the Red Army Faction, aka the Baader Meinhof Ga...
Afghanistan's Opium Nation: Drug Lords, Warlords, and Drug Wars
06 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For decades, starting a few years even before the Taliban took power the first time around, Afghanis...
The Baader Meinhof Gang's 'Revolution' of Murders, Bank Robberies, & Blowing Themselves Up
31 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Baader Meinhof Gang, or Red Army Faction, came about as post-war Germany sought to rebuild from ...
DM'ing Dominican Narcos, The Shooting of David Ortiz, & Cesar The Abuser
24 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The Dominican Republic has long been a transshipment for cocaine heading to the United States and Eu...
The Murdered Crime Reporter & the Mocro Mafia, Holland's Underworld Kings
17 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On July 6, legendary Dutch crime reporter Peter de Vries was shot in broad daylight on an Amsterdam ...
Syria's Narco State, Jihadi Supersoldiers and Hezbollah Traffickers: The Story of Captagon
10 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Multiple billion dollar shipments of the drug known as Captagon have been seized in the last few yea...
Inside North Korea's Meth Trafficking: The World's Biggest Narco State?
03 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When a bizarre group of international gangsters shook on a massive meth deal with a DEA agent in Ban...
The Cuban Mob: Billion Dollar Rackets, the CIA, Lucchese Mafia Firebomb Wars, Miami Cocaine Trafficking and Fidel Castro
27 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jose Miguel Battle's Cuban Mafia known as The Corporation ran a billion dollar numbers racket with b...
The Untold Story of El Chapo's Rise and Fall w/ special guest Noah Hurowitz
20 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
(Apologies for sound issues on this one) Before he was Public Enemy Number One—shipping tons of co...
The Icelandic Drug-Smuggling Fellowship's Massive Bitcoin Heist
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How did an Icelandic band of international drug smugglers pull off their nation’s most shocking he...
Cartel Land: How Acapulco went from Sinatra Singing to Sicarios Shooting
06 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Acapulco has become one of Mexico's, and the world's, bloodiest cities. It saw a stunning 127 murder...
The Snakehead Sister Ping: China's Most Infamous Smuggler
29 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
She was the greatest smuggler, a Chinatown hero. Or was she a menace? Sister Ping made millions from...
The Pink Panthers: The Secretive Organization of the World's Top Jewel Thieves
23 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Emerging out of the breakup of Yugoslavia, the Balkans-based international thieves known as the Pink...
The Russian Mafia's NHL Extortion Play
16 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When the Soviet Union collapsed in the late 80's and early 90's, both gangsters and hockey players h...
Turkey's Mafia Boss Youtube Sensation Trying to Bring Down the State
09 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Sedat Peker has long been a top mafia boss in Turkey, but in recent weeks he's found a new calling: ...
The Billion Dollar Dealer Who Linked Hell's Angels, Mafia Families, Cartels, and Native American Smugglers
02 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jimmy Cournoyer brought a billion dollars of weed into New York City and the east coast through an o...
Curtis Warren, the English Gangster Who Tried to Take Over an Island:
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Curtis Warren wasn't known as "Cocky" for nothing. Perhaps it was his rapid rise to the top of Brita...