Episode 116: Michael Stone - a true Loyalist paramilitary or simply a violent psychopath?

It is a story that reads like the plot from a Hollywood movie and punches right into the heart of one of the most secretive regimes in the world.Hackers from the so-called ‘Lazarus Group’ first shut down Sony Studios when it attempted to screen a movie about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and then went on to attempt a daring theft of $1billion dollars from a Bangladesh Bank.But who are the Lazarus Group and how did they emerge from a secretive nation where only the chosen few are allowed online?Nicola Tallant talks to author and journalist Geoff White about the incredible tale played out in his top podcast 'The Lazarus Heist' and in his new book of the same name. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Jun 20221h

She is the former Irish soldier who, a court heard, enveloped herself in the black flag of IS.Now, Lisa Smith awaits her fate in the Special Criminal Court, which heard the details of her journey into the dark heart of Islamic terrorism.During her trial, she was portrayed as a vulnerable, love-lorn woman who believed she was following her religion and beliefs when she travelled to Syria - but instead found herself in a harsh regime and surrounded with violence which she never expected nor condoned.But the State said different, and FBI officers said it was beyond suspicion that she had joined the group.Today Nicola Tallant talks with courts correspondent Eoin Reynolds about the sensational trial which ended with a guilty verdict and a sobbing mother now counting the cost of the choices she made. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2 Jun 202248min

When drug dealer James Whelan was gunned down in Finglas, north Dublin, two months ago gardai braced themselves for an explosion of violence and tit-for-tat attacks.In recent weeks, the home of Whelan’s mother, Sonya, has been firebombed amidst 70 violent incidents linked to the feuding gangs, many of which are flagged on social media postings.But is this Finglas feud the future of gangland wars or is it part of the fallout of the collapse of the Kinahan empire where the so-called ‘Flashy’ gang once held a prominent position of power?Nicola Tallant talks to Sunday World deputy Editor Niall Donald about the dirty warfare on the streets of a Dublin suburb and the consequences of it for policing drug mobs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Mai 202224min

When the Criminal Assets Bureau was set up in 1996 after the brutal murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was its first target. A known drug dealer and with a string of convictions, Bomber was then running a lucrative business along with his cousin Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh. They were dealing whatever they could get their hands on and making a pretty penny as a result. Hatchet would be shot dead in Marbella in 2014, a hit understood to have been sanctioned by Kavanagh and organised by his then business partner, Daniel Kinahan.But when David Byrne took a bullet meant for Daniel at the Regency Hotel in February 2016 — it changed everything and cemented a blood bond between Kinahan and Kavanagh that would set them in the sights of international law enforcement. Now, in a Crime World special, we reveal the rise and spectacular fall of Bomber's empire and why he became one of Ireland's most-feared mob bosses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28 Mai 202234min

When the Criminal Assets Bureau was set up in 1996 after the brutal murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was its first target. A known drug dealer and with a string of convictions, Bomber was then running a lucrative business along with his cousin Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh. They were dealing whatever they could get their hands on and making a pretty penny as a result. Hatchet would be shot dead in Marbella in 2014, a hit understood to have been sanctioned by Kavanagh and organised by his then business partner, Daniel Kinahan.But when David Byrne took a bullet meant for Daniel at the Regency Hotel in February 2016 — it changed everything and cemented a blood bond between Kinahan and Kavanagh that would set them in the sights of international law enforcement. Now, in a Crime World special, we reveal the rise and spectacular fall of Bomber's empire and why he became one of Ireland's most-feared mob bosses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Mai 202232min

When the Criminal Assets Bureau was set up in 1996 after the brutal murder of journalist Veronica Guerin, Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh was its first target. A known drug dealer and with a string of convictions, Bomber was then running a lucrative business along with his cousin Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh. They were dealing whatever they could get their hands on and making a pretty penny as a result. Hatchet would be shot dead in Marbella in 2014, a hit understood to have been sanctioned by Kavanagh and organised by his then business partner, Daniel Kinahan.But when David Byrne took a bullet meant for Daniel at the Regency Hotel in February 2016 — it changed everything and cemented a blood bond between Kinahan and Kavanagh that would set them in the sights of international law enforcement. Now, in a Crime World special, we reveal the rise and spectacular fall of Bomber's empire and why he became one of Ireland's most-feared mob bosses. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Mai 202225min

Emer O'Loughlin (23) had her whole life ahead of her when she was brutally murdered in a mobile home in Galway in 2005. She had just finished a year-long trip across the world with her boyfriend Shane and they were living in caravan site while they saved money. But on April 8 2005, Shane received a call to say that the mobile home next to theirs, owned by a man named John Griffin, was on fire. Human remains were subsequently found in the burnt wreckage of the caravan and DNA tests confirmed Emer's family's worst fears, that she had died in the blaze. A post-mortem was unable to determine her cause of death and it was not until 2010, after her body was exhumed, that it was discovered that Emer had suffered a violent death before the fire. Today, I’m joined by April Keogh, whose new documentary on TG4 about Emer, explains how her family's lives changed forever the night she was murdered. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Mai 202229min

Keeping the peace inside Ireland's prison system has never been easy - but the fall of the Kinahan cartel has made life behind bars more dangerous than ever.According to prison officials, there are currently a total of 166 inmates from 14 separate criminal mobs jailed in prisons across the country. However, prison insiders claim that the lines between the different gangs have become so blurred, with the influence of the Kinahan cartel so all pervasive, that the traditional divides can no longer be said to apply.Five prisons, in particular, house the majority of the country’s most notorious gangland criminals.These are: Mountjoy, Portlaoise, Wheatfield, Castlerea and Limerick.Today, I’m joined by Sunday World Deputy Editor Niall Donald to look at how the Prison Service are keeping Ireland's most notorious gangsters under control while behind bars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Mai 202235min