Episode 1222: Ruth Lawrence double murder trial begins after years on the run in South Africa

Across the world, cannabis is being de-criminalised and in some countries legalised but with a higher potency and soaring prices, consumption of weed has become the main drug of concern amongst teenagers.Here, Nicola Tallant talks with consultant psychiatrist Dr Bobby Smyth, who works with young addicts and who fears a tsunami of problems as attitudes to the drug become increasingly lenient.He reveals the changing trends of problem drug use in teenagers, about the public health drive which has stamped out heroin addiction in young people and how cannabis has taken over as the main reason that kids need addiction services. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Jan 202246min

The murder of another witness in the Marengo Trial, the shocking revelations that suspect Ridouan Taghi was plotting a navy-seal-type jailbreak and a dramatic security breach around an under-threat journalist - what will happen next in The Netherlands?In a country under siege from organised crime, the very foundations of law and order are being challenged as a street dealer turned cocaine billionaire takes on the pillars of a state.Nicola Tallant talks to Dutch colleague Saskia Belleman of De Telegraaf, who is a courts correspondent working on the most extraordinary gangland story in living memory – one which echoes the brutal battle to take down Pablo Escobar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27 Jan 202224min

Nicola Tallant tells the story of 'Fat' Freddie Thompson, one of Ireland's most-feared mobsters.From his rise as a street fighter in Dublin to becoming the head of a gangland murder machine, we retrace the violent steps he took on his rise to power and how gardai finally ended his bloody reign of terror. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Jan 202240min

Nicola Tallant tells the story of 'Fat' Freddie Thompson, one of Ireland's most-feared mobsters.From his rise as a street fighter in Dublin to becoming the head of a gangland murder machine, we retrace the violent steps he took on his rise to power and how gardai finally ended his bloody reign of terror. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Jan 202247min

Former businessman Jimmy Mansfield Jnr went to jail this week, convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice by directing that CCTV footage be destroyed.The conviction centres around the kidnap of one of his late father’s employees, Martin Byrne. And while Mansfield Jnr was acquitted of involvement in the abduction, six men, led by terrorists Dessie O’Hare and Declan ‘Whacker' Duffy, have been convicted - and a judge has said Mansfield knowingly engaged them to help recover his assets lost in the 2008 economic crash.At the heart of the Mansfield trial was the story that Byrne told in the witness box of the day he came face to face with O’Hare – and how it changed his life for good.But who is Dessie O’Hare and what other lives has he crossed in a five decade criminal career? Nicola Tallant talks to Fr. Brian D’Arcy about his dealings with O’Hare during the kidnap of his friend the dentist John O’Grady. He recalls an incredible story that has stayed with him all his life and relives the day he too believed he was set to become a victim of the 'Border Fox'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Jan 202240min

He was the playboy prince of the Celtic Tiger era and lived it up in a luxury mansion frequented by top models and socialites.But businessman Jim Mansfield Jnr is now doing porridge with common criminals after he was found guilty of perverting the course of justice.Over the course of a year, a sensational trial heard evidence about a who's who of paramilitaries and organised crime groups brought in by Mansfield to help claw back the family wealth after the economic crash, and of the terrifying kidnap of a former employee now turned state witness.While Mansfield has been found not guilty of false imprisonment, his reputation lies in ruins and from his prison cell, his once gilded life must seem a million miles away.Nicola Tallant chats with Sunday World Deputy Editor Niall Donald about the incredible fall of Jim Mansfield Jnr. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Jan 202231min

He’s the hitman for hire who claims to have turned his life around - and nowadays Alan Wilson says he is writing poetry and staying away from his former gang, the Kinahans, while behind bars.Just weeks ago, the sinister criminal begged a judge to be lenient and claimed he would live an honest life when allowed to go free. But at the Special Criminal Court, Justice Tara Burns said Wilson, who has twice pleaded guilty to conspiracy to murder, was involved in a ‘highly sophisticated, meticulously planned attack in front of a large group of civilians which left two victims with lifelong injuries. She gave him 10 years and refused to backdate the sentence.So who is Alan Wilson and has he really gone straight? Nicola Tallant talks to journalist and author Stephen Breen about the two faces of Wilson and how the callous mobster can switch from loving family man to black-hearted killer in the blink of an eye. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Jan 202235min

It was a brutal gangland murder that made headlines across the world. Now, two years on from the murder of 17-year-old Keane Mulready Woods, it seems an uneasy peace has descended on Drogheda.With two men facing trial this year for the teenager's murder, a third man due to be sentenced in relation to the disposal of his body and a number of key players in the feuding gangs behind bars or on the run, a lot has changed for the rival mobs.Nicola Tallant talks with Irish Independent Crime Correspondent Ken Foy, who says that despite the crackdown on organised crime and the success in breaking up two powerful gangs in the commuter town, gardai remain on high alert for a return to violence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

13 Jan 202223min