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

Forty years ago this month, 21-year-old Jake Mac Siacais cried in his H-Block cell as his friend Bobby Sands died on hunger strike.Jake had been in the next cell to the republican icon, and when Sands left the wing to go to the prison hospital, it was Jake who gave the final address on behalf of the IRA prisoners.Now 61, Nicola Tallant travels with him to Bobby Sands' grave at the republican plot in Belfast and is given unprecedented access to a man who can shed new light on one of the darkest periods of the Troubles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Dec 202146min

Drug war in Mexico – how the narcos and their violent sicarios are being armed by legally-sold weapons in the US. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Dec 202150min

It's been a year of takedowns and the end of the line for many. And while 2021 closes on a high note for gardai fighting organised crime, it has left many criminals counting their last days of freedom.Nicola Tallant is joined by Sunday World journalists Niall Donald and Eamon Dillon to look back at the stories that made the headlines. From John Gilligan to the Rathkeale Rovers, Gerry 'the Monk' Hutch and his bitter rivals in the Kinahan Cartel, 2021 was a year that will long live in the memory in the world of crime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Dec 202156min

It was the phone hack that rocked the underworld and led to thousands of arrests and record breaking seizures of drugs, guns and dirty money.Yet, Ireland has little to show from the massive Encrochat investigation despite being one of the country’s to receive the shared intelligence from Europol.In this Crime World investigates podcast we look at how the hack happened despite promises that the phone network was the gold standard for criminals and what the fallout has been in Europe and closer to home in Northern Ireland and the UK. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Dec 202129min

So we did it – we got through our first year on Crime World and managed to bag the 'Podcast of the Year' award along the way.It’s been a whirlwind 12 months, covering the tales about criminals, drugs and the sins of the underworld.So, now, Nicola Tallant takes a look back at some of the stories that made the headlines - both nationally and internationally - and the guests who have helped make us Ireland's No1 crime podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

15 Dec 202128min

It was the trial that lifted a lid on sex and lust in rural Ireland and revealed the secrets of a small Tipperary village.When farmer Patrick Quirke received a life sentence for the murder of Bobby Ryan, a popular DJ known as Mr Moonlight, he was quick to appeal his conviction saying the prosecution never proved its case of murder. But despite laying out 50 grounds at the Appeals Court, Quirke has now lost his last bid for freedom and will have to accept his fate.So why did the married Quirke think he could get away with murder? Nicola Tallant chats with journalist Eamon Dillon, who penned a Sunday World booklet The Mr Moonlight Murder about the case. He tells her about a tale of love, jealousy and regret in the heart of an ordinary community. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

11 Dec 202140min

She was a fraudster who almost bankrupted the tight-knit company she worked for, and with the £1.9million she stole from Northern Mouldings Limited she lived a lifestyle akin to a Hollywood superstar.When Julie McBrien, also known as Julie Hogg, was eventually caught she spent years convincing a court that she shouldn’t be named in the media despite her litany of crimes and the eye-watering money she spent on fashion, beauty, jewellery and holidays.But tenacious court reporter Tanya Fowles believed McBrien, who once faked a cancer diagnosis to spend days off work in a luxurious spa, should not be granted anonymity and today tells Nicola Tallant about her own quest for justice to identify her as the thief who almost brought down a family firm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Dec 202127min

The trial of Ghislaine Maxwell in New York is finally underway after years of allegations about her relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and claims that she helped him procure young girls for sex.It has been a sensational fall from grace for the daughter of disgraced newspaper guru Robert Maxwell, who led a life of privilege that few could imagine. In the dock at a US District Court in Manhattan, Maxwell is pleading innocence to charges relating to the sexual abuse of four young girls.Nicola Tallant talks to journalist Brad Hunter, the National Crime Columnist for the Toronto Sun, who has been writing about the story of Epstein and Maxwell for years and who is now covering the court case. He describes the evidence heard so far, the appearance of a prison-weary Maxwell, and his own views on why she is a figure who has garnered little sympathy from the public. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Dec 202124min