Episode 1270: Two men linked to ‘Irish Mafia’ arrested in armed raid in Colombia

THEY remain Ireland’s most notorious loyalist terrorists, but 'Mad Dog' Johnny Adair and his right-hand man Sam ‘Skelly’ McCrory had been enjoying a retirement of sorts in Scotland.Friends since childhood, they had embraced anarchy, fascism and later formed the murderous UDA 'C Company' which terrorised Northern Ireland for years.But this week, the tight-knit duo were finally separated for good when McCrory died in a tragic accident after battling alcoholism for years, leaving behind Adair to forge his future alone.Nicola Tallant talks with Sunday World journalist Hugh Jordan, author of 'Mad Dog; The Rise and Fall of Johnny Adair and ‘C Company', who became an unlikely confidant of the pair in recent years.He tells me about the fear they brought to the streets of Belfast, about their blood-brother bond which survived through the decades, and about the death of McCrory on a lonely stone stairway Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Juli 202242min

A survivor of the Cold War and of the notorious Russian Gulags, Imre Arakas was an international hitman who washed up on our shores like a character dreamed up in a work of fiction.His paymaster for this trip was Daniel Kinahan, the son of Christy Kinahan Snr and director general of the Irish mafia on the Costa Del Sol where Arakas lived.He’d worked for them before and he’d always been paid swiftly and efficiently on completion of a jobHe’d flown into Dublin with a tent, a little camping stove, fishing rods and binoculars, looking every bit the nature lover who enjoyed holidays in the great outdoors.Despite his celebrity as an international hitman for hire, Arakas was confident that nobody would know him in Ireland and that he could pass off as a tourist.It didn’t quite work out like that though. This is his story. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Juli 202240min

Some mothers would do anything for their sons - and Sophie Kokkinos proved her loyalty when she took part in the killing of a man found burning in a London Park.Drug dealer Loike Guei’s body was discovered by a cyclist at Mitcham Common in September 2020, which led police to the home of Raphael Kokkinos, a 34-year-old who was believed to owe him money.But their investigation didn’t stop at the assault which led to his death and instead led officers to the door of his elderly mother who they discovered had helped him in the cover-up.Nicola Tallant talks with journalist Chris Sommers, editor of Total Crime, who covered their trial. He tells me the story of drugs row, a crime scene deep clean and a family matriarch who helped cover up for her son. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Juli 202227min

It was an explosion of violence that claimed five lives in a few months yet it is indicative of the new gangland where bullets do the talking.From the murder of 23-year-old Zach Parker outside a gym to the assassination of a 41 year old Iranian blasted to death as he came to pay respects to his slain mob boss, the heady months of 2019 in Coolock left a devastating legacy.So why did violence spiral out of control in a part of Dublin which often finds itself at the epicentre of gang wars. Was the fallout a freak occurrence or simply a very modern feudToday I’m talking to the Sunday World Deputy Editor Niall Donald about the jailing of gun killer Wayne Cooney, about the frightening murders than engulfed a group of friends and about those left behind to pick up the pieces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Juli 202233min

THE US Sanctions on the Kinahan organised crime group and the $5million rewards for the capture of the 'Dapper Don', Christy Kinahan Snr and his criminal sons, Daniel and Christopher Jnr, has been the peak point in the fight by law enforcement against their global cartel.But how do police try to take down a mafia and what does the involvement of the powerful United States mean? How will a piece of legislation passed by Barack Obama in 2011 actually affect the billion dollar empire of the Kinahans?Nicola Tallant talks with Roy McComb, the one time head of Organised Crime for the PSNI in Northern Ireland and the former Deputy Director at the National Crime Agency in the UK. He reveals how police face down the monster of an international drug cartel like the Kinahans and tells how they came into the sights of the US authorities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Juli 202241min

He has been described as one of New Zealand’s most wanted fugitives, accused of masterminding one of the country’s largest shipments of methamphetamine in history.Now, the Irishman at the centre of the 500kg seizure has been arrested while skiing in Spain’s Sierra Nevada region and New Zealand authorities are hoping that he will be extradited within months.Nicola Tallant is joined by Jared Savage, Crime Correspondent with the New Zealand Herald, to discuss the little known suspect Mark ‘Baldy’ Byrne, and how the Dubliner is suspected of heading up a criminal network spanning from Europe, to Asia and into the lucrative drug territories of biker-gang led New Zealand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Juli 202238min

Ghislaine Maxwell was the queen of the London social scene and would later mix with New York’s elite, courting billionaires, presidents and celebrities.Her epic fall from grace has portrayed her as a victim of her paedophile lover Jeffrey Epstein - but is their case really all about the abuse of young girls and the fulfilment of his insatiable sexual appetite, or is it far more about money and power?Journalist Matthew Steeples, of online blog 'The Steeple Times', has spent years investigating the case and has tried to follow the Maxwell money trail.He tells Nicola Tallant about his own views on Maxwell and how he believes she was the one who wore the trousers in the relationship with Epstein. We talk hidden cameras, a secret address book and a money trail right into the heart of their twisted world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

12 Juli 202237min

It was a backpacking adventure that would become an unsolved cold case murder that has haunted Shenadoah National Park in Virginia since 1996, when hikers Lollie Winans and Julie Williams turned up dead in their tent.But now, writer and outdoor expert Kathryn Miles has made an attempt to solve the case and is convinced that the students who were found bound and assaulted were the victims of a serial killer.Nicola Tallant chats with Miles about the case and why she was drawn to it. She tells of the bad policing detailed in her new book Trailed, about the effects of the double murder on outdoor adventurers and about her compelling theory that serial killer Richart Evonitz was actually responsible for the killings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Juli 202250min