Crime World

Socialite Fran Fennell lived it up on a rollercoaster of holidays and nights out with models and executives while selling vast amount of cocaine to the party circuit. And he made vast profits from a unique cocaine start up which saw him fly human mules from Ireland to Australia where he could quadruple his profits.But the playboy dealer who was groomed by underworld killer Eamon ‘The Don’ Dunne and who supplied Dublin high society with lines of cocaine has lost it all after law enforcement on both sides of the globes cracked down on his business and seized his money and shut down his gang.This month Fennell was told he will do eight years in jail for drug trafficking while his co-accused were handed sentences for their roles in the operation.Nicola speaks to Niall Donald about Fennell, his background and his likely future after jail. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new crime drama co-funded by RTE follows the mystery of a missing Irish couple in New Zealand and features a immoral female crime journalist whose character follows a tired Hollywood cliché of the profession as unethical and ruthless.The International Women’s Media Foundation says the tired trope of sexualised female journalists persists in popular culture despite being crass, base and often offensive and which it blames for driving women out of the profession.So will the character of Aileen Ryan flip as the writers of 'The Gone' insist she will as the drama unfolds, or is this prime time drama feeding the gender based harassment and abuse experienced by women in journalism.Nicola is joined by Niall Donald and Sunday World News Editor Eimear Rabbitt as they delve into the misrepresentation of female journalists on the big and small screen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The trial of Jozef Puska, accused of killing 23-year-old Ashling Murphy is in its second week.This week, the jury heard about the admissions made in the defendants Garda interviews, the friend who lied to Gardai and Ashling Murphy’s final movements. Niall Donald is joined by Crime World’s Clodagh Meaney to discuss the developments. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shots fired at the home of former McCarthy-Dundon criminal Jimmy Collins have sparked fears of a new feud erupting in Limerick. Last week, a gunman opened fire on the home on Limerick's Hyde Road following a series of tit -for-tat incidents. It comes as Jimmy Collins, son in law of convicted rapist Thomas O'Neill, is said to have had a falling out with a rival drug dealing faction. Niall Donald speaks to to Eamon Dillon about the rising tensions in Limerick and how it is being played out on the streets and on social media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Children are being radicalised by drug gangs and being turned into killers in the same way that terrorists have, and now the EU wants to develop an early-warning system for countries to recognise the process.The tsunami of cocaine, which is still coming for the block and which has changed the whole face of organised crime is to blame for the shocking societal changes being recognised by the European think thank.The warnings come at the same time the Maersk shipping company have said its entire industry is under threat from cocaine cartels determined to ship their cargoes across the Atlantic.Nicola speaks with Niall Donald about the evolution of organised crime into the biggest threat along with terrorism that we are now facing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He’s the UK’s number-one true crime author who made his name from his conversations with serial killers.But what made former Royal Marine Christopher Berry-Dee want to get up close and personal with the world’s most depraved.?From Aileen Wournos to the 'Monster of the Rivers' Arthur Shawcross, he has delved deep into the crimes and minds of psychopaths.In an interview with Crime World, Berry-Dee explains what drew him to the dark world of more than 30 serial killers and why their shocking stories continue to fascinate the public. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The trial of Jozef Puska accused of murdering 23-year-old schoolteacher Ashling Murphy in Tullamore last year continued today in front of a jury of 3 women and 9 men. The court heard harrowing details from the post-mortem as well as other evidence from the first Garda on scene. Today I’m talking to Crime World’s Clodagh Meaney about the cause of death, the beginnings of the investigation and what the court can expect to hear next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The trial of Jozef Puska, accused of the murder of Ashling Murphy in Tullamore in January 2022 opened at the Central Criminal Court this week.Niall Donald speaks to Crime World’s Clodagh Meaney about the witnesses who came upon the scene and the prosecutions opening statement. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Regency hotel trial lifted the lid on the once secretive links between Dublin's gangland criminals and armed republican groups.Secret recordings of conversations played in court showed how Gerry Hutch still believed the IRA had the power to call a halt to the feud on the city's streets. But unlike previous generations of criminals who feared Republicans, the Kinahan cartel were not cowed by dissidents and took the fight to the paramilitaries.Niall Donald is joined by Dr Brian Hanley from Trinity College Dublin about his book 'Republicanism, Crime and Paramilitary Policing in Ireland' and about the IRA's uneasy relationship with so called ordinary crime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The intriguing story of IRA double agent Freddie Scappaticci is one of mystery and fascination and for years has been the subject of the Operation Kenova investigation due to be published in coming weeks.Nicola speaks with author and former Provision IRA prisoner Richard O’Rawe whose book 'Stakeknife’s Dirty War' exposes British intelligent's top informer and his role in the IRA’s Nutting Squad.He tells Nicola about a narcissist who turned traitor and his sinister role as a notorious torturer who may have told his handlers who was going to live and die during Northern Ireland’s dirty war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.