The tag ‘Bandit Country’ was long used for what was once described as lawless ‘South Armagh’.

But times have changed and now the towns situated along the border region of Ireland want to put the dark days of the past behind them and be recognised as thriving modern communities.

So how do we move forward while recognising the potentially incendiary political and constitutional proposals to police regions that straddle Garda Siochana and PSNI territories.

Belfast Telegraph crime correspondent Allison Morris chats with Nicola Tallant about the possible pitfalls and discusses policing in South Armagh, the crime gangs who are gaining from politics and the controversy of cross border ‘hot pursuit’.

Episode 46: The crime gangs and smugglers on the Irish Border

Cocaine starts out as a leaf on a tree but how does it get from the jungles of Colombia to the streets of Ireland? How many people die and who gets rich along the way?

In this week's episode of Crime World, Nicola Tallant talks to film-maker Toby Muse and traces a Kilo of coke from its beginnings in a makeshift laboratory to the Pacific Coast where it sets sail for the US and Europe.

Episode 3: Cocaine - a deadly journey to our shores

The secret past of Godfather of Crime George ‘The Penguin’ Mitchell is forming part of an intriguing trial into a dark net bunker and a Dutchman called Herman Xennt.

This week on Crime World Ed Caesar of the New Yorker explains how Mitchell and Xennt’s relationship goes back decades right to the very beginning of the internet and to an underground porn hub.

Episode 4: The Penguin and the bunker

Detective Anthony Amore hunts stolen art and follows clues all over the world hunting priceless masterpieces which have been snatched by thieves. In this week's episode of Crime World, detective Anthony Amore talks about one time heiress, Rose Dugdale, who gave up a charmed life to become an IRA activist and a thief who picked out the jewels of Russborough House in Wicklow and later inspired the legendary criminal Martin The General Cahill. He also reveals what he thinks about another famous criminal Martin ‘The Viper’ Foley and his tall tales.

Episode 6: A stolen masterpiece and an unlikely thief

In this week's Crime World podcast, Nicola Tallant talks to Dr Nicola Fox Hamilton, an expert in cyberpsychology. She talks about online crime and dating during the pandemic. She reveals the dangers that can be hiding behind the faces of attractive strangers and how romance fraudsters and sexploitation scams are now being run by organised criminal gangs.

Episode 8: Criminal gangs targeting online dating sites as millions look for love online in 2021

It was a murder that broke all rules with a male victim, two unlikely killers and a family torn apart. Now the killing of dad Jason Corbett is to be played out again in a US courtroom as murderers Molly Martens and her father Tom make a bid for freedom. But behind the legal tape lies the shocking evidence of the sheer brutality of Jason’s death. Ralph Riegel, Irish Independent journalist and author of My Brother Jason, unravels the lies and intrigue that turned a fairytale into a nightmare.

* To find out about the mental health services and supports available in your area, call the YourMentalHealth information line on Freephone 1800 111 888. You can also send a text to 50808 to get support and information about services.

Episode 9: The murder of Jason Corbett and the fairytale that turned into a nightmare

He was the head of the Sinaloa Cartel and for years he was a master of escape using underground tunnels and secret passageways to evade the authorities. But Mexican drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman's now spends his days in solitary confinement in the most secure prison in the US.

So how was he actually caught and did his luck simply run out? New York Times journalist and El Jefe author Alan Feuer describes the secret wiretaps investigations which were run by the FBI, the DEA and Homeland Security and tells Crime World how El Chapo became the hunted as teams of investigators closed in on their prey.

Episode 10: The stalking of El Chapo Guzmán

They are the a-listers of gangland – murderous twins whose faces are iconic images of the underworld. Ronnie and Reggie Kray were immortalised in movies, theatre, television and books but did their crimes match their celebratory? Or did they just get lucky.

Criminal lawyer and author James Morton untangles the real story of the Krays and separates fact from fiction.

Episode 11: Gangland's a-list celebs - The Krays

Crime World, with Nicola Tallant, is a weekly Irish podcast about criminals, drugs and the sins of the underworld. Discussing the real stories, and the real people, behind the grisly headlines.

Episode 46: The crime gangs and smugglers on the Irish Border

Crime World

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