Intrigue

The search for a convicted people smuggler who put money in the UK planning for retirement. This investigation stems from a tip-off: a convicted smuggler once dubbed the most successful in history, is currently living in the UK and running a string of businesses here. Could it be true? Sue and Rob go on the hunt for Twana Jamal – a smuggler who had so many aliases he had to write them on his baseb...

A late night phone call: have Sue and Rob finally unmasked the people-smuggling king pin? A journalist and an ex-soldier search for the identity of a people smuggler believed to be responsible for thousands of illegal crossings to the UK by small boats and lorries. They start with a false name: Kardo Ranya. A man who has evaded arrest for several years by keeping his real identity a closely guarde...

Sue and Rob head to the Iraqi town that’s become a hotbed of smuggling and the starting point for many migrant journeys – Ranya. There, they unravel what's happened to scores of missing boys taken hostage and tortured as they try to reach the UK. A journalist and an ex-soldier search for the identity of a people smuggler believed to be responsible for thousands of illegal crossings to the UK by sm...

A Turkish smuggler and his money man reveal more about alliances between criminal gangs. A journalist and an ex-soldier search for the identity of a people smuggler believed to be responsible for thousands of illegal crossings to the UK by small boats and lorries. They start with a false name: Kardo Ranya. A man who has evaded arrest for several years by keeping his real identity a closely guarded...

A hidden location. Migrants awaiting a boat crossing. Who helps them to reach the UK? A journalist and an ex-soldier search for the identity of a people smuggler believed to be responsible for thousands of illegal crossings to the UK by small boats and lorries. They start with a false name: Kardo Ranya. A man who has evaded arrest for several years by keeping his real identity a closely guarded se...

A pause in small boat crossings and a coincidence that reveals how boats are delivered. A journalist and an ex-soldier search for the identity of a people smuggler believed to be responsible for thousands of illegal crossings to the UK by small boats and lorries. They start with a false name: Kardo Ranya. A man who has evaded arrest for several years by keeping his real identity a closely guarded...

Gangs exert power through fear, but where are they getting weapons from? A journalist and an ex-soldier search for the identity of a people smuggler believed to be responsible for thousands of illegal crossings to the UK by small boats and lorries. They start with a false name: Kardo Ranya. A man who has evaded arrest for several years by keeping his real identity a closely guarded secret. It make...

A journalist and an ex-soldier search for the identity of a people smuggler believed to be responsible for thousands of illegal crossings to the UK by small boats and lorries. They start with a false name: Kardo Ranya. A man who has evaded arrest for several years by keeping his real identity a closely guarded secret. It makes it near impossible for law enforcement agencies to issue and internatio...

A new people smuggling boss is running routes into the UK. Who is he, and can his true identity be revealed? To Catch a Scorpion duo Sue Mitchell and Rob Lawrie investigate.

Crossing the road between interviews, Jenny receives the opportunity she has been waiting for. A chance to meet Julius Kivimäki and finally seek answers from him. She heads to Turku prison in Western Finland, where Kivimäki is serving his sentence. Written and presented by Jenny Kleeman. Producer: Sam Peach. Executive Producer: Georgia Catt. Sound Design: Sam Peach Original music composed, perform...

Within a month of the Vastaamo data breach, Tomi Haustola, a Finnish stand up comedian, is on stage making jokes about it. But Tomi himself is one of the thousands of victims. He tells Jenny how he went to Vastaamo because he was burnt-out and anxious and couldn’t tell anyone - except his therapist. When he discovers a hacker had stolen his therapy notes, Tomi decides to share his story with the a...

Authorities think Julius Kivimäki could be responsible for the Vastaamo data breach and the leaking of patient records. They want to bring him in for questioning, but he’s disappeared. Kivimäki is known to brag about his international lifestyle. He could be anywhere. Jenny meets Pasi Vainio, the prosecutor who places Kivimäki on Europol’s Most Wanted List. Pasi takes Jenny through the evidence tha...

ransom_man’s final post contained clues to his identity. In those clues, former cybercrime detective Antti Kurittu recognises similarities to of the biggest hacker he ever investigated, a Finnish teenager called Julius Kivimäki. So who is Julius Kivimäki, and could he be the person who held a nation’s darkest secrets to ransom? Jenny’s search for answers leads her away from Finland, to meet a man...

After a shocking data breach at the Finnish psychotherapy service Vastaamo, a nation’s secrets are being held to ransom by a faceless hacker. Jenny Kleeman traces the story. After negotiations with Vastaamo fail, ransom_man begins publishing 100 patient records a day on the dark web. He posts a link to the records on popular sites like Reddit and Ylilauta, Finland’s version of 4chan. He ends the p...

A shocking data breach at a Finnish psychotherapy service. Jenny Kleeman traces the story of a nation’s secrets held to ransom by a faceless hacker. We all have some thoughts we’d never write down. Now, just imagine that someone had got hold of those thoughts, and was threatening to publish them for all the world to see - if you didn’t pay to stop them. This is what happened to Tiina, a Headteache...

What would you do if your deepest secrets were held to ransom? Jenny Kleeman investigates one of the world's most audacious hacks. When a shocking data breach takes place at a Finnish psychotherapy service, the nation's darkest secrets are held to ransom by a faceless hacker. He calls himself ransom_man. Award-winning journalist Jenny Kleeman (BBC Radio 4's The Gift) traces the story from the firs...

A dark, cold morning in February 2025. Hundreds are filing into the Museum of the Bible - evangelical leaders, gospel singers, and over 30 members of Congress including Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. They've gathered just three blocks from the US Capitol for an annual event of fervent prayer about what they see as America's most pressing problems. Meanwhile, journalist Ben Lewis explores how a...

In April 2019, Dr Roberta Mazza receives an email from an academic in charge of Research at the Museum of the Bible which leads to the exposure of one of the most extraordinary breaches of trust in biblical scholarship. Through exclusive interviews, Ben Lewis reveals how the Museum of the Bible discovered that precious gospel fragments they had purchased for hundreds of thousands of dollars may ha...

Federal investigators uncover a shadowy scheme to smuggle ancient clay tablets into America. When customs officers in Memphis inspect a package labelled "tile samples" in January 2011, they discover something far more precious - delicate clay tablets covered in cuneiform, one of humanity's earliest forms of writing. Through exclusive interviews with former US prosecutor Karin Orenstein and special...

A biblical scholar's dramatic last-minute announcement at a packed debate hints at a fragment that could rewrite history. On a winter's night in 2012, an extraordinary claim electrifies a university auditorium in North Carolina - the discovery of what could be the earliest known Christian text, written within decades of Jesus's life. Through exclusive interviews, investigative journalist Ben Lewis...

A threatening message leads a papyrologist into the shadowy world of online antiquities trading. On a September morning in 2017, Dr Roberta Mazza opens her WhatsApp to find menacing messages and warnings to "watch her back". How did a respected academic specialising in ancient texts find herself at the crossroads of biblical scholarship and antiquities looting? Through exclusive interviews, invest...

In July 2017, Dr Jeff Kloha is preparing to start his dream job as Director of Collections at Washington DC's new Museum of the Bible when he discovers his new employer’s biggest donor has been caught up in a government investigation. The donor, Hobby Lobby, has been ordered to return 3,500 artefacts and pay a $3 million settlement. Through exclusive interviews with museum officials and evangelica...

A billionaire family's mission to amass ancient biblical treasures leads to them getting caught up in an international web of looted artefacts, forgeries and criminal networks. Art sleuth Ben Lewis uncovers how the Green family - owners of America's Hobby Lobby craft stores - spent millions racing to gather biblical manuscripts and artefacts. Their unprecedented collecting spree - 40,000 items in...

More than half a century after Muriel McKay's abduction and murder, her body has never been found. This final episode explores the various theories about Muriel's fate - from a beach burial to a gruesome disposal on the farm. New information emerges, including a shocking claim from Arthur Hosein about Muriel's burial site. The McKay family continues their desperate search for answers, while grappl...

The trial of Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein for Muriel McKay's murder begins in September 1970. Despite the lack of a body, prosecutors build a strong case using forensic evidence. Nizamodeen makes limited admissions, while Arthur spins wild tales. The brothers are found guilty, but the verdict brings little comfort to the McKay family. For decades, they struggle with unresolved grief and unanswered...