The Underworld Podcast

Chinatowns in the United States have never been short on organized crime syndicates, from the early days of secret society tongs to the Triads. In Boston, it was the Sky Dragon who ruled over the gambling, prostitution and drug markets. Somewhere along the way, though, a white kid from south Boston straight out of a Ben Afleck movie would find his way to the top of Boston's Triads. This is the sto...

They began as freedom-fighting pirates, swashbuckling for African rights. But over the decades Nigeria's confraternities descended into vicious cults. Among them one group has spread across the entire world, and Law Enforcement is only now just learning how dangerous the Black Axe really is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Decided to make this free, it's the first of our many bonus episodes up on the patreon, where we'll focus on interviewing experts, journalists, and well-connected individuals. Toby Muse is a journalist who has covered the drug war in Colombia for more than 15 years. We talk about the time he tried to get me killed in Medellin, the acceptance of gay men in the hyper masculine world of cartel member...

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been made by a vicious network of organized crime figures throughout Southeast Asia by preying on what the United Nations has called "the most persecuted people in the world," the stateless and desperate Rohingya people. From the high rises of Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, we follow the transnational network that operates like a modern day slave trade, roping in po...

Few names strike fear into the hearts of Indians quite like Dawood Ibrahim. From a Mumbai slum he built his 'D Company' into the country's biggest mafia. Then he did something truly shocking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tyson Fury, large amounts of cocaine, public executions at press conferences, and Estonian hitmen - Ireland's war between the Hutchs and the Kinahans, one of the biggest drug trafficking cartels in Europe, has it all. From the bloody streets of Dublin to exclusive gated communities on the Spanish Coast, this gangland feud between two of Ireland's most powerful crime family patriarchs has seen doze...

Arkan started off a bankrobber and a hitman before becoming the leader of a vicious paramilitary group that committed war crimes. He grew rich off the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the wars that followed, becoming a new iteration of warlord mafioso. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Berlin is Europe's party capital. But since the 1980's, another kind of club has taken over the city - and not always quietly. Lebanese-Kurdish "problematic families" have taken hold, and one Tony Soprano-like leader stands above the rest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Underworld Podcast, a weekly series where journalists Danny Gold and Sean Williams take you into the secret world of transnational organized crime with all the associated warlords, mobsters and scammers from Brooklyn to Beijing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices