The Rise and Fall of Silk Road
A long look at the infamous online marketplace for illegal goods, starting with a DEA raid on a grandpa in Utah who had just taken receipt of $27,000 of cocaine. http://www.bit.ly/wired-silkroad
The Trafficker
One from the New Yorker archives (2010), this is the story of one of the world’s leading arms dealers. Monzer al-Kassar was a man who lived up to many stereotypes of his profession – speaking many languages, piloting his own private jet, and running a fleet of Mercedes to get about town.
Cocaine, Tug Boats and Tip Offs
A detailed account of how “the largest drugs bust in UK history” played out. http://www.bit.ly/wired-cocaine
The Old and the Restless
A tale of some very rum goings on stretching back to the 1970s in Ajijic, a pretty lakeside town in Mexico full of expats that liked to party.
James Bailey Is a Liar. Is He a Murderer?
A deep dive into the case of James Bailey, and the question of whether he took part in a drug related killing, or whether a corrupt police and justice system got him convicted.
The Afterlife of Pablo Escobar
The controversial and bloody legacy of the world’s most famous drug trafficker remains a profitable business for many, including some members of his family and former associates.
Queen of Cartels
The story of Sandra Ávila Beltrán, a woman who reached the upper echelons of the Mexican drug cartels.
Serial Killers Should Fear This Algorithm
A former data journalist has pooled information about thousands of murders and sought to identify hitherto undiscovered links between them.
Nothing But The Truth
The ‘Mystery of the Hollywood Head’ was one of the first cases where US law enforcement tested a radical new interrogation technique, first developed in the military.
Meet the Woman Who Helps Humanize Murderers
A profile of the person whose job it is to influence juries in trials for serious crimes (often those carrying the death penalty) by telling the defendant’s background story.