Crime World

New IRA leader Thomas Ashe Mellon found himself arrested by police over the border this week hours after he failed an explosives test when he went to visit inmates in the Republic’s high security Portlaoise Jail. So what was Mellon doing meeting with the New IRA’s southern command with the permission of Northern Ireland’s courts and in the company of the respected Fianna Fáil TD Eamon O’Cuiv.Nicola speaks with her colleague Allison Morris about the future of the New IRA and hopes that they may be considering a more political horizon.

Three women who admitted helping evil Jonathan Cresswell cover up details around the death of showjumper Katie Simpson were handed down suspended prison sentences today.Hayley Robb, Jill Robinson and Rose De Montmorency Wright each believed that Katie had taken her own life and had not been murdered when they helped Cresswell wash his clothing and hide the fact he had assaulted the 21-year-old in the hours before her death.At Derry Magistrates Court journalist Ciaran O’Neill watched as the three women were sentenced for their roles in the secret pact around her death and as her mother’s victim impact statement revealed that Cresswell had sat at her hospital bedside as she died.Nicola speaks to Ciaran about the sentencing, the reaction of the Simpson family and the remarks of the Judge about the controlling and predatory Cresswell.

A Congolese asylum seeker has been deported by the Garda National Immigration Bureau days after he walked free from another jail term.Chico Makamda was jailed in 2019 for a horrific sexual attack on a woman but had clocked up 15 other previous convictions in the 10 years he’d been in Ireland.Although he agreed to leave the country he never did.Nicola speaks to Eamon Dillon about the high-profile deportation from the country in recent weeks.

The families of Bloody Sunday victims are angry that Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service has failed to challenge former paratrooper Soldier F’s anonymity and that the public will continue to know neither his name nor face.Outspoken Michael McKinney, a brother of victim William who was murdered on January 30th 1972, has led a chorus of criticism against the PPS and the fact that it didn’t take time to seek the views of those left behind to grieve.Nicola speaks to Niall Donald about the latest developments in the 52 year old atrocity and we will also broadcast an interview with Michael recorded in Derry last year.

A heartbroken mum is taking her fight for tougher prison sentences for drug dealers to the government.Pauline Duddy’s 21-year-old daughter Jasmine died from a suspected drug overdose despite getting clean time and again.Since her death, her mum has dedicated her life to campaigning for more jail time for the dealers who she says “are murdering our young people”.The Derry woman speaks to me and journalist Ciaran O’Neill about the life and death of her beloved daughter who slipped away to addiction before her eyes.

A Dutch court has convicted and sentenced six men in connection with the murder of the well-known crime reporter and TV presenter Peter R De Vries.But sentences of life requested by the prosecution in the trial were not handed down to those charged as the court said that after a grinding three-year trial a motive for De Vries death had not been proved.Nicola speaks to Niall Donald about the sentencing and we also re-broadcast a lengthy interview about the murder with our colleague Jan Meeus which was filmed and recorded last year as we visited the crime scene and remembered his colleague and friend

The house of murder accused turned state witness Jonathan Dowdall has gone on the market with a hefty price tag as he prepares for his release from jail and a new life once he signs off the programme.In a sign that his days as a witness which saw him give against Gerry The Monk Hutch found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne are firmly over the Dublin home with an asking price of just under €800,000 has been polished and is ready for viewers.Nicola speaks to Niall Donald as they go behind the hall door to the house that witnessed Garda raids and torture sessions and where Dowdall indulged his love for zen gardens and exotic Koi Fish.

Sean ‘The Fixer’ Fitzgerald staged a dirty protest at the funeral of veteran criminal Fran ‘The Lamb’ Cunningham when he smeared excrement over a photographer's car.Nicola speaks with snapper Ernie Leslie who was bemused and disgusted by The Fixer's successful efforts to get himself back into the news.And we discuss the media's chequered history with the 78-year-old who has regularly made headlines with his strange and odd behaviour.

The history of organised crime in the US and the rise of the mafia is a story that is intrinsically linked to the party capital of Las Vegas where mobsters mixed with celebrities to launder their dirty money.Myths and legends surround the mob's arrival in Vegas and their takeover of the legal gambling industry that turned it into a playground for the rich and famous.But the real story of Las Vegas and the emergence of organised crime from the prohibition era is laid out in one of Sin City’s most fascinating experiences - The Mob Museum.Nicola is joined by Geoff Schumacher the Vice President of Exhibits and Programs at the museum which I visited in recent weeks.