Police Tape podcast: Detectives lift lid on nation’s most compelling cases
Real police. Real cases. Extraordinary insights. Step behind the police tape with the detectives who investigated some of Australia’s most compelling crimes in our exciting podcast series, Police Tape, hosted by Merrick Watts.
Crime in Focus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Crime in Focus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
True Crime Australia’s exciting podcast series takes listeners for the first time behind the Police Tape for an insider look at some of Australia’s most compelling crimes.
Hear straight from the investigating police officers, now off the force and on the record, as they talk about the cases that made their careers, have largely remained untold or simply made them cry.
Now we also have a bonus episode taking you inside one of the most dangerous international drug trafficking operations undertaken by Australian cops, as rookie policewoman “Zoe Jones” is thrust into an organised crime network posing as their drug mule.
EPISODE 1: Mark ‘Scarface’ Smith on the death of Michael Hutchence
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
‘He choked me’: Hutchence lover’s shocking revelation
Mark Smith: The truth behind Scarface’s nickname
Tragic loss: Who knew what on the night Hutchence died
Photographer tells: Truth behind first iconic Hutchence family photo
Access denied: Brother seals file on Hutchence death secrets
Safety fears: Bitter battle over bereaved Tiger Lily
EPISODE 2: Ken ‘Slasher’ McKay on crime gangs and ‘dumb’ bikies
‘Dumb bastards’: Gang-busting cop calls out bikie ‘clowns’
Crackdown: How NSW police would smash Melbourne gangs
Uncompromising: Why ‘Slasher’ clashed with cops as well as crims
‘Not racist’: Ex-cop defends ethnic crime squads
Dangerous liaisons: Inside the toughest crime gangs to crack
EPISODE 3: The police job too risky for the bomb squad and being shot at … ‘It’s a contact sport’
Jailhouse gambit: Killer deal to retrieve stolen rocket launcher
Shootouts: Inside the crime family feud that terrorised a city
Criminal appeal: Why we really love a bad boy (or girl)
EPISODE 4: Nick Bingham reveals a gang’s contract to kill police; why pill testing won’t save lives — and the moment a police listening device was mistaken for a bomb
WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
Lives at risk: Gang’s crazy price on task force cops’ heads
Viewpoint: Former drug squad chief’s soft spot for first-time users
Insider knowledge: Secret report reveals drug gangs’ police links
‘Won’t save lives’: Bitter pill for drug testing advocates
EPISODE 5: Ron Mason on the Bathurst riots, stopping a tank and why he had to play the tough guy.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Leap of faith: Ron Mason’s dicey move as stolen tank threatens city
Family tragedy: Legendary cop driven by murder of grandmother
‘Bring it on’: Cops stand firm against firebombs and bricks
EPISODE 6: Ron Mason on the shocking murder of officer Glenn McEnallay, his clashes with the Bra Boys’ Tony Hines and his surprising view on Keli Lane’s conviction
Violence: How Bra Boys’ toughest gangster took on our toughest cop
No body found: Cop’s shocking take on Keli Lane conviction
Glenn McEnallay: Crime stops in honour of slain cop
EPISODE 7: Peter Moroney on the shocking moment counter terrorism officials first realised Australian citizens wished us harm and the chances today of a major attack on home soil
Extremists: Terror threat from hate-filled sleeper cells ‘increasing’
Shooting: Childhood massacre gave rise to terror cop’s career
Coded messages: Sneaky secrets of our old-school crims
New Year’s Eve terror plot: The night we dodged an Australian 9/11
EPISODE 8: Nick Bingham cries over the murder of schoolgirl Ebony Simpson and reveals his own battle with PTSD after three decades with the police.
Raising awareness: Criminals’ money to help cops with PTSD
EPISODE 9: Mark ‘Slasher’ Smith on a career of extremes, from colourful characters such as conman ‘jockey’ Christopher Woods to the senseless death of family man Bob Knight, hit by a stray bullet in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
Scam: Conman ‘jockey’ takes punters for a multimillion-dollar ride
Stray bullet: Why truckie’s freak death haunts former cop
EPISODE 10: Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro takes us into the minds of some of Australia’s worst crims, from the jailhouse genius able to convince everyone he had gone blind to the “bad, not mad” Ivan Milat. Over 41 years, his cases have included Hoddle Street killer Julian Knight, egotistical fraudster Alan Bond and the “highly intelligent” but “extraordinarily violent” Alphonse Gangitano.
Sins of Milat: Why dying backpacker serial killer will never confess
Rogues’ gallery: Watson-Munro names Australia’s most evil man
BONUS EPISODES: In a two-part special, a rookie cop who became a drug mule to bust a $75m heroin operation tells of the terrifying mission for the first time — from Triad spies to sex demands and the day she was certain she would die.
Undercover: Female cop’s secret drug mule life
‘Great danger’: Spies wowed by undercover cop’s audacity
Stings: Three crimes driving more Aussie cops undercover
MEET OUR HOST
The face and narrator of the series, radio personality, actor and presenter Merrick Watts, said he jumped at the chance to meet, hear and tell the former officers’ stories.
“Naturally people will be curious why a comedian would want to host a podcast interviewing police about some of the most serious crimes our country has witnessed,” he said.
“Like so many other people, I find these stories and people fascinating. The unexpected details, the sense of ‘being there’ and the knowledge of what law enforcement does to protect the public intrigues me as much as anyone else. Hosting these conversations was an amazing experience.”
Over the next ten weeks on Police Tape, five former cops will reveal the stories they could not tell before as serving officers, from the execution contracts put out on their heads and the threats to their families, to the bullets they have had to literally dodge and the gangs that continue to pursue them today.
The identities of the officers will not be household names but are known as legends within the ranks of the NSW Police for their tireless, often dangerous but uncompromising behind-the-scenes work to tackle notorious cases and criminals. They also speak freely about continued criminal threats not just in NSW but across the borders to other states.
FOLLOW: True Crime Australia on Facebook
Police Tape is News Corp Australia’s first co-production enterprise with Nova Entertainment and follows the hugely successful Teacher’s Pet series.
The series, produced also by The Daily Telegraph’s Crime Editor Mark Morri and True Crime Australia’s editors Charles Miranda and Fay Gould, was recorded and filmed inside Australia’s oldest police, courthouse and jail facility at The Rocks in Sydney where the nation’s earliest criminal dark days were played out.
Originally published as Police Tape podcast: Detectives lift lid on nation’s most compelling cases
‘Living nightmare’: Family pain of Aussies killed in the Philippines
The family of an Australian couple found dead in a hotel room broke down as they revealed the cruelty behind the senseless murder the Philippines.
Scary way criminals are using GPS trackers
Almost half of all GPS trackers are going to buyers with nefarious backgrounds and many are allegedly used in high-profile cases including the alleged murder of bikie boss Alen Moradian.