Cocaine Inc.
The Times and The Sunday Times
An ambitious and unprecedented co-operation between The Times, The Sunday Times and News Corp Australia, the series reports from ten cities in six countries, travelling over 50,000km.
With global cocaine production currently at record highs and the criminal organisations involved now rivalling governments for global power, the podcast asks: how did we get here? Have we been looking at this problem the wrong way for decades? And what can we learn to help us challenge this illegal trade?
Through a series of courageous on-the-ground reporting and exclusive interviews reporters Fiona Hamilton, David Collins, and Stephen Drill uncover every step of the global cocaine supply chain. From the coca fields of Colombia; where the drug is grown; to the narco tunnels used to smuggle processed cocaine into the US; to vast shipping ports in Europe that function as logistics hubs in the international business; to the street gangs of northern England used as retail workers selling direct to customers; then following the money trail to Dubai, where these profits are laundered and seem to disappear into a maze of gold markets and complex corporate structures; before finally picking up the trail again in suburban Melbourne, to a $10million dollar house bought with alleged criminal profits, not far from the home address of one of the series’ hosts.
The podcast features interviews from both authorities across the world, current and former criminals who give a new insight into how the trade works, including a cash mule involved in the UK’s largest cash smuggling operation in history. It is the first time anyone from the group, who laundered over £100 million, has spoken out.
Grounded in the human stories of those who have suffered as a result of this industry’s relentless expansion, Cocaine Inc. is a deeply compassionate piece of reportage. Developed over a full year, the production team juggled time zones and the competing demands of audio, print and video to bring together more than 50 hours of audio into a series that will change the way you look at the world, forever.
The podcast generated front-page newspaper coverage in both the UK and Australia, dominated the Apple podcast charts on release and has exceeded all expectations in terms of downloads.
In the UK, the podcast series was a Sunday Times Magazine front cover and long read (“White Gold: How a group of British beauticians helped turn dirty cash from cocaine deals into precious metal in Dubai” June, 2024), as well as two further articles in the The Times and Sunday Times.
One reviewer described it as “ambitious, rigorous investigative reporting”, adding: “it is a stimulating, entertaining, thought-provoking listen exposing the unglamorous truth about a (common) habit.”
In Australia - The Sunday Telegraph, Courier Mail, Advertiser and Sunday Herald Sun papers ran front pages (eg. “United in Evil” June, 2024).