WEBVTT - Episode 5 - Nerds vs Narcos

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin Just a quick note before we start today's show.

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<v Speaker 2>Previously on Hot Money, we discovered how do You Bui

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<v Speaker 2>became the perfect place for the supercartel to come together.

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<v Speaker 2>This time, I want to take you back to Dublin

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<v Speaker 2>to Lower Baggert Street. It's a smart neighborhood close to

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<v Speaker 2>the city center, filled with Grand Georgian houses. It's April

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<v Speaker 2>twenty sixteen and Irish detectives have received a tip off

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<v Speaker 2>one of the apartments on the street is a Kinahan

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<v Speaker 2>Hotel safe house. But when they get there they find

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<v Speaker 2>someone else. A guy with a big belly speaking broken English.

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<v Speaker 2>He's got some designer shoes, a bunch of fancy watches

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<v Speaker 2>and several IDs, each with a different name.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, here's this guy who had a number of identities.

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<v Speaker 2>Shamus Boland, chief superintendent in the Irish Police.

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<v Speaker 3>He was arrested for a possession of false documents and

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<v Speaker 3>there was no certainty about his identity at all. It's

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<v Speaker 3>following his arrest and US issuing an assistance request across

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<v Speaker 3>Europe that within a number of errors, the Dutch police

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<v Speaker 3>were in touch with US and they identified him from

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<v Speaker 3>the fort of graphs on fingerprints and senior Dutch police

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<v Speaker 3>officers bordered a plane immediately and flew to Dublin.

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<v Speaker 2>The Dutch police scrambled to get to island because the

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<v Speaker 2>man they find in the flat is a murder broker

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<v Speaker 2>who's a top enforcer for members of the Supercartel. He's

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<v Speaker 2>the one who police suspect arranged the murder we heard

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<v Speaker 2>about in episode one, a contract killing taken out on

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<v Speaker 2>a man hiding from the Iranian regime and living undercover

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<v Speaker 2>in our mayor ali Ma Thummad. When I heard about this,

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<v Speaker 2>I first started to see what ali Ma Thummad's death

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<v Speaker 2>might reveal about the transformation of international organized crime, because

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<v Speaker 2>it raised a big question, how did a Dutch criminal

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<v Speaker 2>working with a cocaine supercartel get mixed up in a

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<v Speaker 2>murder that seems to have been ordered by Iran. At

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<v Speaker 2>this stage, no one can prove the link to Iran.

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<v Speaker 2>We still don't know who gave the murder broker his orders.

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<v Speaker 2>There's no smoking gun, but something is quietly happening in

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<v Speaker 2>a high tech unit of the Dutch police that's about

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<v Speaker 2>to blow the case wide open. It's the start of

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<v Speaker 2>something huge, a breakthrough that will make the global criminal

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<v Speaker 2>underworld shudder. I'm Miles Johnson and this is Hot Money

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<v Speaker 2>the New Narcos episode five Nerds Versus Narcos. Last time,

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<v Speaker 2>we heard about how the supercartel are ramping up their

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<v Speaker 2>operations from Dubai. European police can't touch them there, and

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<v Speaker 2>their huge criminal operations back home are booming in the Netherlands.

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<v Speaker 2>The ripples have started to reach Paul Veroks.

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<v Speaker 4>The first five weeks, I didn't tell anyone. I didn't

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<v Speaker 4>even tell my girlfriend. I was trying to get the

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<v Speaker 4>heat away.

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<v Speaker 2>Remember Paul, he's the crime reporter with the leather jacket

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<v Speaker 2>and the gold hoop hearing, the guy who likes to

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<v Speaker 2>meet with gangsters in public places like bars and coffee shops.

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<v Speaker 2>It's Paul who broke the news that the electrician killed

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<v Speaker 2>an al Mayor was actually a man on the run

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<v Speaker 2>from the Iranian regime. But one day, Paul gets a

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<v Speaker 2>different kind of tip from a source, and this one's

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<v Speaker 2>about him. He hears the group of criminals started to

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<v Speaker 2>talk about him. They think he's got information, information that

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<v Speaker 2>links them to several recent gangland killings, so.

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<v Speaker 4>They decided to have me assassinated so that my information

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<v Speaker 4>could not reach the news or the police.

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<v Speaker 2>I was pretty stunned when I found out about the

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<v Speaker 2>threats to Paul's life. I've worked in Italy and I've

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<v Speaker 2>written about the Italian mafia, and I've spent time with

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<v Speaker 2>state prosecutors living under police protection and reporters who fear

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<v Speaker 2>for their lives. But a reporter hasn't been killed in

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<v Speaker 2>Italy for many years, and neither has a judge. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>in the Netherlands, one of the richest and most politically

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<v Speaker 2>stable countries in the world, organized crimes seem to be

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<v Speaker 2>out of control. More and more murders were happening as

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<v Speaker 2>the top kingpins tightened their grip on the drugs market

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<v Speaker 2>and Paul's reporting on it, it landed a target on

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<v Speaker 2>his back. At first, he doesn't tell anyone. He just

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<v Speaker 2>keeps trying to figure out what's.

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<v Speaker 4>Going on day by day, week by week. The source

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<v Speaker 4>it provided new information.

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<v Speaker 2>So Paul's able to keep safe for now, but there's

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<v Speaker 2>a limit to how long he can go on like this.

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<v Speaker 4>I didn't talk to the police about it, and.

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<v Speaker 2>He faces a dilemma. If he tells the police, he

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<v Speaker 2>knows he won't be able to do his work. Understandably,

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<v Speaker 2>criminals aren't so keen on meeting a reporter with a

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<v Speaker 2>police escort.

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<v Speaker 4>As a journalist, I needed to stay in the It's

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<v Speaker 4>one of my weapons.

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<v Speaker 2>But he chooses to make a bold move. He reaches

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<v Speaker 2>out to the criminals directly, the ones who are after him.

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<v Speaker 2>He sends them a message through an intermediary and tells

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<v Speaker 2>them he knows about the threats.

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<v Speaker 4>That's the same the police will do if they know

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<v Speaker 4>about a plan to kill someone, they'll go to the

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<v Speaker 4>guys involved and ring the door and tell them we

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<v Speaker 4>know what you're up to, don't.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not long before Dutch law enforcement also finds out

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<v Speaker 2>about the threats and one of Paul's police contacts calls

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<v Speaker 2>them up.

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<v Speaker 4>He told the ball a very bad information, but we

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<v Speaker 4>need to meet now. So I told him, let's go

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<v Speaker 4>to my house. I'll arrange some coffee and cookies, and

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<v Speaker 4>then we'll be having an uncomfortable discussion because you are

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<v Speaker 4>not going to tell me what you know, Indie Deil,

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<v Speaker 4>and I won't tell you what I know, Indie deal pulling.

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<v Speaker 2>The policemen sit down and have a chat over coffee

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<v Speaker 2>and cookies, which is possibly the most dartrous repond you

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<v Speaker 2>can imagine to any situation. And it quickly becomes clear

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<v Speaker 2>their information matches.

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<v Speaker 4>Up, and then all kinds of a lot of people

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<v Speaker 4>from the government got involved.

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<v Speaker 2>He tries to keep working, but it becomes clear that

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<v Speaker 2>the people who are after him they haven't given up.

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<v Speaker 4>And then one day it was clear that if we

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<v Speaker 4>wouldn't leave now, we would not be safe anymore.

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<v Speaker 2>Pauland's govern now race to pack their bags because they've

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<v Speaker 2>been told they have to move to a safe house, a.

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<v Speaker 4>Very luxurious place, much more luxury is than our normal apartment.

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<v Speaker 4>And I was transported like the king, quite literally, because

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<v Speaker 4>the same organization that secured me secures the king. So

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<v Speaker 4>I was in a luxury but it was like a

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<v Speaker 4>golden cage because I couldn't get out. I couldn't get

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<v Speaker 4>anywhere without a group of people, well trained, well armed

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<v Speaker 4>people around me. That's a weird way to live and

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<v Speaker 4>a weird way to do your job. But they made

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<v Speaker 4>it possible for me to work. There hasn't been one

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<v Speaker 4>day I've not been working because of this.

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<v Speaker 2>And it's not just the threats against Paul. Really crazy

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<v Speaker 2>things start to happen. Criminals fire a rocket launcher the

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<v Speaker 2>offices of a Dutch magazine that's been running stories about

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<v Speaker 2>drugs traffickers. No one is hurt, but the message is

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<v Speaker 2>very clear journalists and how fair game? And if you

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<v Speaker 2>choose to report on us, you're choosing to put your

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<v Speaker 2>life in danger. It's sort of like Paul and his

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<v Speaker 2>colleagues aren't just crime journalists anymore. They're on the front

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<v Speaker 2>line covering a full blown attack on Dutch society and

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<v Speaker 2>the men behind it all. They aren't even in the Netherlands.

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<v Speaker 2>They're in Dubai, living the high life and far out

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<v Speaker 2>of the reach of law enforcement. But police are about

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<v Speaker 2>to make a breakthrough that will change everything.

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<v Speaker 5>I really got enthusiastic on that day hearing the panic.

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<v Speaker 2>Take a moment to imagine someone who strikes terror into

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<v Speaker 2>the hearts of the world's most murderous criminals, and I

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<v Speaker 2>can guarantee you're not picturing Martin. Engbert. Martin's slight and

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<v Speaker 2>softly spoken, thoughtful. He has a bit of the air

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<v Speaker 2>of a tech guy as Silicon Valley blue sky thinker

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<v Speaker 2>in a Steve jobstyle black turtleneck. Martin is the Dutch

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<v Speaker 2>public prosecutor for high tech crime in twenty seventeen. He

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<v Speaker 2>and his team are working on a secret project, one

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<v Speaker 2>that will turn him into a sort of nerdy batman.

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<v Speaker 2>It all starts when Dutch beliefs notice a new gadget

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<v Speaker 2>showing up on the bodies of murdered gang members. They

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<v Speaker 2>all seem to be carrying a particular and peculiar type

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<v Speaker 2>of cell phone.

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<v Speaker 5>They don't have a camera, the camera has removed. They

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<v Speaker 5>don't have a microphone. The microphone is removed.

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<v Speaker 2>These phones are useless for calls and they're only good

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<v Speaker 2>for messaging. And the phone service runs through specialized companies

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<v Speaker 2>that offer a particular promise to their clients.

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<v Speaker 5>They advertise police cannot break the encryption on the phones.

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<v Speaker 2>Back in the days before encrypted messages, the criminals were smart,

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<v Speaker 2>they would meet face to face, and if they were stupid,

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<v Speaker 2>they speak on the phone.

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<v Speaker 5>Now, I don't want to say famous, but we are

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<v Speaker 5>well known for wired tepping. But the organized crime groups

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<v Speaker 5>know that, so the organized crime groups in the Netherlands

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<v Speaker 5>they don't talk about anything on the phone themselves anymore.

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<v Speaker 2>Technology disrupts every business sector, and drug trafficking is no different.

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<v Speaker 2>These cryptophones transformed the way people run organized crime groups.

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<v Speaker 2>You don't need to be in the same city anymore

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<v Speaker 2>to send an order to an underling. You don't even

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<v Speaker 2>need to be in the same country. You can now

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<v Speaker 2>run a vast and complex drug trafficking empire from Dubai

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<v Speaker 2>without ever getting your hands dirty. You can connect with suppliers,

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<v Speaker 2>you can manage your finances, and most importantly, you can

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<v Speaker 2>order murders and the police have almost no way of

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<v Speaker 2>seeing what you're up to. Martin and his colleagues are

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<v Speaker 2>determined to figure out a way to crack these phones,

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<v Speaker 2>but they're sort of stuck in illegal Catch twenty two.

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<v Speaker 2>Martin is certain that the phones are being used by

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<v Speaker 2>organized criminals, but he can't prove it without access to

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<v Speaker 2>the messages, and to get access he needs proof that

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<v Speaker 2>they really are being used for crime. So he comes

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<v Speaker 2>up with a solution. Don't go after the criminals, go

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<v Speaker 2>after the phone company. Most of the phones are made

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<v Speaker 2>by a small Dutch supplier called Enetcom, and most of

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<v Speaker 2>their servers are in Canada.

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<v Speaker 5>We convinced the Canadian judge that there would be evidence

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<v Speaker 5>on those servers proving that Enucom was supplying telephones to criminals.

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<v Speaker 2>So one morning, after getting permission from a judge, a

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<v Speaker 2>team from Martin's office get on a fly from Amsterdam

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<v Speaker 2>to Canada.

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<v Speaker 5>I remember a lot of details of the day we

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<v Speaker 5>went to Canada. We copied six terrhabytes, which seemed a

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<v Speaker 5>lot of data. So everybody was really excited because you

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<v Speaker 5>think we have six terabytes of emails, which would be

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<v Speaker 5>billions of messages.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a potentially huge breakthrough, a treasure trove of information

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<v Speaker 2>and evidence, but it's all encrypted. There are layers and

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<v Speaker 2>layers of passwords and digital keys, and even if they

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<v Speaker 2>do crack the encryption, Martin has another problem.

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<v Speaker 5>And had gone try to delete all the information of

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<v Speaker 5>their clients. After two or three days. So you receive

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<v Speaker 5>an email, you read the email, you do nothing with

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<v Speaker 5>the email, and then after two or three days it

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<v Speaker 5>will self delete.

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<v Speaker 2>The hackers on the high Tech team get to work.

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<v Speaker 2>They grind late into the night trying to break the

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<v Speaker 2>encryption on the messages. There's a lot of trial and error. First,

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<v Speaker 2>the team have to crack the master password, and to

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<v Speaker 2>do that they have to try millions of passwords, millions

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<v Speaker 2>of combinations. It takes months, and we brute forced the password.

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<v Speaker 5>So we tried a lot of passwords and eventually we

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<v Speaker 5>were able to break the password off the key surfer

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<v Speaker 5>and by doing that we were able to use the

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<v Speaker 5>private keys. And if you have the private key sing

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<v Speaker 5>you have to encrypt it messengers yet down it's easy.

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<v Speaker 2>Martin and his colleagues have prized open a vault of

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<v Speaker 2>evidence about what's really going on inside European organized crime.

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<v Speaker 2>They can see how conspiracies unfolded minute by minute through

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<v Speaker 2>strings of chats between gangsters. To really set the cat

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<v Speaker 2>amongst the pigeons, Martin's team added a little flourish, a

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<v Speaker 2>sort of middle finger to the criminals.

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<v Speaker 5>We send out a message to all the users of anetcom.

0:14:22.007 --> 0:14:26.407
<v Speaker 5>We told them the police is now in Canada securing

0:14:26.567 --> 0:14:31.487
<v Speaker 5>all the information of your foots, and we heard the panic.

0:14:32.207 --> 0:14:36.807
<v Speaker 5>So in an airleance. The panics within organized crime groups

0:14:36.847 --> 0:14:38.647
<v Speaker 5>started on that day.

0:14:39.767 --> 0:14:43.567
<v Speaker 2>I've talked about the glimpses we sometimes get of organized crime,

0:14:44.207 --> 0:14:48.247
<v Speaker 2>and this it was like turning on a floodlight. It

0:14:48.407 --> 0:14:51.687
<v Speaker 2>sends shock waves to the criminal underworld, but it's about

0:14:51.687 --> 0:14:55.167
<v Speaker 2>to get even worse for them. Martin's team soon figure

0:14:55.167 --> 0:14:58.247
<v Speaker 2>out a way to recover the deleted messages, the ones

0:14:58.287 --> 0:15:02.047
<v Speaker 2>that ener common Its users believed were gone forever, and

0:15:02.207 --> 0:15:06.687
<v Speaker 2>suddenly a once hidden universe of crime, of alliances and

0:15:06.727 --> 0:15:09.167
<v Speaker 2>global connections is illuminated.

0:15:10.047 --> 0:15:15.647
<v Speaker 5>A lot more information about assassinations and about the importation

0:15:15.767 --> 0:15:16.367
<v Speaker 5>of drugs.

0:15:17.207 --> 0:15:22.127
<v Speaker 2>But for Martin, there's something even more shocking. Reading through

0:15:22.167 --> 0:15:25.247
<v Speaker 2>the messages, the police suddenly see how easy it's become

0:15:25.287 --> 0:15:28.847
<v Speaker 2>to order murders using these phones. A crime boss can

0:15:28.967 --> 0:15:31.527
<v Speaker 2>order a contract killing as easily as they would order

0:15:31.567 --> 0:15:32.127
<v Speaker 2>a pizza.

0:15:32.967 --> 0:15:36.167
<v Speaker 5>In an Ellens there were multiple groups that you could

0:15:36.287 --> 0:15:41.887
<v Speaker 5>hire to assassinate someone. My work is hyder Chrome, so

0:15:42.007 --> 0:15:46.647
<v Speaker 5>for me it was really strange to see that there

0:15:46.767 --> 0:15:50.247
<v Speaker 5>wasn't one group or multiple groups that you could hire

0:15:50.607 --> 0:15:54.807
<v Speaker 5>to kill someone.

0:15:53.567 --> 0:15:56.847
<v Speaker 2>And buried inside the millions of messages on the enitcom

0:15:56.887 --> 0:16:02.087
<v Speaker 2>servers is one brief conversation from November twenty fifteen. It's

0:16:02.127 --> 0:16:05.927
<v Speaker 2>a set of simple and chilling instructions sent from one

0:16:06.007 --> 0:16:10.727
<v Speaker 2>user to another. The first message reads, got a nice

0:16:10.807 --> 0:16:14.567
<v Speaker 2>job for you bro. The response, who needs to go

0:16:14.647 --> 0:16:19.087
<v Speaker 2>to sleep? Then it's a tug. He works in the

0:16:19.087 --> 0:16:22.847
<v Speaker 2>electricity company and drives a white van. Why he has

0:16:22.887 --> 0:16:26.807
<v Speaker 2>to go to sleep? I don't know, and I don't

0:16:26.847 --> 0:16:27.687
<v Speaker 2>even want to know.

0:16:39.127 --> 0:16:42.327
<v Speaker 6>Every murder case deserves a solution, and you know people

0:16:42.367 --> 0:16:45.887
<v Speaker 6>should be brought to justice in Trinal but a foreign government,

0:16:46.047 --> 0:16:52.127
<v Speaker 6>especially the country's so dictatorships, or the killings in another

0:16:52.247 --> 0:16:55.367
<v Speaker 6>Western country. You know, this is a thing.

0:16:57.287 --> 0:17:00.127
<v Speaker 2>We met with Elia in episode one. He's the local

0:17:00.167 --> 0:17:03.327
<v Speaker 2>councilor and our mayor the Dutch town where Ali Mtummad

0:17:03.367 --> 0:17:06.967
<v Speaker 2>was murdered, and thanks to Paul's reporting, Ulasse now knows

0:17:07.007 --> 0:17:09.167
<v Speaker 2>that the electrician was in fact a man on the

0:17:09.327 --> 0:17:12.767
<v Speaker 2>run from the Iranian regime. He also knows that the

0:17:12.767 --> 0:17:16.247
<v Speaker 2>people who pulled the trigger were Dutch criminals, but he

0:17:16.327 --> 0:17:20.967
<v Speaker 2>still doesn't know who gave them orders, who hired them,

0:17:21.287 --> 0:17:25.687
<v Speaker 2>Ulisa has a strong theory though. He thinks it has

0:17:25.727 --> 0:17:29.247
<v Speaker 2>to be the Iranian regime, the same regime that forced

0:17:29.247 --> 0:17:33.007
<v Speaker 2>his father to flee Iran decades before, but he can't

0:17:33.167 --> 0:17:36.567
<v Speaker 2>prove it. So Ulasee does everything he can to raise

0:17:36.607 --> 0:17:40.327
<v Speaker 2>awareness of the murder. He lobbies local politicians, he starts

0:17:40.367 --> 0:17:43.487
<v Speaker 2>doing radio and TV interviews about it, including with the

0:17:43.567 --> 0:17:49.807
<v Speaker 2>Dutch state broadcaster nosdag dot Ilon.

0:17:51.847 --> 0:17:54.567
<v Speaker 6>So I was like, Okay, thanks for moving in the

0:17:54.647 --> 0:17:59.407
<v Speaker 6>right direction. I'm getting attention for this very important murder case.

0:17:59.567 --> 0:18:01.007
<v Speaker 2>You were kind of going out a little bit on

0:18:01.047 --> 0:18:06.087
<v Speaker 2>your own saying something which sounds like a crazy story.

0:18:06.567 --> 0:18:08.847
<v Speaker 2>You know, as you said, it is crazy. It is

0:18:08.887 --> 0:18:12.927
<v Speaker 2>it is, and so was anyone saying you're wrong or

0:18:13.007 --> 0:18:13.847
<v Speaker 2>where's the proof?

0:18:13.887 --> 0:18:16.967
<v Speaker 6>You know. The weird thing in politics is the official

0:18:17.007 --> 0:18:20.527
<v Speaker 6>response you get. It's like, we won't tell you anything

0:18:21.327 --> 0:18:24.807
<v Speaker 6>about an individual case. We don't know, there's no information,

0:18:25.087 --> 0:18:27.407
<v Speaker 6>don't bother. I was like, I'm not going to take

0:18:27.447 --> 0:18:28.967
<v Speaker 6>that for an answer.

0:18:29.727 --> 0:18:32.607
<v Speaker 2>Because for Uler, say, this is about a lot more

0:18:32.647 --> 0:18:33.807
<v Speaker 2>than just one murder.

0:18:34.407 --> 0:18:37.287
<v Speaker 6>If this is true, what is the implication for Iranian

0:18:37.287 --> 0:18:39.567
<v Speaker 6>people living in the West who fled the country and

0:18:39.567 --> 0:18:42.687
<v Speaker 6>are speaking out, what's the implication for them. The key

0:18:42.727 --> 0:18:46.607
<v Speaker 6>message from the regime, it's a message to all of Europe,

0:18:48.047 --> 0:18:50.207
<v Speaker 6>We're going to find you because you know, let me

0:18:50.247 --> 0:18:53.967
<v Speaker 6>emphasize this once more. This guy, they were looking for

0:18:54.047 --> 0:18:56.047
<v Speaker 6>him for thirty five years.

0:18:56.727 --> 0:19:01.327
<v Speaker 2>So after all of this, you were going on you know, TV,

0:19:01.527 --> 0:19:04.727
<v Speaker 2>you were giving interviews, you were you were pressing the

0:19:04.847 --> 0:19:07.407
<v Speaker 2>importance of this case and what you thought, what you

0:19:07.487 --> 0:19:11.127
<v Speaker 2>believed based on your evidence, and you're thinking about it,

0:19:11.167 --> 0:19:13.127
<v Speaker 2>what you thought really was the case. And then in

0:19:13.127 --> 0:19:19.927
<v Speaker 2>twenty nineteen, suddenly boom boom Uleas was shouting about the

0:19:20.007 --> 0:19:23.047
<v Speaker 2>Matomid murder to anyone who would listen. He'd lobbied his

0:19:23.127 --> 0:19:27.607
<v Speaker 2>local mayor, the police, even national politicians, and no one

0:19:27.647 --> 0:19:30.527
<v Speaker 2>gave him answers. It felt like he was banging his

0:19:30.527 --> 0:19:33.567
<v Speaker 2>head against a brick wall. And then one day.

0:19:34.207 --> 0:19:36.847
<v Speaker 6>And I was in my office working and then boom,

0:19:36.927 --> 0:19:40.607
<v Speaker 6>my telephone like exploded, like boom, this Bush messages and

0:19:40.647 --> 0:19:45.127
<v Speaker 6>I was like, finally we're doing something back to the regime,

0:19:45.247 --> 0:19:47.767
<v Speaker 6>showing like okay, don't do this.

0:19:48.727 --> 0:19:52.367
<v Speaker 2>The Dutch Foreign Minister has announced that, based on classified

0:19:52.407 --> 0:19:56.527
<v Speaker 2>information from the Dutch intelligence services, the government believes that

0:19:56.527 --> 0:20:00.767
<v Speaker 2>Iran was responsible for the Matomid murder and another murder

0:20:00.807 --> 0:20:01.207
<v Speaker 2>as well.

0:20:02.247 --> 0:20:05.287
<v Speaker 6>I remember his words were like for ninety nine percent,

0:20:05.367 --> 0:20:08.207
<v Speaker 6>for sure we know that Irani has did this. It

0:20:08.327 --> 0:20:11.487
<v Speaker 6>was of course we because formerly the minister could not

0:20:12.047 --> 0:20:15.647
<v Speaker 6>conclude officially it was d Raniers. But it was like

0:20:15.807 --> 0:20:19.807
<v Speaker 6>ninety nine percent, we know we expelled them.

0:20:19.847 --> 0:20:22.607
<v Speaker 2>The expulsion of diplomats. It might sound well, a bit

0:20:22.807 --> 0:20:26.807
<v Speaker 2>diplomatic slap on the wrist, but in foreign relations this

0:20:26.967 --> 0:20:30.527
<v Speaker 2>is a big deal, a rare move, and for Uda

0:20:30.607 --> 0:20:33.807
<v Speaker 2>say it's his own country, finally agreeing that he was

0:20:33.887 --> 0:20:37.967
<v Speaker 2>right all along, the people behind Mtammid's murder were in Tehran.

0:20:39.007 --> 0:20:45.207
<v Speaker 6>These are important moments, but then this quite rapidly changed

0:20:45.287 --> 0:20:48.727
<v Speaker 6>to something something ugly for me.

0:20:49.767 --> 0:20:52.887
<v Speaker 2>When Unasa does another round of news interviews linking Tehran

0:20:52.927 --> 0:20:55.607
<v Speaker 2>to the Mtummd murder and to the murder broker known

0:20:55.647 --> 0:20:59.567
<v Speaker 2>as Noofel, Novel is not happy, and even though he's

0:20:59.607 --> 0:21:02.967
<v Speaker 2>in prison awaiting trial, he finds a way to let

0:21:03.087 --> 0:21:06.407
<v Speaker 2>Ulusay know about it. A lawyer working for mister now

0:21:06.447 --> 0:21:10.487
<v Speaker 2>ful Fassi that's Novel's full name, files a legal complaint

0:21:10.487 --> 0:21:14.167
<v Speaker 2>against Ulas. He says he's abusing his position and making

0:21:14.207 --> 0:21:17.487
<v Speaker 2>false allegations about his client's connections to Iran.

0:21:17.927 --> 0:21:21.487
<v Speaker 6>And I remember, you know, I'm sure you can relate

0:21:22.247 --> 0:21:26.247
<v Speaker 6>this feeling. Sometimes unfortunately this happens in life. You get

0:21:26.247 --> 0:21:28.847
<v Speaker 6>really cold and you feel the energy flowing from your

0:21:28.887 --> 0:21:33.127
<v Speaker 6>head to you. It just drains your energy. And I

0:21:33.167 --> 0:21:37.167
<v Speaker 6>got really cold, and I was like, okay, I know

0:21:37.527 --> 0:21:40.447
<v Speaker 6>who missed the fuss is. It was clear for me

0:21:40.487 --> 0:21:44.287
<v Speaker 6>this is pure intimidation. Like you know, fifteen years ago,

0:21:45.127 --> 0:21:50.927
<v Speaker 6>people through a rock at your window. This is the

0:21:51.007 --> 0:21:53.567
<v Speaker 6>modern form of the intimidation. We know who you are.

0:21:54.127 --> 0:21:56.087
<v Speaker 6>Stop talking about this connection.

0:21:57.367 --> 0:21:59.887
<v Speaker 2>RELI say, tells the Dutch security services about the letter.

0:22:00.647 --> 0:22:03.447
<v Speaker 2>They decide that his life and his family are in danger.

0:22:04.047 --> 0:22:07.327
<v Speaker 2>So Ulas, just like Paul and like his own father

0:22:07.487 --> 0:22:11.687
<v Speaker 2>decades before, is now put the police protection. Yeah.

0:22:11.687 --> 0:22:15.647
<v Speaker 6>But then they made one mistake. They didn't study my

0:22:15.927 --> 0:22:19.647
<v Speaker 6>character or my family history. So I immediately went out

0:22:19.727 --> 0:22:23.167
<v Speaker 6>to publicly and said I will not be intimidated. Go

0:22:23.247 --> 0:22:24.887
<v Speaker 6>to Hell. I will never be intimidated.

0:22:26.127 --> 0:22:28.927
<v Speaker 2>Ulas isn't shutting up because he still has too many

0:22:29.007 --> 0:22:32.367
<v Speaker 2>questions about the murder. He knows that now full Fasci

0:22:32.847 --> 0:22:35.207
<v Speaker 2>novel was found in it in a hand safe house

0:22:35.247 --> 0:22:38.447
<v Speaker 2>in Dublin, and that Nophel was the one who arranged

0:22:38.447 --> 0:22:41.847
<v Speaker 2>for Alia mctomma to be murdered. And now he knows

0:22:42.047 --> 0:22:44.487
<v Speaker 2>that the Dutch government believes it was Iran who was

0:22:44.567 --> 0:22:46.127
<v Speaker 2>ultimately behind the assassination.

0:22:46.807 --> 0:22:50.767
<v Speaker 6>But someone spoke to mister Fassi. I don't know who.

0:22:51.087 --> 0:22:54.807
<v Speaker 6>It's not like someone from Tehran is calling mister Fussy.

0:22:54.927 --> 0:22:56.167
<v Speaker 6>That's not how things work.

0:22:58.167 --> 0:23:02.047
<v Speaker 2>So how do things work? The supercartel seems to be

0:23:02.127 --> 0:23:05.527
<v Speaker 2>connected to this murder, but what does that connection mean?

0:23:06.287 --> 0:23:10.367
<v Speaker 2>What links these two things together? Looking into all of this,

0:23:10.887 --> 0:23:14.127
<v Speaker 2>pulling on threads, I came across a case that might

0:23:14.167 --> 0:23:16.367
<v Speaker 2>help us begin to understand.

0:23:16.927 --> 0:23:20.087
<v Speaker 7>Somehow we established our credibility. At that point, she already

0:23:20.167 --> 0:23:23.647
<v Speaker 7>knew we were high leveled gold claff cours, probably multiaton.

0:23:24.287 --> 0:23:27.647
<v Speaker 7>We have connections to the military, which cost have developpened

0:23:27.687 --> 0:23:28.367
<v Speaker 7>the door for us.

0:23:29.967 --> 0:23:50.287
<v Speaker 2>That's next time on Hot Money. Hot Money is a

0:23:50.287 --> 0:23:53.807
<v Speaker 2>production of The Financial Times and Pushkin Industries. It was

0:23:53.847 --> 0:23:56.767
<v Speaker 2>written and reported by me Miles Johnson, and if you've

0:23:56.767 --> 0:23:59.127
<v Speaker 2>got any leads or information about this story, you can

0:23:59.167 --> 0:24:03.367
<v Speaker 2>email me at new narcost ft dot com. The series

0:24:03.447 --> 0:24:07.327
<v Speaker 2>producer is Peggy Sutton. Edith Russello is the associate producer.

0:24:07.687 --> 0:24:12.487
<v Speaker 2>Fact checking is by Arthur god engineering by Sarah Bruguerer,

0:24:13.447 --> 0:24:17.607
<v Speaker 2>Sound design from Jake Gorsky. Jeremy Walmsley wrote the original music.

0:24:18.007 --> 0:24:21.567
<v Speaker 2>Our editor is Sarah Nix, and the executive producers are

0:24:21.647 --> 0:24:26.407
<v Speaker 2>Jacob Goldstein and Cheryl Bramley. Special thanks to Laura Clark, Marshall,

0:24:26.447 --> 0:24:29.967
<v Speaker 2>waroven Alistair macke, Breen Turner and Arlie Adlington