Gateway: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe

Gateway: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe

Brazen

Innocent people are getting murdered. Lawyers live in safehouses, and a princess is in hiding. This is Europe today—it just might be the world’s next narco-state. Over the past decade, the historic European ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have turned into global gateways for cocaine. Think Miami in the 1980s — but with even more drugs, and much shittier weather. In this six-part podcast series from Brazen, host Mitchell Prothero explores Europe’s cocaine crisis through the dramatic stories of cartel leaders, cops, journalists, and the victims caught in the middle. From RPG attacks on newspaper offices to the slaughte...

Introducing The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness

Introducing The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness

The Illuminator is OUT NOW.  Subscribe to get early releases and listen ad-free. http://brazen.fm/plusMark Lombardi, a conceptual artist on the cusp of international success, had everything to live for. So why was the 48-year-old found hanged and deemed suicidal? Was his death the ultimate conceptual art, an afterlife laugh at those who doubted his brilliance? He did, after all, carry business cards eerily portending "death defying acts of art and conspiracy." Or was he ultimately overwhelmed by

Dec 5, 2024 • 2:38

Ridouan Taghi Gets Life: An Update From The Marengo Trial

Ridouan Taghi Gets Life: An Update From The Marengo Trial

It’s been a couple of months since the last episode of Gateway: Cocaine, Murders & Dirty Money in Europe, but business is busy as ever in the world of global drug trafficking. This week, we wanted to share an important update with fans of the series: Ridouan Taghi has been sentenced. If you listened to Gateway, you’ll know Taghi rose to become a ruthless ruler of the underworld. But in February 2024, the cocaine kingpin was finally toppled for good when he was sentenced to life imp

Mar 8, 2024 • 35:58

Introducing The Professor: Hunting for the Mafia's Missing Masterpiece

Introducing The Professor: Hunting for the Mafia's Missing Masterpiece

This week on Gateway we’re sharing the first episode of a new four-part series from Brazen called ‘The Professor’. William Veres is in trouble. In 2018 he was arrested following the largest ever investigation by the Italian police’s art squad. They accuse him of running a pan-European art-smuggling ring with ties to the Sicilian mafia. He is alleged to have stolen $40 million worth of art and antiquities from Italy. Charged with 14 counts, including money laundering, forgery, wire frau

Nov 30, 2023 • 40:21

Introducing Cannabis Cowboys: the biggest cannabis scam ever

Introducing Cannabis Cowboys: the biggest cannabis scam ever

The Berlin-based company JuicyFields promised huge profits through investments in cannabis. Thousands of people worldwide trusted the company with their savings – and lost everything. In this true crime investigation, DW asks whodunit: from fake aristocrats to the Russian Mafia - the story gets stranger with every twist and turn.

Nov 9, 2023 • 3:30

Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal

Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal

This week on Gateway, we’re sharing a special preview of Spy Valley: An Engineer's Nuclear Betrayal.This new series uncovers Silicon Valley’s origins as a laboratory for espionage. At the dawn of the hi-tech age, Moscow’s spies opened up shop in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. In this podcast, you’ll get to know the group of FBI spy hunters who assembled to stop them—and solve the case of a lifetime.  Hosted by national security journalist Zach Dorfman, Spy Valley will walk you through a maze

Aug 16, 2023 • 13:04

Ep 6. Into the Bunker | Europe

Ep 6. Into the Bunker | Europe

Gateway host Mitchell Prothero visits “The Bunker” where Taghi is the star defendant in the largest criminal trial in Dutch history. As Taghi faces justice, his impact spreads far beyond the courtroom. Who will be the next kingpin to replace him? This is GATEWAY, a six-part podcast from Project Brazen revealing the rise of a new generation of cocaine kingpins in Europe. Gateway is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusiv

Jul 10, 2023 • 17:46

Ep 5. On Bended Knee is No Way to be Free | Peter R De Vries

Ep 5. On Bended Knee is No Way to be Free | Peter R De Vries

Dutch TV journalist Peter R De Vries is famous for cracking the criminal cases that no one else can. But with Ridouan Taghi, Peter meets his match. When Peter joins crown witness Nabil B’s legal team, he crosses a line that Taghi can’t accept. This is GATEWAY, a six-part podcast from Project Brazen revealing the rise of a new generation of cocaine kingpins in Europe. Gateway is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive b

Jul 3, 2023 • 18:33

Ep 4. The Crown Witness | Nabil B

Ep 4. The Crown Witness | Nabil B

After a killing goes horribly wrong, Nabil B, one of Ridouan Taghi’s close associates, finds himself torn between family and Taghi. Fearing for his life, Nabil B makes a fateful choice. He walks into a Dutch police station and unspools Taghi’s secrets. Another mistaken killing leads to Taghi’s arrest in Dubai and he ends up where he began so many years before—in The Netherlands. He becomes the star defendant in the largest criminal trial in Dutch history. The crown witness for the gover

Jun 26, 2023 • 18:01

Ep 3. Bomb, Bomb, Bomberoni | Martin Kok

Ep 3. Bomb, Bomb, Bomberoni | Martin Kok

A twice-convicted murderer, Martin Kok is also one of The Netherland’s most popular crime bloggers. But he goes too far when he publishes Ridouan Taghi’s name. Soon, Taghi’s violence begins to spread far beyond the underworld. This is GATEWAY: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe, a six-part podcast from Project Brazen revealing the rise of a new generation of cocaine kingpins in Europe. Gateway is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or

Jun 19, 2023 • 18:49

Ep 2. The Belly, the Boss of Bosses | Noffel Fassih

Ep 2. The Belly, the Boss of Bosses | Noffel Fassih

While Ridouan Taghi grows his empire, Noffel Fassih, aka The Belly, does his dirty work as a global hitman. But two botched killings threaten to bring his operations to an end. Meanwhile, Taghi finds a new home where authorities are more likely to turn a blind eye… he moves to Dubai. This is GATEWAY, a six-part podcast from Project Brazen revealing the rise of a new generation of cocaine kingpins in Europe. Gateway is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple

Jun 12, 2023 • 23:39

Ep 1. The Man For Whom the Underworld Shivers | Ridouan Taghi

Ep 1. The Man For Whom the Underworld Shivers | Ridouan Taghi

After the killing of a billionaire kingpin, one man rises to the top of a new generation of ruthless drug lords running Europe’s cocaine empire. His name is Ridouan Taghi. Taghi’s rise, and his incredible fall, shows the power of cocaine to generate staggering wealth, and shocking violence. This is GATEWAY, a six-part podcast from Project Brazen revealing the rise of a new generation of cocaine kingpins in Europe. Gateway is a Project Brazen production. Subscribe to Brazen+ o

Jun 5, 2023 • 23:07

Reporting True Crime During the Crime: Meet Mitchell Prothero

Reporting True Crime During the Crime: Meet Mitchell Prothero

Gateway host and lead reporter Mitchell Prothero shares the inside story of his new series GATEWAY: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe. Innocent people are getting murdered. Lawyers live in safehouses, and a princess is in hiding. This is Europe today—it just might be the world’s next narco-state. Over the past decade, the historic European ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have turned into global gateways for cocaine. Think Miami in the 1980s — but with even more drugs

May 31, 2023 • 15:52

Introducing Gateway: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe

Introducing Gateway: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe

Innocent people are getting murdered. Lawyers live in safehouses, and a princess is in hiding. This is Europe today—it just might be the world’s next narco-state. Over the past decade, the historic European ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have turned into global gateways for cocaine. Think Miami in the 1980s — but with even more drugs, and much shittier weather. In this six-part podcast series, host Mitchell Prothero explores Europe’s cocaine crisis through the dramatic stories

May 24, 2023 • 3:50

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