Underworlds with Mark Shaw

Journalist and author Melissa Del Bosque joins host Mark Shaw on Underworlds to discuss her book Bloodlines: How the FBI Took on Mexico's Most Violent Drug Cartel — a gripping account of how Los Zetas laundered cartel money through the Quarter Horse racing industry in Texas.
Melissa breaks down how a group of Mexican special forces, became bodyguards for the Gulf Cartel, before splintering off to form Los Zetas, the brutal cartel that rose to dominate Mexico's drug war through systematic terror, why the Quarter Horse industry was uniquely vulnerable to money laundering, and how the FBI's landmark 2013 trial of José Treviño pulled back the curtain on one of the most dangerous criminal organisations in North American history.
Melissa is co-founder of The Border Chronicle and has been reporting on the US-Mexico border since 1998. Her book Bloodlines was published in 2017.
📖 Bloodlines by Melissa Del Bosque: https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Bloodlines-by-Melissa-Del-Bosque/9781786069528
🌐 The Border Chronicle: https://www.theborderchronicle.com/
Underworlds is a podcast exploring organised crime, corruption, and illicit economies around the world, hosted by Mark Shaw.
🔔 Subscribe for more interviews with journalists, researchers, and investigators working on the frontlines of organised crime.

In the early years of South Africa's democracy, a small unit of police intelligence officers was fighting a war most people didn't know was happening — and that their own government didn't want to believe was real.
Mark Shaw speaks with David Africa, former ANC underground operative turned police intelligence officer, about his book Lives on the Line — an unusually candid account of the covert campaign against PAGAD (People Against Gangsterism and Drugs), a front for the militant Islamist organisation Qibla that carried out hundreds of bombings and at least 150 killings in Cape Town in the late 1990s.
They also discuss what happened to the generation of capable officers who ran that operation — and the challenges faced by South Africa's crime intelligence apparatus today.
Lives on the Line is available now.
Subscribe for new episodes of Underworlds with Mark Shaw, where GI-TOC's Director of Research explores the global underworld of organised crime with the authors, analysts, and insiders who know it best.
🌐 GI-TOC: globalinitiative.net
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction — David Africa & Lives on the Line
2:00 From ANC underground to police intelligence
6:00 What was PAGAD?
12:00 Why the threat was ignored
18:00 The ideology behind PAGAD's campaign
22:18 Building the intelligence response
29:51 Inside the operations
32:50 South Africa's policing crisis today
39:22 Closing reflections

Ransomware is a growing threat in our digital world, changing how cybercrime works. In this podcast, Mark talks to Max Smeets, an academic and author, about the rise of ransomware as detailed in his book Ransom War. The book zooms in on the infamous Conti ransomware group, which disbanded in 2022, to show how these cybercriminal organizations operate.
The discussion covers the clever tactics ransomware groups use—how they trick their targets but also need to build trust to get paid. It also looks at how these criminal operations have grown from small groups into well-organized businesses focused on making money.
Toward the end, Mark and Max talk about what this means for cybersecurity and the global fight against ransomware. This episode gives you a clear look at one of today’s biggest digital security challenges, including cyberattacks, data breaches, and how to protect yourself online.
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Max Smeets’ book ‘Ransom War’ is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ransom-War-Became-National-Security/dp/191172391X
An audiobook is also available here: https://amzn.eu/d/1b1PMlX
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Underworlds with Mark Shaw Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0ss7EEqXOflp3d-lZw4LfIe
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📱 YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA
🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/
🎧Audio version: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/18f9e732-a770-4e43-a109-c44c9291e581/
🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ
🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI
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FOLLOW US
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LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
IG - @gi_toc
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The global shipping industry, vital for international trade, is a hotbed for criminal activities like maritime fraud.
In this podcast episode, journalist and author Matthew Campbell, co-author of Dead in the Water, joins Mark to unravel the Brillante Virtuoso case.
In 2011, this oil tanker, traveling from Crimea to China, was reportedly attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden. However, the vessel’s destruction and subsequent insurance claims exposed a web of deceit.
Maritime surveyor Captain David Mockett uncovered inconsistencies in the official story, threatening to reveal a larger conspiracy—ultimately leading to his tragic murder.
The episode also explores the insurance industry’s complicity, raising ethical questions about accountability in handling suspicious claims.
Listen to uncover the shocking truth behind this maritime fraud case.
Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
01:58.832 - The scale of fraud in the shipping industry
05:48.399 - The Greek shipping industry
08:01.076 - Complicity of shipping insurance industry
11:17.973 - Brillante Virtuoso Story
14:54.102 – The murder of Capt. David Mockett
18:06.475 - Connecting with Cynthia Mockett
20:59.461 - Richard Veale & Michael Conner: The Investigators
24:59.447 - The owner of the Brillante Virtuoso
28:17.523 - Unresolved case
29:44.903 - Building a narrative around such a complex case
35:38.745 - Collaborating with Kit Chellel
38:32.093 - What was left out
41:43.017 - Response to the book
43:26.518 - Response from Lloyds of London
44:35.353 - Next project and thoughts on books like Dead in the Water
48:15.185 - Outro
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Federico Varese's book ‘Dead in the Water’ is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Water-Hijacking-Maritime-Conspiracy/dp/0593329236
An audiobook is also available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Water-Murder-Secretive-Industry/dp/B0B5VMXF33/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0
====================================================
Underworlds with Mark Shaw Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0ss7EEqXOflp3d-lZw4LfIe
====================================================
📱 YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA
🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/
🎧Audio version: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/18f9e732-a770-4e43-a109-c44c9291e581/
🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ
🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI
===================================================
FOLLOW US
X - @gitoc
LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
IG - @gi_toc
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Russia in Four Criminals: Exploring Russian Organized Crime with Federico Varese.
Join host Mark in a riveting episode of Underworlds as he interviews renowned academic and author Federico Varese about his book, Russia in Four Criminals. With over 30 years studying global organized crime, Varese offers unparalleled insights into Russian organized crime and its evolution.
Russia in Four Criminals profiles four emblematic figures across Russia’s criminal landscape, each tied to a unique decade and social group: mobster Vyacheslav Ivankov, oligarch Boris Berezovsky, incarcerated drug dealer Sergey Savelyev, and cybercriminal Nikita Kuzmin, notorious for creating the infamous Gozi virus, a malware that compromised millions of computers worldwide. Through their stories, Varese maps Russia’s seismic shifts from the Soviet era to the Putin regime, drawing on his first-hand experiences.
Mark and Federico also explore the broader study of organized crime in today’s volatile world, shedding light on its global impact.
Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
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Federico Varese's book ‘Russia in Four Criminals’ is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Russia-Four-Criminals-Federico-Varese/dp/1509563601

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Underworlds with Mark Shaw Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0ss7EEqXOflp3d-lZw4LfIe
====================================================
📱 YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@UCP-lqJdhM-9iDKkswuVcXZA
🌎 VISIT US! Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime - https://globalinitiative.net/
🎧Audio version: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/18f9e732-a770-4e43-a109-c44c9291e581/
🎧WHY NOT TRY OUR OTHER PODCASTS:
🎧Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0spSX0QUq7j0NmIZOqyDTZQ
🎧The Index - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXSX1Xu1kM0uc_4CftGl8PrwHA3IK5WeI
===================================================
FOLLOW US
X - @gitoc
LinkedIn - @Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
IG - @gi_toc
===================================================