Melbourne is burning. A mystery cartel is laying siege to the city's hospitality industry — firebombings, drive-by shootings, bashings at family homes — and nobody knows exactly who's behind it, or why.

Herald Sun crime reporter Seb Costello has been on the frontline of the story, breaking exclusive after exclusive using old-fashioned shoe leather. Adam and Seb unpack what's known, what's rumoured, and what keeps not adding up.

Melbourne is burning. A mystery cartel is laying siege to the city's hospitality industry &mdash; firebombings, drive-by shootings, bashings at family homes &mdash; and nobody knows exactly who's behind it, or why.
Herald Sun crime reporter Seb Costello has been on the frontline of the story, breaking exclusive after exclusive using old-fashioned shoe leather. Adam and Seb unpack what's known, what's rumoured, and what keeps not adding up.

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.

Real Crime with Adam Shand

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them. 

Join investigative journalist Adam Shand each week as he takes you into his world of real crime, honed from forty years of covering Australia's biggest law and order stories. These are the firsthand stories of the cops, robbers, and victims who lived them.&nbsp;

The Ghost: Melbourne's Hospitality Crime War | Seb Costello

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/1bc089a4-04fb-44c0-8092-b4470032207e/transcript

Australia's illicit tobacco war has a new front — and it's more dangerous than ever.

When tobacco kingpin Kaz Hamad was captured in Iraq earlier this year, many hoped it would signal the beginning of the end for the country's booming black market cigarette trade. Instead, his disappearance has thrown the market into chaos, and the firebombings, shootings and targeted attacks are back.

Adam Shand sits down with Walkley Award-winning investigative journalist Chris Vedelago of The Age, who has been at the forefront of covering this story since the violence first erupted in March 2023. Together they trace how a government excise policy — designed to discourage smoking — inadvertently handed organised crime a multi-billion dollar opportunity,and how one man, operating from a prison cell, built a cartel that came to control 40% of the illicit drug trade in Australia.

Australia's illicit tobacco war has a new front &mdash; and it's more dangerous than ever.
When tobacco kingpin Kaz Hamad was captured in Iraq earlier this year, many hoped it would signal the beginning of the end for the country's booming black market cigarette trade. Instead, his disappearance has thrown the market into chaos, and the firebombings, shootings and targeted attacks are back.
Adam Shand sits down with Walkley Award-winning investigative journalist Chris Vedelago of The Age, who has been at the forefront of covering this story since the violence first erupted in March 2023. Together they trace how a government excise policy &mdash; designed to discourage smoking &mdash; inadvertently handed organised crime a multi-billion dollar opportunity,and how one man, operating from a prison cell, built a cartel that came to control 40% of the illicit drug trade in Australia.

The Tobacco War: Australia's Billion-Dollar Black Market | Chris Vedelago

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/25a8a945-7729-4050-955f-b441003ecb45/transcript

Ron Isherwood was born into Melbourne's underworld — son of Big Ron, a feared enforcer in the notorious Painters and Dockers Union. By 16, he'd fired his first shot. By 17, he was facing attempted murder charges. By 19, his mother was dead and heroin had taken over everything.

In this episode, Adam speaks with Little Ron — now 71 — about growing up in the shadow of a violent, domineering father, his front-row seat to Melbourne's painters and dockers wars and his close brush with Roger Rogerson, the corrupt detective who silenced anyone who got too close to the truth.

Ron Isherwood was born into Melbourne's underworld &mdash; son of Big Ron, a feared enforcer in the notorious Painters and Dockers Union. By 16, he'd fired his first shot. By 17, he was facing attempted murder charges. By 19, his mother was dead and heroin had taken over everything.
In this episode, Adam speaks with Little Ron &mdash; now 71 &mdash; about growing up in the shadow of a violent, domineering father, his front-row seat to Melbourne's painters and dockers wars and his close brush with Roger Rogerson, the corrupt detective who silenced anyone who got too close to the truth.

The Prince of the Painters and Dockers Union | Ron Isherwood

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/d512be4e-e743-4cbc-b8e6-b4400048f087/transcript

Sam Jones did hard time, faced drug and weapons charges, and by his own admission had a very twisted idea of what it meant to be a man. At 37, he's something else entirely — a trauma counsellor using breathwork and lived experience to help others find their way out.

In this episode, Adam speaks with Sam about the childhood wounds that set him on a path of crime and addiction, the fake brotherhood he found and the six months in a Sunshine Coast rehab that changed the course of his life. 

Find more about Sam Jones and Unbreakable here:

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unbreakablespirit.co_&d=DwMFAw&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=QRM3oaA988YHZWJl3EPR_CLNVsMUzP7PSqo8KYpcnWo&m=zMMZS6xvI0806EzWLZwxCuRWKQysMF4mCmcB0lSS6dhXaiFclSDNUyXGUI0tAE8G&s=HiI2Bf5muUqcWcYfPy9yiqQqMBK-_Ok_b2af1EVqfGA&e=

Sam Jones did hard time, faced drug and weapons charges, and by his own admission had a very twisted idea of what it meant to be a man. At 37, he's something else entirely &mdash; a trauma counsellor using breathwork and lived experience to help others find their way out.
In this episode, Adam speaks with Sam about the childhood wounds that set him on a path of crime and addiction, the fake brotherhood he found and the six months in a Sunshine Coast rehab that changed the course of his life.&nbsp;
<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unbreakablespirit.co_&amp;d=DwMFAw&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=QRM3oaA988YHZWJl3EPR_CLNVsMUzP7PSqo8KYpcnWo&amp;m=zMMZS6xvI0806EzWLZwxCuRWKQysMF4mCmcB0lSS6dhXaiFclSDNUyXGUI0tAE8G&amp;s=HiI2Bf5muUqcWcYfPy9yiqQqMBK-_Ok_b2af1EVqfGA&amp;e=">Find more about Sam Jones and Unbreakable here:</a>
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.unbreakablespirit.co_&amp;d=DwMFAw&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=QRM3oaA988YHZWJl3EPR_CLNVsMUzP7PSqo8KYpcnWo&amp;m=zMMZS6xvI0806EzWLZwxCuRWKQysMF4mCmcB0lSS6dhXaiFclSDNUyXGUI0tAE8G&amp;s=HiI2Bf5muUqcWcYfPy9yiqQqMBK-_Ok_b2af1EVqfGA&amp;e=

The Unbreakable Road Back | Sam Jones

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/b9461a55-542e-412e-b206-b43b001a2060/transcript

The Ghost: Melbourne's Hospitality Crime War | Seb Costello

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