In episode four of Behind the White Line, back in Western Australia, police continue to track the fake cocaine, as one by one, key players are caught red handed. More than half of Australia’s annual coke supply intercepted in one hit. But not everyone is happy. As two DEA agents are kicked out of Australia, a turf war breaks out between State and Australian Federal Police which will lead to bad blood for years to come.

Read more of The West Australian's coverage here:

https://thewest.com.au/podcasts/behind-the-white-line/behind-the-white-line-top-dea-agent-says-australia-needs-to-introduce-anti-mafia-laws-to-lock-up-kingpins-c-22408106

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In episode three of Behind the White Line, we talk to a West Australian Police operative who goes deep undercover, as part of a DEA sting to nab a big-time drug trafficker in Nairobi. Stakes are high as “Tommy” infiltrates the drug cartel. The dangerous operation is a precursor to an even more daring sting to intercept the biggest cocaine haul in Australian history.

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In episode two of Behind the White Line, drones patrol the night sky as police drop 1.2 tonne of fake cocaine bricks into the Indian Ocean. It doesn’t take long for an unsuspecting crew to reel in their ‘catch’ but as the weather turns nasty, things go from bad to worse for the cocaine syndicate, as cops make their move.

Read more of The West Australian's coverage here:

https://thewest.com.au/podcasts/behind-the-white-line/behind-the-white-line-cartel-crackdown-over-1-billion-cocaine-rip-off-fears--c-22343809

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode one of Behind the White Line, Richard Baker gets suited and booted to attend the swanky Birdcage at Flemington, where racegoers make a beeline for the toilets to ‘rack up’. As the world’s highest users of cocaine per capita, Australia has become the number one target of Mexican cartels and crime syndicates. With a billion-dollar shipment headed Down Under, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) hatches a brazen plan with local cops from the small city of Perth, Western Australia, called Operation Beech.

Read more of The West Australian's coverage here:

Behind The White Line: New podcast delves into turf war following huge cocaine seizure during Operation Beech

Behind the White Line: International cocaine sting which caused turf war between AFP, WA Police, and US agents

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An investigation into Australia’s cocaine binge, Behind the White Line, traces the trail of white powder, from narco to nostrils. The series goes inside a $1 billion shipment, exposing a police turf war between the United States' DEA, the AFP and WA cops over an audacious sting to outwit a Mexican cartel.

With exclusive interviews of high-ranking detectives, undercover operatives, DEA agents and coke users, Behind the White Line, examines the human cost of the world’s glamour drug hosted by investigative journalist Richard Baker.

Available from 21 May on LiSTNR's Secrets We Keep, on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An investigation into Australia’s cocaine binge, Behind the White Line, traces the trail of white powder, from narco to nostrils. The series goes inside a $1 billion shipment, exposing a police turf war between the United States' DEA, the AFP and WA cops over an audacious sting to outwit a Mexican cartel.

With exclusive interviews of high-ranking detectives, undercover operatives, DEA agents and coke users, Behind the White Line, examines the human cost of the world’s glamour drug hosted by investigative journalist Richard Baker.

Available from 21 May on LiSTNR's Secrets We Keep, on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Although Dezi Freeman is no longer a threat, the ideology he embraced continues to spread through Australia’s growing sovereign citizen movement.

In this final episode, 7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos examine the question authorities are quietly asking: how many more people like Dezi Freeman are out there?

To understand the scale of the movement (and why it attracts people like Freeman) Michael speaks with legal expert Harry Hobbs, who has been closely tracking the rise of sovereign citizen ideology in Australia.

Harry breaks down the beliefs at the core of the movement, who it attracts, how it spreads online, and what the Dezi Freeman case reveals about where this is heading.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He was known to the world as Dezi Freeman, but that wasn’t the name he was born with.

In this episode, 7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos trace Dezi Freeman’s origin story, uncovering new details about his childhood, the influences around him, and the pivotal moments that shaped his worldview — revealing the reality of the man behind the myth, and how he became radicalised.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a case as high-profile as Dezi Freeman’s, the manhunt, his sovereign citizen beliefs, and the conspiracy theories surrounding his life (and death) have often overshadowed the human toll left behind.

In this episode, 7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos shift the focus to the two Victoria Police officers killed by Freeman: Detective Leading Senior Constable Neil Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart. They explore who these men were, the lives they lived, and the lasting impact of their deaths.

Cassie also speaks with Victorian Police Association CEO Wayne Gatt about how the force coped with the grief and trauma of losing two of their own while carrying out one of the largest manhunts in Victorian history.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hunt for Dezi Freeman wasn’t just a manhunt. It was a battle on hostile ground.

Police moved into a community that didn’t trust them, didn’t want them there, and in some cases, openly opposed them. As tensions rose, investigators pushed on, determined not to lose their grip on the case.

In this episode, 7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos reveal the resilience of the officers who stayed the course, and the deeply confronting evidence they uncovered, including allegations of child sex abuse and hundreds of child exploitation files found on Freeman’s computers.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

CONTENT WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS REFERENCES TO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE, GUN VIOLENCE AND SUICIDE. LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

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Once police received the tip-off that exposed Dezi Freeman’s hideout, they moved in — quietly.

For seven days, officers hid in dense bushland, watching the remote property, waiting for the moment to strike. They knew Freeman had already evaded capture once. If he ran again, they might not get a second chance.

7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos take you inside the high-stakes surveillance, the planning behind the takedown, and the risks facing officers on the ground, as they closed in on one of Australia’s most wanted fugitives.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7Plus.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.