Chasing Ghosts

In the 1970s, the Mr Asia drug syndicate was one of the largest sellers of heroin in the world. The group began in New Zealand, with two men at its centre: Marty Johnstone and Terry Clark.

As the syndicate spread around the world, for a few years, they were living the high life. And then, they started killing each other. 

In the new season of A Forgotten History, from the New Zealand Herald and Bird of Paradise Productions, John Daniell and Noelle McCarthy revisit the lives and crimes of these two men, their associates, and how their actions changed drug culture in New Zealand.

Episodes available now wherever you get your podcasts

For the first time in 13 years, David Fisher sits down with Natalia Burgess to talk about her catfishing. While he gains new insight into her life, how she operates her false characters, and her reasons for doing it, something's missing. And then an email out of the blue offers the answers he's been waiting for. 

And one victim of Natalia's catfishing reveals the devastating consequences of having these memories resurface. 

Suicide and depression help services:

If it is an emergency and you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

For counselling and support:

Warning: This episode contains discussion around suicide.

In 2011, after outing her for her catfishing, David Fisher sat down with Natalia Burgess for an interview about why she had done what she had.

13 years later, David revisits that interview as he looks for answers as to why she has done what she has, and gets insight from a psychologist on the potential motivations behind her behaviour. 

Suicide and depression help services:

If it is an emergency and you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

For counselling and support:

While Natalia is best known for catfishing teen boys and young men into relationships, she has also used the photos she has stolen to trick at least two different teenage girls - and their mothers - into believing she is a long-lost member of their family. Today, David finds out their stories and how Natalia came to infiltrate their lives. 

In 2022, David Fisher receives an email from Crystal Jenner, a New Zealand woman living in Australia. She has approached him as her last hope after six years of trying to find a solution to Natalia stealing her photos.

David hears from her, her mother, and a friend who also had had her pictures stolen, one of the men who fell victim to Crystal's face, and a lawyer analyses why Crystal has struggled to get the law to help her.