True Crime Reports
True Crime Reports

True Crime Reports

Al Jazeera

Overview
Episodes

Details

This is immersive true crime, done differently. True Crime Reports brings you crime stories from the global south and beyond; tales of corruption, power, and injustice that often haven’t reached headlines in the West.

Hosted by journalist Halla Mohieddeen, each week you’ll be taken to countries like Peru, South Africa, Syria, and Cambodia, hearing from eyewitnesses, journalists, and family members right at the heart of these stories.

Recent Episodes

A Deadly Nazi Cult in Chile
APR 6, 2025
A Deadly Nazi Cult in Chile

For nearly 40 years, a secretive colony in the Chilean countryside hid unspeakable horrors: child abuse, torture, and a twisted legacy of Nazism. Colonia Dignidad, led by ex-Nazi Paul Schäfer, thrived not just as a cult but as a brutal tool of oppression during Chile’s Pinochet regime. How did this enclave evade justice for so long—and why did the Chilean government turn a blind eye, or worse, offer its support?

In a story that goes right to the heart of the German and Chilean governments, what justice can the victims themselves hope for?

In this episode: 

This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen. 

Executive Producers: Ney Alvarez and Sandra Ferrari.

Production Managers: Archan Mohile and Bronte Baskin.

Senior Producer: Marthe van der Wolf.

Post-Production Supervisor: Andrés Rivera

Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan.

Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman.

Translation by Diana Larrea Maccise.

Audio editing by Alan Leer.

Music composition by Tom Biddle.

Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik.

Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube

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33 MIN
Blue Whale Suicides
MAR 23, 2025
Blue Whale Suicides

What if an online game could push teenagers to their darkest edge? The Blue Whale Challenge is rumored to have taken lives around the globe, igniting fear, panic, and speculation between parents. From Russia’s nationwide hysteria to stories of tragic teenage deaths worldwide, the phenomenon shocked millions. But does this deadly game even exist?

In this episode: 

Episode credits: 

This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen. 

Executive Producers: Ney Alvarez and Sandra Ferrari.

Production Managers: Archan Mohile and Bronte Baskin.

Senior Producer: Marthe van der Wolf.

Post-Production Supervisor: Andrés Rivera

Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan.

Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman.

Audio editing by Alan Leer.

Music composition by Tom Biddle.

Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik.

Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube

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30 MIN
Captagon: Syria’s Hidden Drug Empire
MAR 9, 2025
Captagon: Syria’s Hidden Drug Empire

Was al-Assad's Syria a narco-state?

Captagon—a deadly, addictive amphetamine—has turned Syria into the heart of a $2 billion drug empire few know about, with the Assad regime at the center of it all. From secret labs to smuggling routes, we uncover how this shadowy network operates and its devastating impact across the Middle East.

With the regime’s fall, what happens to this illicit empire?

In this episode: 

Episode credits: 

This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen. 

Executive Producers: Ney Alvarez and Sandra Ferrari.

Production Managers: Archan Mohile and Bronte Baskin.

Senior Producer: Marthe van der Wolf.

Post-Production Supervisor: Andrés Rivera

Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan.

Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman.

Audio editing by Alan Leer.

Music composition by Tom Biddle.

Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik.

Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube

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29 MIN
The Dark Side of Conservation
FEB 23, 2025
The Dark Side of Conservation

How far will Western powers go for conservation?

In 2015, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, guards shot and killed an Indigenous boy searching for herbs with his father.

This tragedy spotlights the violence faced by Indigenous communities from international conservation efforts.

Is human life the cost of wildlife protection?

In this episode: 

Video episode link: 

Correction at 07:21: The figure here states “There are now only around 250 eastern lowland gorillas in the park." Recent surveys have revised the 2015 population of Eastern lowland gorillas to be c.1,500.

Episode credits:

This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen. 

Executive Producers: Ney Alvarez and Sandra Ferrari.

Production Manager: Archan Mohile.

Senior Producer: Marthe van der Wolf.

Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan.

Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman.

Audio editing by Alan Leer.

Music composition by Tom Biddle.

Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik.

Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube

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31 MIN
Slave Scammers
FEB 9, 2025
Slave Scammers

We all know a scamming story: Someone rings or texts you, trying to get your personal information or asking you to log in to your account. But what you might not know is that the person behind that phone could be someone who’s been trafficked and enslaved.

Hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in scamming farms across Southeast Asia. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry, and it’s a chronically underreported story on modern-day slavery.

In this episode: 

Episode credits:

This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen. 

Executive Producers: Ney Alvarez and Sandra Ferrari.

Production Manager: Archan Mohile.

Senior Producer: Marthe van der Wolf.

Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan.

Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman.

Translation by Fei Liu.

Audio editing by Alan Leer.

Music composition by Tom Biddle.

Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik.

Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube

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29 MIN