Uncover CBC True Crime

Crimes like this don't often happen on land. A 10-minute slow-motion slaughter captured by a cell phone camera shows a group of unarmed men at sea, possibly 15 of them, killed one by one by a semiautomatic weapon, after which the culprits pose for celebratory selfies. The shocking footage is then made public, and yet no government is willing to investigate, much less prosecute the murderers. This episode traces a tireless journalistic investigation of a shocking video that after 8 years, finally resulted in a 26-year conviction of the ship captain who ordered the cold-blooded killing. Looking for answers, this reporting takes us to the bizarre world of floating armories, which are part bunkhouse, part weapons depot, where maritime mercenaries wait for their next ship deployment. For broader context, the story explores the explosion of violence on the high seas, how Somali piracy is often used as a pretext for bloodletting by private security guards and the reasons that offshore crime often happens with impunity. Guest Interviews: Duncan Copeland, Trygg Mat Tracking Kevin Thompson, Private Maritime Security Guard

To hear all episodes of The Outlaw Ocean now, visit here.

For transcripts of this series, please visit here.

It would be hard to believe if it hadn't actually happened. The longest law-enforcement chase in nautical history, spanning 110 days and 10,000 miles, featured a bunch of vigilantes pursuing Interpol's most wanted illegal fishing ship. Slaloming around icebergs in a deadly glacier field, cutting through a category 5 storm, this chase only ended when one of the ships sank. To discuss why illegal fishing is so rampant and unchecked, this episode takes us from the capture of the world's most notorious scofflaw vessel in African waters to the seas off the coast of North Korea, where we discover the planet's largest illegal fishing fleet. Guest Interview: Tony Long, CEO of Global Fishing Watch

To hear all episodes of The Outlaw Ocean now, visit here.

For transcripts of this series, please visit here.

Ian’s account of his groundbreaking reporting on slavery in the South China Sea, the first time a reporter had ever made it onboard a Thai distant-water vessel using enslaved labour. Found shackled by the neck as part of the crew on a dilapidated fishing vessel, Lang Long was a victim of the nightmarish world of debt bondage. A global scourge, sea slavery is something most people do not realize exists. This episode explains how it happens, taking us for the first time on board one such roach and rat-infested ship on the South China Sea, worked by 40 Cambodian boys. The episode also explains how overfishing has given rise to trans-shipment, fish-laundering and a prevalence of abuse that companies and governments have a tough time countering or tracking. Guest Interviews: Shannon Service, Director of “Ghost Fleet” Daniel Murphy, Freedom Fund

To hear all episodes of The Outlaw Ocean now, visit here.

For transcripts of this series, please visit here.

The sea has always been a metaphor for freedom – an escape from governments, laws and other people. This episode takes us off the coast of England to Sealand. A rogue “micronation” meant to embody this very freedom, which was founded on an abandoned British anti-aircraft platform in 1967. “From the Sea, Freedom” explores the world of libertarian-minded endeavors at sea, where renegades and mavericks of all sorts seek to escape the laws of land-bound nation-states. The reporting also visits the high seas near Mexico to meet other characters who leverage the freedom and a legal gray area found offshore. We travel with Rebecca Gomperts, the founder of Women on Waves, a group that provides abortion access for women who live in countries where it is restricted. Secretly carrying several Mexican women beyond national waters, Rebecca uses a loophole in maritime law to legally administer pills that will end their pregnancies. Guest Interview: Rebecca Gomperts, founder of "Women on Waves"

To hear all episodes of The Outlaw Ocean now, visit here.

For transcripts of this series, please visit here.

High Seas. High Stakes. High Crimes. There are few remaining frontiers on our planet. Perhaps the wildest, and least understood, are the world’s oceans: too big to police, and under no clear international authority, these immense regions of treacherous water play host to rampant criminality and exploitation. The Outlaw Ocean is a 7-part series that explores a gritty and lawless realm rarely seen, populated by traffickers and smugglers, pirates and mercenaries, wreck thieves and repo men, vigilante conservationists and elusive poachers, seabound abortion providers, clandestine oil dumpers, shackled slaves and cast-adrift stowaways. Hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ian Urbina, the series relies on more than 8 years of reporting at sea on all 7 oceans and more than 3 dozen countries.

To hear all episodes of The Outlaw Ocean now, visit here.

New Year’s Eve. Simon receives a message from a beautiful stranger, named Shirley: “Greetings…from my world to yours.” A digital flirtation begins. Then Shirley needs cash – fast. Shirley’s photo is actually adult entertainment “cam girl” Janessa Brazil and many accounts are using her image to lure victims. Who is Janessa? Has she any idea that she’s the bait in worldwide catfishing schemes?

To hear all episodes of Love, Janessa now, visit here.

For transcripts of this series, please visit here.