Series 1 - 9. Fear of the Unknown

In his last days, Joe thought the pollution was putting lives at risk. His friends were willing to break the law to find out. Years on, are deadly cancers rising?

"All you have to do... is dig it up."

A trucker’s deathbed tape plays out. It’s urgent, desperate. In this BBC Radio 4 podcast series, investigative journalists Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor deep-dive into one of the worst environment crimes in UK history - the secret dumping of a million tonnes of waste near a city. But when they uncover missing documents, fears of toxicity and allegations of organised crime, they realise they’ve stumbled into something much bigger. As they pick at the threads of one crime, they begin to see others. Could Britain be the home of a new mafia, getting rich on our waste?

In a thrilling ten-part investigation, the husband-and-wife duo dive into a criminal underworld, all the time following clues left in a deathbed tape. They’re driven by one question - what did the man in the tape know?

Presenters and Producers: Dan Ashby and Lucy Taylor Assistant Producer: Tess Davidson Original Music and Sound Design: Phil Channell Sound Design and Series Mixing: Jarek Zaba Executive Producers: Phil Abrams and Anita Elash Commissioning Editor: Dan Clarke

A Smoke Trail production for BBC Radio 4