Gangster podcast artwork
True Crime

Gangster

by BBC Radio 5 Live

Where it charts

Today’s combined position on our country charts.

Ranking history

Position on the True Crime, Australia combined chart over the last 30 days. Toggle platforms to compare their positions. Lower rank numbers are better; #1 is at the top.

#1#50#100#150#200Chart rankOct 7Oct 8#168
View as table
DateCombined RankApple Podcasts
Oct 8#168#153
Oct 7#156#138

About the show

In the 1990s, Brian Brendan Wright, known as The Milkman, became one of the UK's most significant cocaine traffickers. His operation stretched from coca labs in Colombia, through Venezuelan jungles and Caribbean sea routes, to quiet marinas and racecourses in Britain. Bulk shipments crossed the Atlantic by sailboat. Cartel brokers negotiated deals in Miami. Public phone boxes carried coded conversations. At home, Wright cultivated a different image: racehorse owner, gambler, a familiar face in elite restaurants and private boxes. Behind that public life sat an organisation moving hundreds of kilos of cocaine at a time. Couriers, skippers and middlemen handled the risk. Cocaine flooded British streets while its organiser remained largely unseen. The investigation to dismantle the network lasted 11 years. Customs officers, DEA agents and police forces across multiple countries tracked phone numbers, cracked codes, followed boats and recruited insiders. Arrests reached from Colombian suppliers to UK logistics men. As pressure mounted, Wright fled abroad and became one of Britain's most wanted fugitives. Gangster: The Story of the Milkman follows the rise and fall of a transatlantic cocaine empire — the smugglers who ran it, the officers who pursued it, and the human cost left in its wake.

Latest episodes

  • The Story of The Milkman: 6. The Catch

    September 10, 2026 · 31 min

    In Spain, a coded phone call from a public payphone alerts HMCE that Wright is no longer hiding successfully. Surveillance confirms his location on the Costa del Sol, and an international warrant leads to his arrest and extradition to the…

  • The Story of The Milkman: 5. The Long Run

    September 3, 2026 · 31 min

    A covert entry at a lock-up garage in Essex reveals hundreds of kilos of cocaine hidden in holdalls. After years of surveillance, coded diaries and phone-box intelligence, Operation Extend moves into its decisive phase. The arrest of a…

  • The Story of The Milkman: 4. The Fix Is In

    August 27, 2026 · 31 min

    Horses and gambling form the backdrop to Brian Brendan Wright’s public life. In racing circles he appears as a wealthy, well-connected owner with celebrity friends and a passion for betting. Wright’s name begins to surface in allegations…

  • The Story of The Milkman: 3. Operation Extend

    August 20, 2026 · 32 min

    As cocaine profits multiply along the route to Europe, HMCE launches Operation Extend following the seizure of the Sea Mist. Barry Clarke and his team monitor payphones, trace Colombian numbers and build intelligence from a London office…

  • The Story of The Milkman: 2. Cocaine by the Sea

    August 13, 2026 · 34 min

    Who were the middlemen behind the cocaine flooding Britain in the 1990s? From midnight yacht transfers in the Atlantic to cartel Narcos in Miami, and US agents piecing together the network supplying Brian Brendan Wright. Credits Presenter…

  • The Story of The Milkman: 1. The Sea Mist

    August 7, 2026 · 33 min

    A force nine gale off the coast of County Cork leads to a late-night report of a vessel behaving oddly in Cork Harbour. When Irish Customs board the Sea Mist, they uncover 600 kilos of cocaine hidden inside a dumb-waiter shaft. The seizure…

  • The Story of The Milkman: Trailer

    August 3, 2026 · 3 min

    In the 1990s, Brian Brendan Wright, known as The Milkman, became one of the UK’s most significant cocaine traffickers. His operation stretched from coca labs in Colombia, through Venezuelan jungles and Caribbean sea routes, to quiet…

  • The Story of Ronnie Biggs: 5. The Magic Balloon Gang

    June 4, 2026 · 30 min

    Buy your ticket for ‘The Ronnie Biggs Experience’. For fifty dollars you will be entitled to Brazilian barbecue, a few beers, and an intimate audience with an international celebrity fugitive. Branded T-Shirts are available upon…