Welsh actor fronts BBC true crime podcast on notorious fugitives

In a brand new true crime podcast on BBC sounds, Making of a Fugitive, listeners will hear stories of international fugitives who go to great lengths to try and stay hidden from the authorities.

Narrated by actor Richard Harrington (The One That Got Away, Hinterland), the nine-part podcast  follows tales of stolen identities, drastic plastic surgery and hair transplants, and the families who get left behind.

The podcast starts with Martin Evans, a small town conman turned international fraudster and drug dealer who has been in and out of the headlines for nearly 30 years, named by police as one of the UK’s “most wanted” in 2012.

Evans – aka the ostrich man – swindled investors out of almost a million pounds in an ostrich farm fraud in south Wales before going on to run an international drugs and money laundering operation. He fled from justice and even prison for five years until finally being captured.

Most wanted

From one most wanted list to another, American conman Matt Cox came face to face with his own most wanted poster in a police station before making one of his many getaways. Cox evaded capture for almost a decade, committing bank fraud, identity theft and passport fraud, topping the FBI’s most wanted list in the early 2000s.

Describing his time on the run as “awesome”, self-proclaimed narcissist Matt Cox provides a first-hand account of his story, giving a unique insight into the extraordinary lengths he went to in order to stay one step ahead of the FBI.

Cox said: “I became infamous by committing bank fraud, I stole identities and created synthetic identities in order to borrow money from dozens of US banks.

“Ultimately the FBI came to arrest me and I went on the run. What I decided to do was start a much larger scam, I convinced the social security administration in the US to start issuing me social security numbers to children who don’t exist.

“I would then order credit cards and build a false credit profile in those names. I think the amount ended up at $11.5 million.”

Mistaken identity

And we discover what led to a businessman, Mohammed Ali Ege, becoming an international fugitive following the mistaken identity murder of a teenager in Cardiff 15 years ago.

In an exclusive new interview, the podcast speaks to the family of murdered Aamir Siddiqi, who are still waiting for Wales’ most wanted man to be brought to justice.

Across nine episodes, Making of a Fugitive hears from the people involved and asks what happens when a fugitive is finally cornered? Are they sorry for what they’ve done, or just for getting caught?

Series writer and producer for BBC Cymru Wales, Jayne Morgan, said: “We thought we knew these stories having worked on them over the years but this podcast gives new insights and reveals the extraordinary lengths some go to in order to stay hidden.”

Making of a Fugitive is a BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Sounds. The first two episodes are available now, with the remaining seven episodes launching weekly.

Listen to Making a Fugitive on BBC Sounds