When a dead body and bags of heroin washed up on the southern coast of Australia, a dark tale began to unfold...

Richard Baker investigates the final journey of the Pong Su in a new podcast from The Age & Sydney Morning Herald.

Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts, and look out for episode 1 on October 8.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Launching Tuesday, October 8 - Richard Baker investigates the final journey of the Pong Su in a new podcast from The Age & Sydney Morning Herald.

When a dead body and bags of heroin washes up on the southern coast of Australia, a dark tale begins to unfold...

Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode one. North Korean cargo ship the Pong Su comes dangerously close to Australia’s Great Ocean Road shoreline as part of a high-risk, high-reward operation to import a record amount of heroin. Coastal locals have never seen anything like it.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional Audio from: Largo International N.V, World Surf League and Sky News

The poem you heard at the start of this episode is titled ‘Waves’ by South Korean poet Cho Oh-hyun, read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode two. Pong Su skipper Song Man Sun embarks on his final journey before retirement, while Australian police get a big break as they covertly track suspected Asian crime syndicate foot soldiers around Melbourne’s casino and the nearby Great Ocean Road coast.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional film audio from: Narcos Productions LLC and MMDP Munich Movie Development & Production

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode three. Secretly bugged conversations give Australian police clues about the immense scale of the heroin import. On board the Pong Su, two men prepare to risk everything to make it happen.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: Reuters, Associated Press and the Australian Liberal Party.

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode four. Tension among the Asian crime syndicate members is at breaking point, while Australian police keep finding their best laid plans are going astray.

A dead body on the beach throws everyone off their game.

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Extra production - Tim Mummery
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Wasteland by T.S Eliot, read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 5. A dramatic chase at sea unfolds to stop a fleeing Pong Su. The North Korean crew fears the worst for their Master after they are told by their superiors in Pyongyang to stop and fight.

Age & SMH subscribers can listen to an extended interview with former SAS soldiers Ben Pronk and Tim Curtis here: https://bit.ly/36s4szb

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Extra production - Tim Mummery
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: Channel Seven

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from The Old man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway- read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 6. Was Kim Jong Il’’s secretive money-making agency behind the Pong Su heroin importation? A high-profile North Korean defector speaks out.

Age & SMH subscribers can listen to an extended interview with former clearance diver Nicholas Martin here: https://bit.ly/2Kackvx

The Last Voyage of the Pong Su is brought to you by the newsrooms of The Age & Sydney Morning Herald. A new episode of this 10-part series drops on Tuesdays.

If you’re enjoying this series, leave a review on iTunes and recommend us to a friend.

To read more, and to watch the videos referenced in this episode, head to our websites.

Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald.

Reporter - Richard Baker (Get in touch: rbaker@theage.com.au )
Executive Producer - Rachael Dexter
Narrative Consultant - Kate Cole-Adams
Consulting Producer - Siobhan McHugh
Music & Composition - Vicki Hansen
Sound design & mixing - John Greenfield
Script translations - Yan Zhuang
Assistant Producer - Margaret Gordon
Head of Audio - Tom McKendrick

Actors:
Chin Kwang Lee is played by Andy Song
Kiam Fah Teng is played by Anthony Ting
Yau Kim Lam is played by Jason Chong
Casting - Catapult Casting

Additional audio from: Time Magazine, C-SPAN, Alux.com, Vidello Productions, NBC, Associated Press, Sky News UK, Journeyman pictures, Channel 10, Channel 9, ABC, ABC America and CNN

The reading you heard at the start of this episode was an excerpt from the poem Midnight Sun by Kim Hyesoon - read by Jason Chong.

Support the show.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.