Launching on LiSTNR today, Jailbreak is a rollercoaster six-part investigative documentary series that tells the incredible story of Darko (aka ‘Dougie’) Desic, a wildly successful weed grower who staged a bold prison escape and remained on the run for decades.
When a neatly dressed man in his 60s walked into Dee Why Police Station in NSW to hand himself in, police were dumbfounded.
Darko Desic: a prison escapee who was featured on Australia’s Most Wanted and had been on the run from police since busting out from Grafton Prison, using a hacksaw and bolt cutters three decades earlier. Surviving on little more than his wits, charm and guile, Darko dodged numerous hair-raising close calls over the years.
In Secrets We Keep: Jailbreak, award winning journalist and author Tim Elliott takes listeners inside the extraordinary true story of Darko Desic, told in the fugitive’s own words. Darko takes listeners back to his arrival to Australia from Yugoslavia, his arrest for growing marijuana, his daring escape from prison, and how he evaded capture. Listen to episode 1:
Darko worked for some of the wealthiest and most powerful executives in the Harbour City. He was a beloved local in Avalon, yet police couldn’t find him. Once detained, the Northern Beaches community rallied for his release.
Fascinated by Darko’s story of survival and secrecy (including how he turned to DIY dentistry with pliers) Elliott tracks Darko down for an in-depth interview to find out the truth about the man behind the myth.
“I love escape stories, and when I heard about this fugitive who’d led a double-life, near where I live, I had to know more. And I soon realised the backstory to this mysterious intellectual recluse went so much further than had been reported,” Elliott said.
Darko’s now vanished again, leaving Jailbreak as the only, and perhaps final, firsthand account of his extraordinary tale.
Start listening to this six-part podcast documentary series on LiSTNR, or wherever you get your podcasts.
