New LiSTNR podcast uncovers how one of Australia's most wanted hid in plain sight for thirty years

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 this six-part podcast documentary series, 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.

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.

Tim Elliott said: “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.”

LiSTNR Head of Factual, Clair Weaver, adds: “Secrets We Keep: Jailbreak is a wild, rollicking story about an eccentric but loveable anti-hero whose early attempts to fast-track his big Australian dreams land him in jail, until dire circumstances in his homeland drive him to escape. Tim Elliott and the LiSTNR Factual team have done an excellent job bringing Darko’s story to life in audio for the first time. This is a podcast you’re going to want to tell your friends about.”

Darko’s now vanished again, leaving Jailbreak as the only, and perhaps final, firsthand account of his extraordinary tale.

Listen to Secrets We Keep: Jailbreak for free on the LiSTNR app, or wherever you get podcasts from Tuesday, September 2.