The episodes typically contain a mixture of interviews with the real people and actors reconstructing the events. The convicted or captured are shown talking about their experiences, over dramatic reenactments of their respective experiences. The episodes focus on the events leading up to the arrest or time in captivity.
In a few cases, at the end of the episode, the convicted are shown sitting with handcuffs on, where they are still in jail. In most cases, the convicted or captured have returned home from where they are telling their story. In other cases, the convicted or captured are shown revisiting the country of the incident.
Episode 1: Costa Rica/Malta (Scott and Lucy's Story)Scott Campbell and Lucy Baker are British travellers arrested in
Mexico.
Episode 2: Thailand (The Sandra Gregory Story)Sandra Gregory is arrested in
Thailand trying to smuggle
heroin into
Japan.
Episode 3: Australia (Mark's Story)Mark Knowles is arrested in Sydney after attempting to smuggle
cocaine from the U.S. to
Australia.
Episode 4: Venezuela/Margarita Island (Denis and Donald's Story)Donald MacNeil, a yachtsman, is arrested after being pressured to collect an enormous, 30-million-pound shipment of cocaine. Later it was found that Edward Jarvis was the man named in the episode as "Frank"; he was later caught and arrested.
Episode 1: Venezuela (James and Paul's Story)Jim Miles and Paul Loseby, two British teenagers, are arrested in Venezuela for trying to smuggle drugs.
Episode 2: Peru (Krista and Jennifer's Story/Peruvian Prison Nightmare)Krista Barnes and Jennifer Davis are two American women arrested for trying to smuggle cocaine out of
Peru.
Episode 3: Nepal (Piers' Story)Piers Hernu, a dual British-French traveller, is arrested trying to smuggle 28kg gold bullion from Hong Kong to Nepal.
Episode 4: Colombia (Glen's story)Glen Heggstad, an American adventurer, is kidnapped by the Colombian
National Liberation Army.
Episode 1: Kuwait (Scott's Story)Scott White is arrested in Kuwait for selling
hashish, then escapes from jail during the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Episode 2: Peru 2/LimaRussell Thoresen, an American traveller, is arrested in Peru for trying to smuggle cocaine.
Episode 3: BangladeshLia McCord, an American teenager, is arrested in Bangladesh for trying to smuggle heroin. JC Gonzalez played Lia's brother. (21 Jul. 2008)
Episode 4: PakistanAmardeep Bassey, a British journalist on the way to Afghanistan for an assignment, is arrested in
Pakistan and accused of being a spy.
Episode 5: Peru 3/CuzcoSarah Jackson convinces her friend Simon Burke to go to Peru with her in order to serve as her unwitting drug-
smuggling accomplice. Jackson is currently serving a seven-year
sentence.
Episode 6: TaiwanTaiwan's most-wanted criminal breaks into the house of McGill Alexander, a South African army colonel, and takes him and his family
hostage.
Episode 7: EcuadorAn American, Daniel Van De Zande is arrested trying to smuggle cocaine from
Ecuador to Europe.
Episode 8: South KoreaCullen Thomas, working with his girlfriend "Rocket", is arrested trying to smuggle hashish from the
Philippines to
South Korea.
In 2008, five additional episodes were produced, each one about a kidnapping, under the alternate title "Kidnapped Abroad".
Episode 1: Uganda/Death in the JungleSafari guide Mark Ross and his tour group are kidnapped by
Hutu rebels in
Uganda.
Episode 2: Chechnya/Nightmare in ChechnyaJon James and Camilla Carr, who run a children's centre in
Grozny, are kidnapped by Chechnyan soldiers, then raped and tortured.
Episode 3: India/Hostage to TerrorRhys Partridge and Béla Nuss are kidnapped by British terrorist
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh while travelling in
India.
Episode 4: Philippines: Fatal Mission/Kidnapped by TerroristsGracia and Martin Burnham are Christian missionaries in the Philippines who are kidnapped by members of
Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim fundamentalist group.
Episode 5: Malaysia/Nightmare VacationMonique and Callie Strydom, while vacationing in
Malaysia, are kidnapped by a Muslim militant group and held hostage for four months in the Philippines.
Episode 1: Caracas/Venezuela BluesDavid Evans is arrested trying to smuggle drugs from Venezuela to Amsterdam.
Episode 2: Philippines/Terror Island/Kidnapped in the PhilippinesChurch volunteer Greg Williams is kidnapped and tortured by members of
Abu Sayyaf.
Episode 3: Puerto Vallarta/Mexican JusticeJake Libbon gets arrested in
Mexico for selling marijuana, then is falsely accused of shooting two
police officers.
Episode 4: Brazil/Brazil's Worst Prison/Busted in BrazilHollywood "party animal" Brendan Cosso and three friends are arrested trying to smuggle cocaine out of Brazil.
Episode 5: Indonesia/Escape from Hell/Busted In BaliChris Parnell is arrested in
Indonesia after being accused of smuggling hashish.
Episode 6: Mexico/Boy From The Ghetto/Busted in MexicoAmerican teenager Alex Silva is arrested trying to smuggle marijuana from Mexico into the U.S.
Episode 7: Cuba/What's in The BagAmerican Kahlilah Saleem is forced by her boyfriend to smuggle cocaine through Cuba in order to see her daughter.
Episode 8: Iraq/Kidnapped In IraqJournalists
Scott Taylor and Zeynep Tugrul are kidnapped by insurgents who accuse them of being American spies.
Episode 9: Barbados/Busted and PregnantBritish teen Zara Whittaker is arrested at an airport trying to smuggle cocaine out of Barbados.
Episode 10: Ecuador/Master of Deception/Betrayed in EcuadorZoe McGarry, an Irish woman living in London, receives an eight-year prison sentence in Ecuador after the rucksack she was carrying is found to contain drugs. She was duped by someone who asked her for help.
Episode 11: Sierra Leone/Jungle SiegeMajor
Phil Ashby, tasked with disarming rebel fighters, becomes trapped and attempts a daring escape.
Episode 12: Jamaica/Jamaican GetawayT.K. White and her girlfriend are sent to Kingston's notorious central prison after attempting to smuggle marijuana.
Episode 13: India/Delhi/Party GirlClare Matthews, a British woman on extended vacation in
Goa, ends up in an Indian prison after attempting to mail hashish from Delhi.
Episode 1: Istanbul/The Real Midnight ExpressThe 1977 book
Midnight Express, and the Oscar-winning 1978 film on which it was based, also called
Midnight Express, told the story of 20-year-old college student
Billy Hayes – his imprisonment for drug smuggling and his escape from a prison in Istanbul,
Turkey. But for legal reasons, the book, which Hayes co-wrote, was not completely accurate; and the film version strayed even further from the truth, for artistic reasons. In this episode, Billy tells the full story of being sent to the infamous Turkish Sagmalcilar prison and eventually escaping.
Episode 2: Iraq/Human Shields In IraqWhen
Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, Tom Lynch and his fellow contractors John White decided to get out of Iraq while they still could, but were captured by Iraqi soldiers and taken to a notorious prison in Baghdad, where they must listen to inmates being tortured to death.
Episode 3: Tokyo/Tokyo TakedownAfter accepting an offer to work as a hostess in
Japan, Jackie Nichols meets a charming Israeli drug smuggler and agrees to smuggle hashish with him. She gets away with it four times, but the fifth time, she's not so lucky.
Episode 4: Bangkok/Bangkok UnderworldA 28-year-old English teacher named Tim Schrader agrees to smuggle 8 kilos of heroin into the U.S. to solve his financial problems. Although he knows he could receive the death penalty, the money is too tempting to resist.
Episode 5: Spain/Sold My SoulWith his girlfriend pregnant, American musician Michael Morey agrees to smuggle cocaine from Quito to
Spain. He barely makes it through Ecuadorian
customs, but when he lands and goes through Spanish customs, he's not so lucky.
Episode 6: Panama/Colombia AmbushYoung American backpacker Mark Wedeven and his companions decide to cross from
Panama to Colombia through the jungles of the
Darién Gap, where they are kidnapped by a paramilitary group.
Episode 1: USA/The Real GoodfellaHenry Hill, the inspiration behind the classic film
Goodfellas, relives his descent from Mafia wise guy to a spell in Terminal Island Penitentiary.
Episode 2: Saudi Arabia/Saudi BootleggerGordon Malloch's bootleg booze racket fuelled a party lifestyle in
Saudi Arabia, until he got caught and found himself facing four years in jail.
Episode 3: Philippines/Prisoner Of LoveBriton David Scott tells the story of finding his soulmate in the Philippines – and risking a 14-year prison sentence for adultery.
Episode 4: Mexico/Funny MoneyAfter heading to Mexico with a suitcase of fake money to buy drugs, Californian bodybuilder Jeremy Khinoo found himself behind bars and in big trouble.
Episode 5: Mauritius /Heroin StingAfter being caught with a kilo of heroin in Mauritius, Brigene Young faced 45 years in jail (eventually serving 7 years) – unless she could help catch the drug traffickers.
Episode 6: Spain/Daredevil Drug RunnerThe tale of Chris Chance, whose daredevil life smuggling cannabis into the UK concealed in a rubber body suit led to a nasty prison sentence at
Carabanchel Prison.
Episode 7: Argentina/The Cocaine TrapStephen Sutton got caught up when he was offered $15,000 to transport cocaine disguised as gold – leading to an 11-year jail sentence.
Episode 8: Peru/Drug Dealer RevengeCompany director Robert Pringle got seven years in a violent South American lock-up after being pressured into drug smuggling by his dealer.
Episode 9: Colombia/Teenage Drug SmugglerVivian Carrasquillo faced a crash diet in jail after an attempt to raise funds for gastric bypass surgery by becoming a drug mule backfired.
Episode 10: Thailand/Backstabbed In ThailandMilitary veteran Kim Hood faced a life behind bars in a squalid Thai prison after being caught smuggling 14 kilos of heroin with a friend.
Episode 1: Peru/Cocaine Mule MomRuthie Lambert, a middle-aged mother of three, decides to smuggle drugs to make ends meet. She is imprisoned for years but eventually escapes by bribing a corrupt official.
Episode 2: Argentina/Escape From ArgentinaLucy Wright, a crack-addicted nursing student, faces 25 years in prison when she's caught trying to smuggle cocaine from Argentina to the UK.
Episode 3: Saudi Arabia/Dangerous LiaisonBritish nurse Stephen Comiskey, who takes a job in Saudi Arabia to support his family, draws the unwelcome attention of the
Saudi religious police after a series of illicit gay affairs.
Episode 4: Guyana/Guadeloupe/Caribbean NightmareDavid and Jayne Bladen dreamed of a new life overseas but a nightmare journey of drug smuggling and violence culminate in 20 months behind bars.
Episode 5: Japan/The Juggler SmugglerTravelling magician Mark Greening juggled a young family with a budding hash-smuggling business after moving to Japan – but he soon got caught.
Episode 6: Pakistan/From Hollywood To HellWhen young actor Erik Audé discovers that he was tricked into smuggling
opium out of Pakistan, he has to fight to clear his name and stay alive
Episode 7: Mexico/Black Palace Of HorrorsAfter a horrific spell in Mexico's notorious Black Palace prison, would-be drug smuggler
Dwight Worker vows to escape – or die trying.
Episode 8: Colombia/Colombian KidnapReini Weigel, Erez Eltawil and six more backpackers are snatched by guerrillas in Colombia, they adopt different survival strategies: cooperation versus outright resistance.
Episode 9: Brazil/Hasidic King Of CokeOrthodox Jew Samuel Leibowitz dreamt of making millions as a drug kingpin in Brazil, leading to a terrifying spell in the deadly
Carandiru Penitentiary.
Episode 10: Nicaragua/I Am Not A TerroristDuane Wollum was about to make some easy money smuggling cocaine – until an airport security check revealed that he was concealing a package.
Episode 11: China/My Dad The SmugglerScott Campbell can't wait to take a trip to China with his estranged father. Little does he know that his father has something else planned.
Episode 12: Iraq/Son Of SaddamThe incredible story of how Iraqi soldier
Latif Yahia was forced to become a body double for
Uday Hussein,
Saddam Hussein's highly volatile eldest son.
Episode 13: Chile/Chilean Prison BreakThe gripping story of Tom Hanway who fled a Chilean jail with a fellow prisoner, taking a dangerous and fatal escape route across the desert.
Episode 14: Panama/The Orchid HuntersThe shocking story of Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder, two British backpackers who were ambushed and held to ransom by a guerilla group while crossing the notoriously dangerous Darien Gap.
Episode 15: Venezuela/Venezuela HustleDesperate to keep his family afloat, Paul Keany agrees to smuggle 6 kilos of cocaine from Venezuela back to Dublin but it turns out to be the worst decision of his life.
Episode 16: Iraq/Highway to HellAdventure-seeker Thomas Hamill took a job driving trucks in Iraq, leading to a terrifying spell in captivity after being kidnapped by insurgents.
Episode 17: Egypt/Not Without My BabyWhen Susan Haglof forged a birth certificate after a shady adoption in Egypt, she faced the possibility of being imprisoned and losing her baby.
Episode 18: Somalia/Nightmare in SomaliaThe terrifying story of photojournalist
Nigel Brennan and reporter
Amanda Lindhout who were held hostage for 15 months by a criminal gang in Somalia.
Episode 19: Thailand/Busted in BangkokThrown into a notorious Bangkok prison for attempting to smuggle heroin, Angela Carnegie has an epiphany while nursing a fellow inmate with a drug addiction.
Episode 20: Russia/Escape from the GulagCaught trying to smuggle heroin, Jerry Amster found himself facing a lengthy spell in one of Russia's toughest labour camps.
Episode 1: Vietnam/POWs McCain & BraceErnie Brace is a civilian American pilot during the Vietnam War who was held as a prisoner of war for about eight years in Vietnam, including at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton". He communicated with fellow POW John McCain by tapping through the wall; the two never spoke face-to-face until after the war ended. The episode features interviews with both Brace and McCain. This episode was blocked in Vietnam due to what the Vietnamese government called "inaccurate information" about the Viet Cong.
Episode 2: Belize/Snakes on a PlaneThis episode tells the story of Tom Crutchfield, who is a reptile smuggler and under investigation during Operation Chameleon. He gets close to being caught in the United States, so he flees to Belize, where he ends up in prison there, until he gets deported back to the United States.
Episode 3: USA/Raving ArizonaShaun Attwood moves from England to Arizona to become a stockbroker. However, he gets caught up in drugs, and eventually starts dealing. After some intimidation from a mafia boss, he goes back to being a stockbroker, but he gets a visit from the police.
Episode 4: Iraq/Buried AliveThis episode tells the story of Roy Hallums who gets kidnapped in Iraq.
Episode 5: Iran/The Real ArgoThis episode tells the true account of the story that inspired the movie Argo about the Iran hostage crisis. This is the story of how American diplomats were rescued in Iran by the Canadian Embassy and the CIA after the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Episode 6: Mexico/Mexican Prison EscapeThis episode tells the story of five teenage Americans attempting to smuggle more than 2000 pounds of marijuana to the United States. After they get caught and placed in a Mexican prison, they plot a daring escape- excavating a 20m long tunnel under the prison.
Episode 7: Peru/Hippie MafiaEddie Padilla lives in Hawaii and supports himself with drug smuggling. However, during one of those trips, he gets caught in Peru and lands himself in a Peruvian prison called the House of the Devil.
Episode 8: USA/Vegas MobsterFrank Cullotta is a mobster in Las Vegas who becomes well known for robberies. He is caught by the FBI thanks to an informant. He ends up becoming a witness against the mob and enters witness protection.
Episode 9: Fast, Furious and BustedThis episode takes place in the United States and tells the story of Rick Cedar from Spokane, Washington. Circumstances came up causing him to try to get more cash. He runs a con, but that con catches up to him. He goes further into crime to get what he needs.
Episode 10: USA/Hunting Mr. NiceHoward Marks is a school teacher who enters into criminality when he helps a friend finish off a drug deal. The easy money turns him into a multi-national drug smuggler. One of his loads gets caught and he is now wanted and on the run. However, the law always catches up.
Episode 1: Mexico/Plane Crash Marijuana
In 1972, 19 year old American Jim Pap Rocki, a college graduate is convinced by his brother-in-law to join him on a drug run to Southern Mexico. All goes to plan until the cargo catches fire and they are forced to crash-land. Jim soon finds himself in Mazatlan State Prison, ‘one of the oldest, meanest, dirtiest jails in Mexico’.
Episode 2: Bangkok/Thai Prison Hell
In 1993, 25-year-old Australian Martin Garnett is already earning good money at a luxury car dealership in Sydney, but he's hungry for more. He is caught smuggling 4.7 kilos of heroin into Bangkok and is set to become Australia's longest serving prisoner overseas.
Episode 3: Colombia/Bogota Belly Bust
The story of 28-year-old Canadian Tabitha Ritchie, whose life took a terrifying turn when she was caught smuggling drugs out of Colombia.
Episode 4: Somalia/Somali Pirate Hostage Hell
The shocking story of south african couple Debbie Calitz and Bruno Pelizzari, who were kidnapped by Somali pirates and held captive for 20 terrifying months.
Episode 5: Philippines/Jungle Terror
The traumatic story of an American schoolboy and his mother, who were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf, a jihadist group, in the Philippines and held for ransom in the jungle.
Episode 6: Libya/Gadaffi's American Prisoner
Captured by Qaddafi's men while fighting with rebels in
Libya,
Baltimore-born
Matthew VanDyke spent nearly six months in solitary confinement.