A brand new Secrets We Keep documentary series has launched with Jailbreak telling the incredible story of Darko (‘Dougie’) Desic, who escaped Grafton Prison in 1990 and remained on the run for decades. In his 60s, Darko decided to turn himself in at Dee Why Police Station in Sydney.

Darko arrived in Australia from Yugoslavia and was arrested for the relatively mild transgression of growing marijuana. Fearing deportation, he successfully plotted a daring escape from prison using a hacksaw and bolt cutters.

Secrets We Keep: Jailbreak host Tim Elliott – image supplied

In the six-part series, award journalist and author Tim Elliott takes listeners on a journey across the years on the run, and beyond, in Darko Desic’s own words.

Tim 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.”

Darko worked as a handyman for some of the wealthiest and most powerful executives in the Harbour City. When Covid occurred, the work dried up, leading to his voluntary surrender to police. But, he was a beloved local on the Northern Beaches whose community subsequently rallied for his release.

LiSTNR Head of Factual, Clair Weaver, said:

“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 has now vanished again, leaving Jailbreak as perhaps the only firsthand account of his extraordinary tale.

Secrets We Keep: Jailbreak is available now, free on the LiSTNR app, or wherever you get podcasts.