Nicola Tallant is a three-time winner of Crime Journalist of the Year award in Ireland. In 2024, Cocaine Cowboys was shortlisted for the True Crime Awards for Outstanding Investigative Reporting. Nicola specialises in organised and gangland crime. She is the author of a number of books and works as the Crime and Investigations Editor at Sunday World. She has a weekly podcast Crime World and is also a regular contributor on The Stand with Eamon Dunphy
''Cocaine cowboys is a rollercoaster ride that takes the reader right to the heart of how and why cocaine became Europe's favourite drug and the tapestry of characters that makes sure it is available in every pub in every rural town. Nicola's wealth of experience as Irelands top investigative journalist shines shines through in the incredible detail and the fascinating tapestry of characters and stories she has woven through the chapters. If you read nothing else this year, read this!!!'' - Donal MacIntyre ''Another absolute page turner from Ireland's finest journalist'' - Mick McCaffrey ''An insightful and explosive expose of Ireland's cocaine epidemic and the drug lords who fuelled it. Nicola Tallant is one of Europe's most respected crime journalists who has been at the very top of her game for years. Cocaine Cowboys is the definitive account of a boomtime which turned street dealers into billionaires'' - Stephen Breen ' 'Nicola Tallant joins the dots and follows the trail of white lines from the jungle labs of south America to the dinner tables of middle Ireland. Cocaine Cowboys tells the global success story of Ireland's own narcos. How they hit the big time, and how they unravelled the fabric of our communities and society as they created a wild west drug frontier right here at home' ' - Neil Leslie