Shortcut: Holly's Heroin Addiction Ended in a Thai Prison

Australian True Crime

Meshel Laurie

True Crime

4.6 • 979 Ratings

🗓️ 30 March 2025

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is a "Shortcut" episode. It’s a shortened version of this week’s more detailed full episode, which is also available on our feed.

In 2000, Holly Deane-Johns was arrested and later sentenced to 31 years in a Thailand prison.

It marked a turning point in a life shaped by trauma, heroin addiction, and loss.

After serving time in both Thailand and Australia, Holly has rebuilt her life and now works as a counsellor and speaker, using her story to support others facing addiction and adversity.

Click here to visit Holly's website to learn about her professional work and to purchase her book, Holly's Hell.

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CREDITS:

Guest Host: Meshel Laurie. You can find her on instagram.

Guest: Holly Deane-Johns

Executive Producer/Editor: Matthew Tankard

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Our guest on Australian True Crime today spent seven years in a Thai prison for heroin trafficking.
0:11.0	But would you believe me if I told you that this is the tip of the iceberg of her story?
0:17.2	Holly Dean Johns has an ability to adapt to extraordinary circumstances.
0:22.1	It began very early on, during a childhood most of us would consider wild.
0:28.1	Holly doesn't tend to spend too much energy lamenting her situation.
0:32.3	She's much more focused on living the life she's in.
0:36.2	This is Australian true crime.
0:38.2	We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which this podcast is created,
0:42.5	the Wurundri Woi Wurang people of the Kulin Nation.
0:46.0	And a warning, this episode of the podcast contains graphic descriptions of violence.
0:56.7	Hello Blue Skies. of violence. Hello blue skies.
0:59.5	Hello moving onwards and upwards.
1:02.6	Say hello to taking control of your money
1:04.8	with the UK's number one investment and savings platform.
1:08.4	Open your account today at hl.co. UK, Hargreaves lands down.
1:13.8	Hello life.
1:15.2	Invest, save, retire.
1:18.9	To verify claim, see hl.com.
1:21.6	UK forward slash platform.
1:23.8	You may get back less than you invest.
1:29.6	I consider myself to have had quite a normal childhood
1:33.5	until I was about probably 11 years old.
	...

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