QUEEN OF THE UNDERWORLD

CRIMINAL MASTERMIND MAY SMITH CONTROLLED SYDNEY’S RAZOR GANGS IN THE 1920S

Long before the notorious Ibrahim family or Pasquale Barbaro came along, one woman ruled the mean streets of inner city Sydney in 1920, earning the title of 'Cocaine Queen'.

May Smith earned her felonious nickname thanks to her lucrative drug deals and secret brothel, which she ran in the heart of the city's Surry Hills area.

Operating during the same period as bitter rivals Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh, May illegally trafficked cocaine and alcohol during her short but fabled reign as the queen of Sydney's underworld.

Also known as Botany May', at her peak, the well-dressed brothel madam was supplying drugs to some of the most violent criminals in the razor gang period.