Gang supplied drugs and guns across Europe

THE Kinahan gang operated an “international” drug and gun trafficking operation and a “global investment service” laundering “hundreds of millions” of euro for some of Europe’s biggest gangs, including his own.

Christy Kinahan left Dublin around 10 years ago to escape increasing attention by the Garda National Drugs Unit (GNDU) on both him and his partner in crime, John Cunningham.

Kinahan, now 53, originally from Cabra in Dublin’s north inner city, had already served significant time in Irish prisons, for both drug trafficking and financial crime, and had established major contacts in the criminal world.

Born in London and with a dual British-Irish passport, he was jailed here for six years in 1987 for possessing more than £100,000 worth of heroin. Nine years later, he went down for four years for possessing stolen travellers cheques.

Garda sources described him as a “very intelligent” individual, who had used his time in prison to learn a range of academic qualifications. He learned to speak both Spanish and Dutch.

Gardaí said he was a fan of the Italian Renaissance philosopher Machiavelli and his seminal work, The Prince, which concerned itself with acquiring and using power.

Sources said he declined early release to finish a Masters degree.

When he left for Europe, he began to build up a massive drug trafficking operation with Cunningham, who had a long involvement in serious crime, including with the John Gilligan trafficking gang.

Cunningham was convicted for his role in the kidnapping of Jennifer Guinness in 1986. The Ballyfermot man later moved to Amsterdam and became a major trafficker.

He received a nine-year sentence in the Netherlands in 2001 following an Irish-Dutch operation after police seized £300,000 worth of ecstasy, 2 tonnes of cannabis, 50kg of amphetamine and over 20 firearms. He was described in court as the “ring leader” of the operation.

Between them, Kinahan and Cunningham supplied many of the biggest drug gangs in Dublin and beyond, including crews in Drimnagh, Clondalkin, Finglas and Coolock.

Gardaí said Kinahan set up a number of legitimate front companies exporting and importing food stuffs from continental Europe.

They leased warehouses in Dublin and shipped in massive quantities of cannabis and cocaine by container trucks.

Local gangs were directed to the general locations, where they were met by Kinahan’s operatives, who took their vans to the warehouses and the transaction completed.

Operation Shovel began when the GNDU raided one of these warehouses in Clongorey in Co Kildare, in February 2008, and seized 1.5 tonnes of cannabis.

GNDU chief, Tony Quilter, yesterday pointed out that the gang was involved in “international drug trafficking”, not just to Ireland.

The head of Britain’s Serious Organised Crime Agency, Trevor Pearce, said the gang was “supplying drugs and guns in cities across the UK and Europe”.

Gardaí said Kinahan had developed contacts in South America and Morocco, as well as with the Mafia and Turkish gangs.

Mr Pearce said the gang provided an extensive money laundering service for other gangs: “This network has been offering a global investment service, ploughing hundreds of millions of pounds of dirty cash into offshore accounts, companies, and property on behalf of criminals.”

Gardaí said Kinahan had bought up a range of cash businesses in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, including dry cleaners, newsagents, shops and pubs.

He also laundered money by investing heavily in the building boom in Spain.

In May 2008, Kinahan received a four-year sentence in Belgian for money laundering assets worth in the region of €2.5m. He appealed the decision and was out on bail.

Sources yesterday estimated the assets of the organisation to be worth over €200m

Some 20 vehicles were seized by Spanish police, including from two mansions linked to Kinahan, each estimated to be worth €5m-6m.

Four Spanish lawyers were also arrested.

In a statement, Europol, which helped coordinate the operation, said: “Members of this group were very mobile; they regularly travelled across Europe and beyond to give instructions to their associates and create business relationships to reinvest the proceeds of crime.

“Such activities were directed with the assistance of solicitors who created companies and corporate vehicles to hide the real ownership and perform illegal financial transactions.”

It said the gang operated an “extensive criminal network” involved in commercial and financial transactions in South America, Africa and the Far East.”