Kinahan boss issued with threat to his life
The target is considered the leading lieutenant in the country and is living at his home in Crumlin, south Dublin.
Two other lieutenants, also living in Crumlin, and another senior figure, living in neighbouring Drimnagh, frequently meet the boss at his home and other houses in the area.
Garda intelligence has informed units that there is a death threat against the local Kinahan boss.
Senior officers are conscious that the anniversary of the Regency Hotel attack is approaching.
That military-style assault, on February 5 2016, resulted in the murder of Kinahan lieutenant and Crumlin man, David Byrne.
“There is an anniversary coming up,” said a security source. “Will there be a lash back by the Hutch outfit? That's the fear. We are told there is a threat against [named person].”
An estimated 11 people have died in the so-called Kinahan-Hutch feud, all but one of them at the hands of the cartel.
The figurehead of the Hutch grouping, Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, has been living in Belfast, according to security sources.
The sources said he has been receiving the protection of members of the Provisional IRA.
It is unclear whether or not these provisionals intend to assist any plan to attack the Kinahan cartel.
Two friends of The Monk, Noel Duggan, murdered last March, and Noel Kirwan, murdered before Christmas, had long-time associations with the Provisional IRA.
The Kinahan cartel is blamed for their deaths.
Sources said retaliation could also happen abroad, at locations where cartel boss Christy Kinahan and son Daniel are residing.
Sources said that the Hutch group has the capability and the contacts to organise an attack abroad.
Gardaí in the Crumlin district have had security measures in place to try and thwart a gun attack on Kinahan targets.
The same is the case in the Kevin St district, on the other side of the Grand Canal, also part of the Kinahan base.
Local gardaí are supported by specialist units, most recently the Armed Support Unit, which provides a high-visibility presence, and the Garda Air Support Unit.
The Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and its Special Crime Task Force is also combating the feud.
Gardaí have said that at least 12 assassination attempts, mainly by Kinahan gunmen, were prevented by them last year.
“We have checkpoints and preventative measures and we are targeting key people,” said one source.
But gardaí point out that it is impossible to protect these targets around the clock and that the targets are regularly visible travelling from their homes to those of associates.
The murder of Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan on December 22 ended a break in the killing, with the last feud murder in Ireland in July and in Spain in August.
A mediation process, which had been initiated by gardaí and involved the appointment of an intermediary that was agreeable to both sides, ran aground during the summer.
“It was a genuine mediation effort, but it fell flat,” said one source.
The reasons are not clear, but some sources pointed out that the Kinahan cartel’s position is obvious from their actions.
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