Key member of Kinahan cartel appears in Spanish court over money laundering

John Francis Morrissey was arrested in Spain on Monday in a multi-agency operation.

John Morrissey, a 62-year-old man who has been identified as a key member of the Kinahan crime cartel, has appeared in a Spanish court over money laundering claims.

Gardaí, the Spanish Guardia Civil, US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other law enforcement agencies collaborated in an operation to arrest Mr Morrissey in Costa del Sol on Monday after being identified earlier this year by US authorities as a Kinahan enforcer with money laundering offences.

Mr Morrissey, along with two others, appeared in court yesterday after being remanded in custody for two nights with another man.

A woman was also arrested and has been released on bail after appearing before the Marbella court.

Former assistant garda commissioner John O’Driscoll, who had responsibility for organised and serious crime, has said the arrest of Kinahan gang associate John Morrissey in Spain highlights the importance of cooperation between international law enforcement agencies.

The success provided a template for tackling criminal organisations, he told RTÉ radio’s News at One and the necessity for collaboration.

Mr O’Driscoll’s successor, Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary, said that the international investigation into the Kinahan organised crime group was “live and ongoing”. 

The arrest of Morrissey in Spain was “significant” and the latest stage in moves to dismantle organised crime groups all over the world, he said.

Mr O’Driscoll said the involvement of members of An Garda Siochana in the arrest of Morrissey was important. 

While international agencies had announced their intention to join forces to target organised crime last April, authorities in Spain had not been ready at that stage to move which was why the arrest did not take place until this week, explained Mr O’Driscoll.

Morrissey had been an “enforcer” for the Kinahan organised crime gang and had facilitated drug shipments from South America. He was involved in money laundering through his position as director of a UK based alcoholic beverage company, said Mr O'Driscoll.

The quantity of funds going through that company had given rise to the suspicion of money laundering, he added.

He explained that the US Department of Treasury had become involved with the aim of protecting the US from the threat of international terrorism.

Organised crime groups were “reckless” in how they laundered their money and did not care who they used or how they used their profits which could be used in other crimes such as international terrorism, he said.

Speaking today about the Spanish authorities’ operation, Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary, Organised and Serious Crime (acting) in An Garda Síochána said: "The actions that have taken place over the past few days in Spain, highlight the resilience and determination of international law enforcement to combine our resources to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks.

"An Garda Síochána will continue to work closely with all our international partners, targeting transnational organised crime gangs who profit from drug trafficking and impact so negatively on our society and in particular those networks that cause the most harm to our communities here in Ireland.”

US ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin, speaking at Dublin City Hall, after it was announced that the US government is offering five million dollars for information on the Irish Kinahan crime gang or for the arrest and conviction of its leaders in April.

In April, the UAE government confirmed that it had been investigating the activities of the Kinahan organised crime gang, together with the US, Ireland, the UK, and Spain.

The assets frozen by the gulf state included all personal and corporate bank accounts belonging to members of the gang.

“The relevant authorities co-operate closely on cases involving foreign elements, in line with the UAE’s international commitments and national legal framework for combating illicit activity,” a UAE government official said.

It followed the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) — a branch of the US Treasury Department — sanctioning several senior members of the organised crime group, referred to in its report and here as the KOCG.

In a statement on the matter, OFAC named seven individuals and three businesses.

Mr Morrissey was mentioned in the OFAC report, stating he had worked for the KOCG "for several years" including as "an enforcer".

It says he "facilitates international drug shipments for the organization from South America" and is also involved in money laundering activities.