Kinahan distribution hub bust hits leaders now 'living in the shadows'

'They’ve no legitimate stream of income and they’ve had to revert back to cocaine dealing' 

Gardaí outside a business premises on the Long Mile Rd, Dublin, where 40kg of cocaine with a final estimated street value of around €2.8m, along with 6,000 large cylinders of nitrous oxide, €78,000 in cash, a hydraulic drugs press, and a cash counter, were seized. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

Gardaí say they have taken down a Kinahan cartel “cocaine distribution hub” that has been supplying gangs across the entire island for some time.

Three men — among eight people arrested — are considered to be “facilitators” for the cartel in running what was a “wholesale distribution centre”, one which the gang thought was safe.

Gardaí say that despite international and national successes against the cartel in recent years, the group is still operating, albeit not at the level it once was.

Sources say the cartel leadership is now “confined to the shadows” as a result of US-led financial pressure, and because its legitimate sources of income are cut off, it has to get directly involved in cocaine trafficking to make money.

“They’ve no legitimate stream of income and they’ve had to revert back to their true colours and what they have been doing their whole life — cocaine dealing,” said one security source.

"They will always be cocaine dealers until we break them and take them down.” 

In what was an ongoing operation, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Special Crime Task Force intercepted two vehicles shortly after 11am on Tuesday in the Ballyfermot and Blanchardstown area of west Dublin. A planned search was conducted at a motor business in an industrial estate off the Long Mile Rd in Walkinstown.

In a section of the business, gardaí found 40kg of cocaine, with a final estimated street value of around €2.8m, along with 6,000 large cylinders of nitrous oxide, €78,000 in cash, a hydraulic drugs press, and a cash counter. Mixing agent enough for several consignments was found.

Sources said it will "take time and effort" to replace this “distribution hub”, which had been operating for some time.

Gardaí say there are drug networks in Ireland that were working within the Kinahan structure, with a number of key figures arrested on Tuesday from the Tallaght and Clondalkin areas of south-west Dublin.

They include one man, in his mid-30s, who has previous convictions for cocaine dealing and assault.

The cocaine being mixed and distributed from the unit was going to gangs across Dublin and the rest of the country and to criminal groups north of the border.

Gardaí say the cartel structure and network are still functioning, though not to the same extent, with cartel bosses maintaining close contacts with cartels in South America.

The operation comes as Garda Commissioner Drew Harris completes a high-level visit to North and South America, where he met senior ministers and law enforcement and military officers.