THIS is the top tier of the Kinahan Cartel named and shamed as law enforcement around the globe join forces to dismantle the gang once and for all.
As the gardai, along with the UK’s National Crime Agency and US authorities, take the thugs on and hit them with sanctions, we look at the seven top dogs in one of the world’s leading and most dangerous organised crime gangs.
CHRISTY “Dapper Don” Kinahan, 65
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A CAREER criminal, Christy Kinahan Snr is the founder of the cartel but has passed on its day-to-day operations to his two sons.
The Dubliner, now based in Dubai, is a convicted drug trafficker and has served prison sentences in Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium, including six years for dealing heroin, two-and-a-half years for possession of cocaine and four years for money laundering.
“Dapper Don” used his stints in prison to educate himself, learning new languages which in turn helped him when he went on to build relationships with contacts abroad.
In recent years, he stepped away from running the cartel but the US Treasury Department says he oversees the property portions of the enterprise.
Christy has registered a number of companies under aliases or using abbreviations of his name and has been known to have used false identity documents. He has five UK and Irish passports.
DANIEL Kinahan, 44
BORN and raised in Dublin’s south inner city, Kinahan went on to become the leader of one of the world’s biggest organised crime gangs.
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Gardai believe he directed the cartel’s bloody feud against the Hutch gang, which claimed 18 lives in Ireland and Spain. He is wanted for questioning in relation to a number of these.
In 2017, as that dispute continued to rage, Kinahan left Spain and based his HQ in Dubai.
Each member of the cartel reports to Daniel Kinahan, who is his father’s heir to the gang and now runs its day-to-day operations.
He has instructed its members to send money to a variety of individuals serving prison sentences, including to one convicted of attempted murder and another who is caged for a murder, both of which were on behalf of the gang.
Daniel – who got married in the UAE in 2017 – sources large quantities of cocaine from South America and plays an integral part in organising the supply of drugs in Ireland,
The US say he is attempting to facilitate the importation of cocaine into the United Kingdom.
Kinahan has five UK and Irish passports while he also has three different UAE identification numbers. While running the €1billion cartel, he has attempted to legitimse himself as a boxing advisor and has worked with heavyweight superstar Tyson Fury.
Christopher Kinahan jnr, 41
CHRISTOPHER Kinahan Jnr is the quieter of the brothers but has helped the cartel launder millions.
US authorities say he regularly contributes to a fund that is used to pay the gang’s members.
He also responds to directives from Daniel Kinahan and has collaborated with other members of the KOCG to transport and sell drugs in the UK.
He was previously caught travelling with a false identity document in Germany and has three UAE identity numbers as well as four Irish and UK passports.
In a previous investigation by Spanish Police, Operation Shovel, Christopher Jnr was identfied as the mob’s money launderer.
He is also based in Dubai.
Sean McGovern, 36
DUBLINER Sean McGovern is mob boss Daniel Kinahan’s “advisor and closest confidant”, US authorities have established. The gangster was shot in the leg in the Regency Hotel attack in February 2016, where Daniel was the target but which claimed the life of one of their closest pals, David Byrne.
Sean was also very close to David’s brother Liam, who was the head of the Irish branch of the cartel but recent reports claim they have fallen out.
The US authorities say evidence indicates that all dealings with Daniel Kinahan go through McGovern.
McGovern also has managed communications on behalf of Kinahan and is said to sell multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine. The 36-year-old is in Dubai too because of the Garda pressure he was placed under.
Ian Dixon, 32
IAN Dixon plays a key role in the background of the cartel and managing its money. Dixon has arranged multiple payments on behalf of Daniel Kinahan, according to US authorities. They add that he moved bulk currency on behalf of Daniel Kinahan in Ireland and the UK.
Dixon also oversees a fund on behalf of Daniel and keeps track of money owed by a narcotics trafficker.
He previously worked in a business in Spain which was owned by the cartel where they would stash their cash. The UAE-based company hit by US sanctions is his sports management and advisory firm, Hoopoe Sports. Dixon is a 49% shareholder and he also receives 80% of Hoopoe Sports’ profits, investigators say.
Bernard Clancy, 44
POLICE forces in Ireland and Spain are well aware of Bernard Clancy, who works as muscle among other things for the cartel.
The US say he is a key KOCG lieutenant who, among other duties, is tasked by Daniel Kinahan – a childhood friend – with providing wages to elements within the KOCG and payments to others. He was previously based in Spain with the cartel since the early 2000s and was jailed before for drug offences. Like his bosses, he left to go to Dubai where the cartel HQ is now based.
John Morrissey, 62
JOHN Morrissey remains in Spain and has worked for the cartel for years.
The thug has acted as an enforcer for the mob while he’s involved in money laundering. He also facilitates international drug shipments for the organisation from South America.
One of the companies frozen by US sanctions is owned by Morrissey.
Morrissey serves as Nero Drinks’ brand ambassador but has given a significant portion of the business to Daniel Kinahan to compensate for drug hauls seized by law enforcement.
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