Gardai believe they are closer than ever to bringing Daniel Kinahan to justice in 2025

All in all, 2024 was a year from hell for Daniel Kinahan

By: irishmirror.ie

Jan 01 2025
10
4409 Views

Gardai believe they are closer

Cartel boss Daniel Kinahan spent most of 2024 on the ropes – and Gardaí now believe they are closer than ever to landing the killer punch.

Kinahan, who has repeatedly tried to sportswash his reputation by turning himself into an international boxing mover and shaker, has never been more vulnerable, detectives believe. They hope 2025 will be the year he ends up on the canvas, after they team up with international allies to land a knockout blow.

Three of his closest allies have been locked up. The desert bolthole where he has been living for a decade has signed a deal with Ireland and cops want him charged with murder and directing a crime gang. One of his homes sold to the highest bidder after it was seized by Gardaí. All in all, 2024 was a year from hell for Kinahan, 47.

Kinahan and his father Christy, 67, and brother Christopher, 43, are all believed to be living in the Middle Eastern state of Dubai – and have been since their feud with the Hutch gang exploded in 2016. They control a massive €1.5 billion drugs and crime cartel from there, spreading all around the world.

The Dubliners believed they were safe from Gardaí and other law enforcement agencies probing them, even though in April 2022, America put a $5 million bounty on their head. They were so confident of their security there because Dubai, part of the UAE, had no extradition treaty with Ireland.

That meant the desert state had in recent years become a top destination for many Irish criminals who believed the lack of a treaty meant they were out of reach of Gardaí. But that sense of security came to a shuddering halt in October. That was when Justice Minister Helen McEntee flew to Dubai to ink the agreement she and her department have spent years negotiating.

The deal now means Irish suspects in Dubai can be sent back to Ireland and it’s aimed at the three Kinahan men. Gardai have now sent files to the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to them.

The Irish Mirror revealed in March that officers have asked for Daniel to be charged over the February 8, 2016, murder in Dublin of Eddie Hutch, 58, the brother of the Monk. He was shot dead three days after the Hutch gang’s attack on the Regency Hotel that left Kinahan ally David Byrne, 33, dead. It was the cartel’s first move in response to the Regency – but not the last. All in, some 18 men were killed in the feud, all but two by the Kinahans.

David Byrne. Byrne was shot dead at boxing weigh in at the Regency Hotel in Dublin on February 5, 2016

Gardaí do not believe Daniel Kinahan carried out the shooting of Hutch, but they suspect he was involved in it. Gardaí also submitted a separate file to the DPP in relation to the three Kinahan men. They want the trio charged with directing a crime gang – an offence that can carry a penalty of life in prison.

But for that to happen the DPP has to order their prosecution and they then have to be extradited from the UAE, not to forget the small matter of persuading three judges in the non-jury Special Criminal Court of their guilt. The major hurdle was always going to be getting them out of Dubai, but the extradition treaty should make that smoother.

However, the Kinahans could now do the smart thing and flee Dubai if and when the extradition is requested. Possible boltholes include Russia and Iran, but Garda Commissioner Drew Harris says that won’t work. Speaking at a cross-border security meeting before Christmas, he said: “If they seek to flee then obviously, we would want to increase our international efforts in terms of their pursuit. If they seek to flee, then we will pursue.”

He then urged Kinahan associates to turn on them and get the $5 million reward on offer from America – and save their own skins. Although it appears no senior Kinahan members have taken that offer up yet, the gang has lost some influential leaders this year.

Key ally Sean McGovern, 38, was arrested in Dubai in October – shortly before the extradition deal was signed. He was arrested over a direct extradition request by Ireland, after the DPP ordered he be charged over the cartel’s December 2016 murder of Noel “Duck Egg” Kirwan in Dublin. Mr Kirwan was murdered because he was seen with Gerry Hutch at Eddie’s funeral. Gardaí hope McGovern will be back in Ireland soon.

The cartel also lost Liam Byrne, 43, locked up for five years in England over a plot to get favourable treatment for fellow Dubliner Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh, 57, from UK authorities.

Both men were regarded as key leaders in the cartel – and are now locked up. Dubliner Peter Keating, 43, another major Kinahan player in the cartel in his native city, was also jailed for four years and eight months over that plot.

But it is not just personnel the cartel has lost as a result of the international operation. The full scale of the massive Garda onslaught against Daniel Kinahan and his cartel was also laid bare in a report in November. The report, by the independent oversight body the Garda Inspectorate, said Gardaí had hit the Kinahan and Hutch gangs for cash and drugs worth more than €40 million since their bloody feud started in 2015.

It said Gardaí have seized drugs worth some €27.5 million as part of the probe into the two gangs – although the Kinahans accounted for most of that haul. Officers seized €11 million in cash, as well as 70 firearms and 4,736 rounds of ammunition.

Garda investigations also led to 81 people being locked up from both gangs. Sources have confirmed that more than 70 of them were on the Kinahan side. The toll on the Kinahan gang included eight people being jailed for life for feud-related murders. Jonathan Keogh, 38, and his sister Regina Keogh, 46, both from Dublin, were jailed for life for the May 2016 murder of Gareth Hutch, nephew of Gerry Hutch.

But, despite the successes, the report also warned that the two gangs were still active. “Although the Garda Síochána has had considerable success in tackling the Hutch and Kinahan OCGs they are not yet fully dismantled,” the report said.

The fact that the Kinahans were still active was thrown into sharp relief just weeks after the Garda Inspectorate report. At the start of December, a multi-national police operation smashed a Russian money laundering scam that was being used by drug traffickers, including the Kinahans.

The international investigation, called Operation Destabilise, involved Gardaí, the UK’s National Crime Agency and other US and European law enforcement. More than 80 people have been arrested as part of Operation Destabilise and €24 million in cash and cryptocurrency have been seized.

But it wasn’t just the gang’s cash that was seized. Kinahan also had to suffer the humiliation of one of his properties – a luxurious four-bed property in Saggart, Co Dublin – going under the hammer, on order of the High Court. Kinahan is sure to be smarting from that public loss – but if Gardaí have their way, this year will be even worse than 2024 for him and his father and brother.

Daniel Kinahan's Saggart home was sold by auction after being seized by the CAB

It could finally be the year in which all three are brought back to Dublin to face justice.

Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.