A diplomatic move years in the making

THE main leaders of the Kinahan organised crime gang are on borrowed time in their Dubai boltholes as Ireland seeks to formally create an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates.

The move has been years in the making and represents one of Garda Commissioner Drew Harris’s main objectives since his 2018 appointment.

The drug-trafficking gang, headed by Christy Kinahan Sr and his sons Daniel and Christy Jnr, has long been the focus of various international police organisations. They had set up shop on Spain’s Costa del Sol for several years, controlling the cocaine supply in the region, and using it as a base for moving drugs into Ireland and the UK, before relocating to Dubai.

Consistent efforts have been made between gardaí and their Emirati counterparts to allow for the deportation of the Irish criminals but to no avail.

However, it was in April of 2022 that the investigations into the crime gang’s leaders really accelerated. Daniel Kinahan, along with his younger brother Christy Jr, had established several companies in Dubai, exploiting the emirate’s lax business laws to set up shell companies to move money through them.

A significant portion of their drug cash is moved through management and aviation consultancy firms they formed while in Dubai.

The gang’s assets were frozen in April 2022, cutting off access to a lot of funds.

On April 12, 2022, the US Treasury said the criminal cartel was using Dubai as ‘a facilitation hub for its illicit actions’ and named seven of its members, including Christy Kinahan and his two sons as its leaders.

A $5million bounty was placed on the heads of the three family members. It’s understood authorities are hoping Kinahan affiliates will turn against them to claim the money.

Sanctions have been imposed by the US government on three senior members of the Kinahan gang as they look to tackle transnational drug trafficking. Daniel Kinahan, the man the High Court branded the controller and manager of the gang, his father and convicted drug trafficker Christy Sr, and his brother Christy Jr, have all been placed on an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list.

The trio are among seven members of the cartel and three associated businesses being targeted by the OFAC.