ON TEHRAN | 

Kinahan cartel relationship with ‘rogue state’ Iran puts them top of most-wanted list

‘Given that Iran is isolated and completely shut off from the west – these guys are now very safe indeed’

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The doctrine that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” has been the cornerstone of geopolitics since the time of ancient Greece. It has been employed to form coalitions between unlikely allies in the fight against a common enemy.

During World War II, pragmatism and necessity formed the basis for an alliance between the Soviet Union and the democratic west – two sides that were diametrically opposed – for the purpose of defeating Hitler.

When the Nazis were vanquished and the Cold War began, the former allies extensively used the principle to fight proxy wars against each other.

International drug trafficker Christy Kinahan and his sons Daniel and Christopher Jr are the latest adherents to the ancient doctrine, which has helped them find a safe refuge in Iran, well out of reach of the global law enforcement coalition led by Ireland and the US.

As a result, the leaders of one of the world’s most powerful crime cartels have been officially promoted to a whole new league, from mere global drug traffickers to narco-terrorists.

Their relationship with the rogue state has placed the Kinahans in the top tier of the world’s most-wanted list of criminals and terrorists.

Last month, we revealed that the gardaí and their international partners believe Daniel Kinahan, his father and brother have set up shop in Iran after fleeing Dubai.

The Kinahans no longer felt safe in their desert bolthole after the US authorities announced a multi-million-dollar reward last year for the arrest of the three.

Iranians see the Kinahans as friends because they both have a common enemy

Pressure from the Americans resulted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities freezing the Kinahans’ assets and agreeing to extradite some of their associates to face murder and drugs charges.

Despite pumping millions of their dirty money into the coffers of corrupt UAE officials, Christy Sr and his sons no longer felt safe – metaphorically speaking, the desert retreat of the super-rich had become too hot for them to remain.

Officially, however, the exact location of the Kinahans remains unknown, which illustrates the problem now facing gardaí and their allies.

An intelligence source familiar with the international investigation said that while “it is most likely” the Kinahans are now ensconced in Iran, their presence there has not been “officially confirmed”.

“Given that Iran is isolated and completely shut off from the west – which it considers to be its most hated enemy, especially the US – these guys are now very safe indeed. There is no way that anyone can get to them now,” the source said.

“Ireland is a partner with the US in this case and, therefore, the Irish police or Government will get absolutely no co-operation from the Iranians.

“The only way that the Kinahans will be caught is if their hosts throw them out. That is extremely unlikely… they have pumped money into the Iranians and have assisted Iran in organising murders and such things as the purchase of military equipment.

At the moment they are untouchable and we don’t know how long that situation will continue to prevail

“Iran doesn’t do extradition and there are no diplomatic relations with the west to speak of.

“The Iranians see the Kinahans as friends because they both have a common enemy – they have no problem with the cartel poisoning promiscuous western infidels with their drugs.

“At the moment they are untouchable and we don’t know how long that situation will continue to prevail.”

The Sunday World revealed at the weekend that the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has established that the Kinahans have been using the Iranian luxury resort of Kish Island to launder cash.

The connections between the organised crime group and the Islamic Republic first emerged as a result of the Hutch-Kinahan feud, which ultimately claimed 18 lives.

In 2016, gardaí raided a safe house that was being used by the cartel in Dublin. There they found Dutch criminal Naoufal Fassih, who was wanted in the Netherlands for the murder a year earlier of an Iranian national who had fallen foul of the Tehran regime.

It later emerged that Fassih had been hired by the Kinahans to carry out the politically motivated killing at the behest of the Iranians.

In 2019, Christy Kinahan Sr set up an aviation company based in Malawi that he then used in an attempt to get around arms sanctions against Iran.

He tried to buy a fleet of second-hand aircraft from the Egyptian air force that were believed to have been destined for the Iranians.

However, the deal fell through when the US got wind of the arrangement.

The Kinahans may be safe for now, but they are in an unpredictable world.