DRUG MONEY | 

Kinahan-linked criminal used Chinese gang in Ireland to launder cash, court hears

Criminal Assets Bureau seek orders to seize cash, cars and designer goods

Today at 16:29

A KINAHAN Cartel-linked criminal used a Chinese organised crime gang in Ireland to launder drugs cash who then made the money available to gangsters outside of the country.

The Criminal Assets Bureau said the leader of the Chinese gang, Peng Fei He, had meetings with an old associate of Christy Kinahan senior and were paid a fee for the service.

Details of the highly sophisticated scheme emerged during a hearing at the High Court today in which cash was held in a safety deposit box and expensive designer goods bought with cash were then exported.

The Criminal Assets Bureau is targeting 13 individuals involved in what is described as a criminal operation that included buying Prada, Gucci and Burberry bags in Brown Thomas for re-export.

Fei He was described in CAB evidence as the leader of the gang and the head of what is known as an ‘International Controller Network’ in Ireland.

He had previously served time in Ireland for drug offences and was connected with a convicted Irish criminal named in court as Ciaran O’Sullivan.

CAB alleges O’Sullivan is an old associate of Christy Kinahan senior and has been convicted of drug offences in Spain and the Netherlands.

Two junior members of the alleged criminal gang were in court today where details of their involvement was laid out by CAB in affidavits and put before Judge Alex Owens.

During searches on 30 June 2020, as a result of intelligence, gardaí seized huge sums of cash including €235,000 in bundles found in a safety deposit box at the Merrion Vaults.

Xiao Xia Zheng who worked as a nursing assistant and in a chipper said in court the cash had been sent to buy PPE while cash in her home was from Fei He whose family she had given cash to while he was in prison.

Her partner, Jian Fei Zheng, also appeared at the hearing, who she said “knows nothing about this – he just goes to work and comes home.”

They had claimed the money was from savings having worked for cash – as well as from money sent from Chinese for a shopping system known as ‘deiguo’.

Louis Vuitton bags had been left at her house by people involved in the shopping for people in China and that she had bought bags because the stores limit how many can be bought by an individual.

In his ruling granting CAB’s application to seize the cash, designer goods and two cars Judge Owens said the respondent resources simply do not match the colossal sums of money going through their accounts.

He said explanations in given in garda interviews were “frankly unbelievable” and the sums involved “all represent one way or another the proceeds of crime.”

According to the CAB chief Officer Michael Gubbins the gang was laundering cash from Irish drugs gangs and explanations for the cash and transaction were found to be “inconsistent.”

He said the cash at the Merrion Vaults was the gang’s “reserve” which effectively allows them work as an underworld banking system.

The case against other people named in the High Court action by CAB has been listed to go ahead at future dates.

The case stems from a series of CAB raids on 30 June 2020 which the court were heard were carried out in various locations including in Bray and Tallaght.

It was stated by the gardaí at the time the raids were part of “an ongoing intelligence led operation targeting foreign nationals involved in the laundering of the proceeds of crime, accumulated by Irish-based organised crime groups.”

A total of thirteen locations were searched including five business premises and eight residential addresses resulting in the seizure of cash and assets worth €1,035,093.

Cash totalling €733.499 was seized, a further €301,594 funds were frozen in Irish bank accounts and four cars were seized along with other high value items.

At the time seven people were arrested for money laundering offences contrary to Section 7 of the Criminal Justice Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act, 2010