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FRESH PHONE INFO

Major update in Kinahan crackdown as Gardai access encrypted phones of cartel’s hit teams & push to charge mob leaders

• Stephen Breen, Crime Editor

• Published: 8:00, 27 Aug 2023

GARDAI have cracked encrypted phones used by ­ruthless Kinahan cartel hit teams in 2017, we can reveal.

Investigators gained access to the devices using technology that wasn’t available at the height of the Kinahan and Hutch feud.

And information gleaned from the mobiles forms part of the huge investigation file now being considered by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

They include devices seized when Estonian hitman Imre Arakas, 65, flew to Ireland in April 2017 to kill James ‘Mago’ Gately, 34, and when senior cartel figure Liam Brannigan, 40, was lifted over the plot to kill criminal Gary Hanley in November 2017.

Our revelation comes after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris confirmed this week that Gardai were hoping to bring charges against cartel leaders after sending their file to the DPP.

His comments were made after officers from the US Government’s Drugs Enforcement Agency met with their colleagues in the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau last week.

One investigator told us: “Technology has moved on and it has now enabled detectives to gather more evidence against the leaders of the Kinahan group.

“Investigators have used this technology to access the encrypted devices seized in investigations from six and seven years ago.

“The information that has been sent to the DPP is extensive and the hope is that multiple charges could be considered against the Kinahan group’s hierarchy.

“The file that has been submitted in Ireland also coincides with ongoing international investigations.”

On the visit of US officials this week, the investigator also said: “The DEA are the Gardai’s primary partners in targeting transnational organised crime groups involved in global drug trafficking.

“Their proactive collaboration with the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau has ensured no transnational organised crime groups are beyond their reach, and also added significant value to ongoing primary investigations.”

Gardai believe that Daniel Kinahan used the codename ‘Bon’ when he was in contact with Arkas about the hit on Gately.

CARTEL CODENAMES

They also believe he used the same codename when he gave instructions to cartel fixer Douglas Glynn to distribute millions worth of drugs from a cartel warehouse.

And they suspect he was the person ‘D’ that Liam Brannigan referred to when his conversations with Dean Howe were secretly recorded by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau as they plotted to kill Hanley.

As Brannigan spoke with Howe about the hit, he said: “I was talking to D and he said, ‘Mate, relax yourself. Don’t push it. It’ll happen. Don’t push it.’

“As long as everyone stays safe, I don’t care how long it takes.”

But Brannigan also told of D’s impatience when he said to fellow contract killer Joseph Kelly: “Mate, what is going on? I’m getting it in the ear from D.”

Daniel Kinahan — who previously described himself as a legitimate businessman — has officially been declared as a “person of interest” in three major investigations.

As senior Gardai wait for the DPP’s ruling, it’s possible Daniel, 46, Christy, 66, and Christopher Jnr Kinahan, 42, could be hit with multiple charges.

CRIMINAL CHARGES

In Daniel’s case, he could face directing the activities of an organised crime gang charge, participating in an organised crime gang and conspiracy to murder.

He could also be hit with travelling on a false passport, after drug addict Seamus Walsh was paid €2,000 to apply for a document.

The travel document was later used by Kinahan to travel to Dubai.

Christopher Jnr could also be hit with participating in an organised crime gang after he was previously linked to cartel money laundering operations.

And the ‘Dapper Don’ could also be hit with directing the activities of an organised crime gang due to his 40-year involvement in crime.

The trio could be hit with the charges despite being the focus of $5million rewards from the US authorities. The cartel leadership’s close associate Sean McGovern is already facing a murder charge over the killing of Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan and a European Arrest warrant has now been issued for his arrest.

LEADERSHIP IN DUBAI

We can also reveal he could be hit with a participating in an organised crime gang charge, over the plot to kill Gately in 2017.

At the time of the planned hit on Gately, McGovern, 37, was in direct contact with Paedar Keating, 44, who was later caged for directing the activities of a cartel sub cell.

At present, Gardai are satisfied that the cartel leadership remains in Dubai.

Senior Garda figures have also travelled to the UAE in recent years, with high level talks also continuing between the Irish Government and the Middle East country.

Although Ireland has no extradition treaty with Dubai, Gardai could seek a “mutual assistance” request if the DPP rules there is enough evidence to charge the cartel leaders.

In 2022, Kinahan associate and mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale was arrested in Dubai and extradited to Italy.

And Dutch criminal Ridouan Taghi was also extradited after moves made by the UAE authorities.

Although these major criminals were extradited, the Kinahan group continues to lead normal lives in the Middle East.

Both Taghi and Imperiale also attended Daniel Kinahan’s wedding in Dubai in 2017 and are all considered to be part of a ‘Super Cartel’.

PROBE ‘SLOW MOVING’

One source told us: “Authorities in the UAE are dealing with many senior figures in organised crime and that’s why investigations can be slow-moving. The godfathers aren’t committing crimes in the UAE and that’s why there’s no rush to have them extradited.”

Former Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, who helped orchestrate the global crackdown on the Kinahan cartel, welcomed the statement from Commissioner Harris.

He told us: “This investigation has an international dimension to it and the process can be slow-moving.

“This week’s development is clear that law enforcement has not given up on the ultimate objective to dismantle this criminal organisation.”