Exclusive

NET CLOSING KIN

Gardai ramp up probe into mobster Daniel Kinahan and brother Christopher as pair could face charges for gangland murders

• , Crime Editor

• Published: 8:00, 10 Sep 2023

NARCO-terrorist boss ­Daniel Kinahan and his brother Christopher Jnr could both be charged with involvement in a number of feud-related murders.

The Irish Sun on Sunday today reveals for the first time how investigators from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau have recommended the pair be charged with directing the activities of an organised crime gang and conspiring with the hit teams behind some of the killings.

In 2016, eight people were murdered in Ireland, as Kinahan sub-cells terrorised the capital.

In their huge file to the Director of Public Prosecutions, detectives also recommended Daniel, 46, and his younger sibling, 42, also face charges in connection with attempted murders in 2017 and 2018.

And the GNDCOB has produced evidence which they claim ties the exiled brothers to drugs trafficking and weapons importation.

Part of the evidence outlined in the file includes data from encrypted Blackberry devices that were first seized in 2016 and 2017.

Gardai have only recently accessed the devices due to advances in technology.

One senior investigator told us: “The file that’s been sent to the DPP is substantial and is the culmination of years of work by the GNDOCB.

“The strategy started with dismantling the criminal organisation’s capabilities in Ireland with the arrest of key members for a variety of serious offences.

“Once a number of the gang’s senior lieutenants were convicted, the focus switched to prosecuting those at the top tier of this transnational crime gang.

“The DPP is an independent body and it will be up to them to make the final decision on whether or not charges should be brought against the Kinahan leadership.

“The allegation is that the Kinahan brothers conspired with others to commit murder, attempted murder, facilitate drug shipments and import firearms into the country.”

We understand two of the attempted hits relate to the failed plots to murder James ‘Mago’ Gately in April 2017.

On that occasion, a number of encrypted devices were seized when Estonian hitman Imre Arakas flew into Ireland to target Gately.

Gardai believe Daniel Kinahan used the code-name ‘Bon’ when he was communicating with Arakas.

He also used the same name when he was communicating with Douglas Glynn who was the “warehouse manager” for a drugs distribution centre in north Dublin that was raided by Gardai in 2017.

They also suspect he was the individual ‘D’ that Liam Brannigan referred to when he was secretly recorded during the plot to kill Gary Hanley in November, 2017.

The other attempted murder relates to the plan to kill Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch’s brother Patsy in March, 2018.

During the trial of the Patsy Hutch hit team — which included brothers Gary and Glen Thompson — the Special Criminal Court heard Det Supt David Gallagher give evidence that the gang was involved in “execution-style murders”.

BOMBER KAVANAGH’S DEAL BACKFIRE

As part of our latest revelations on the hunt for the Kinahan clan, we also reveal new details of cartel lieutenant Peadar Keating’s alleged involvement in a plot to save his boss Thomas ‘Bomber’ Kavanagh.

We understand the UK’s National Crime Agency suspect Keating, 42, gave the order to his foot soldiers to move 11 weapons from Dublin to Newry in Co Down in May 2021.

Keating is believed to have issued the orders after he was told by Kavanagh, 55, to have the machine guns and pistols moved.

Kavanagh — who was the cartel’s CEO in the UK and Ireland — made the order so that he could cut a deal with the NCA after he was hit with charges over a €35million drug smuggling operation.

But his plan backfired when the NCA hit Kavanagh with weapons charges.

And following a court hearing in the UK last week, the NCA are now hoping to extradite Keating.

They will have to wait until he completes the 11-year sentence he received for directing the activities of an organised crime gang during the plot to kill Gately.

Another source said: “Keating is facing more time in prison because of his loyalty to Kavanagh.

“The NCA have linked him to the weapons that were seized because they suspect he took direct orders from Kavanagh to have the weapons moved.

“Kavanagh needed weapons to be found in the UK and it was easy for the cartel to transport them over the border.

DUBAI HIDEOUT

“The belief is that Kavanagh provided the exact ­location where the weapons were to be left. Keating’s loyalty has already cost him 11 years of his life — but it could also cost him more time in the UK.”

Christopher Kinahan and his sons, Daniel and Christopher Jnr, continue to live in Dubai along with senior cartel lieutenants, including Sean McGovern.

Because of this, the Garda’s relationship with the UAE — which first started in 2016 under the direction of former Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll — has strengthened.

Senior members of the GNDOC Bureau have travelled to the region to meet law enforcement officers.

They have also engaged in remote meetings with the UAE authorities along with investigators from the National Crime Agency, Dutch Police and Spanish investigators.

Only last month, officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration in the US visited ­Ireland shortly before the huge file was sent to the DPP.

Our revelations come after Garda Commissioner Drew Harris returned home this week after meeting with law enforcement officers in Dubai.

Mr O’Driscoll told us: “This Commissioner’s visit to Dubai is something that is necessary and it shows the continuous and ongoing interaction with relevant law enforcement agencies and Government.

“Success does not come easy and there have been unrelenting efforts from An Garda Siochana to ensure their focus is also shared with other law enforcement agencies.”