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Kinahan cartel hitman takes over as new boss and ‘organiser’ of crime gang in Ireland as cops dismantle main assassins

The investigator added: “People like Gerry Hutch and James Gately are living their lives while senior members of the Kinahan cartel languish in prison.”

• Published: 8:00, 17 Dec 2023

KINAHAN cartel hitman Liam Brannigan is now the narco-terrorist gang’s main man in Ireland, the Irish Sun on Sunday can reveal.

Brannigan – a senior member of Daniel Kinahan’s mob since 2000 – was elevated to the position after his release from prison last month.

It was previously claimed in court that Ross Browning was the gang’s “principal representative” in Ireland.

But Browning has taken a back seat in recent months after he was targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Gardai believe Brannigan, 40, also took on the top job after Liam Byrne, 43, was extradited from Spain to the UK on firearms charges.

Brannigan – who received an eight-year sentence for his part in a plot to kill Gary Hanley in November 2017 – is now seen as the cartel’s “main organiser” in Ireland.

He takes on the role as the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau identified ‘The Family’ gang as the primary drug suppliers in Ireland after a series of crushing blows against the Kinahan cartel since 2016.

An investigator told us: “Liam Brannigan has been associated with the cartel for 23 years and is trusted.

“He’s an organiser with connections to criminals across Ireland and the UK.

“Along with his cousin Liam Roe, he’s the only family member connected to the Kinahan gang who’s still in Dublin.

“Brannigan is the perfect candidate for the cartel because of the networks he is involved in.”

As part of the Garda strategies to tackle the Kinahan mob, officers have dismantled the cartel’s main assassins operating across Dublin.

Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch once had a €1million bounty on his head but now lives openly in the capital.

The reduced threat has also led to a permanent security post being removed from the home of his brother Patsy.

Other cartel targets, such as James ‘Mago’ Gately, 37, and Patrick Hutch, 32, are also back in Dublin and walking openly in the north inner city.

And Gardai have ended ‘Operation Hybrid’, which was launched to stop cartel hit teams from roaming the streets.

The last cartel hit was in January 2018 when Jason Buda Molyneyux, 26, was shot dead.

The most recent cartel hitman to be jailed was Michael Carroll, 42, who was caged for 22 years in October.

‘PEOPLE NO LONGER LIVING IN FEAR’

The drug addict received his sentence for trying to kill John Hutch, who has since passed away, in September 2016 and Eddie Staunton in March 2017.

John Hutch’s wife Vera told the Irish Sun after Carroll’s conviction that the feud “was over”.

The investigator added: “People like Gerry Hutch and James Gately are living their lives while senior members of the Kinahan cartel languish in prison.

“The difference from 2016 is remarkable and people are no longer living in fear and are happy to walk about the streets.”

We can reveal that Carroll also met with Brannigan after his attempt to kill John Hutch failed.

It’s understood the pair met to discuss the attempted hit on Hutch, who later passed away in 2019.

At the time, Gardai believed Carroll was recruited by Brannigan because he owed a €40,000 drug debt to Fat Freddie Thompson.

Another investigator added: “The fact that Carroll was recruited for two murders shows how desperate Brannigan and his associates were.

“They prey on people who are addicts and who owe money.”

Brannigan received his sentence in 2020 after his plot to murder Hanley was foiled by the Garda National Drug and Organised Crime Bureau.