Kinahan cartel mobster Ross Browning’s plush Dublin house set to be auctioned – complete with escape hatch

Exclusive: Officers from the CAB swooped on the property last July to officially seize it – now we can exclusively reveal the property is for sale by public auction

Share

The Kinahan cartel’s No. 1 man in Ireland Ross Browning’s plush countryside property, seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, is set to go under the hammer to the highest bidder, we can exclusively reveal.

The luxury property – Chestnut Lodge – in Garristown, north county Dublin as well as a two storey brick built house, a large commercial warehouse, three stables plus an expansive tarmacked yard on 3.2 acres – was taken into the possession of the CAB as part of a €1.4 million case against Browning and several of his family members.

The property, on 3.2 acres, was purchased partly with Browning’s drug money, the High Court ruled. At a High Court hearing last year, Judge Alexander Owens appointed a receiver to take charge of the property.

Officers from the CAB swooped on the property last July to officially seize it. Now we can exclusively reveal the property is now for sale by public auction – an online auction that will take place in two weeks time – on Thursday, April 25 with an Advised Minimum Value (AMV) of €550k.

Money from the sale will go to the Exchequer and a percentage will go to some of Browning’s family who used their own funds to renovate the property.

At the High Court hearing of the CAB case it was revealed Browning’s house featured an ‘escape hatch’ concealed with a hanging carpet which led from the house to the warehouse. A motorbike was at the foot of the escape hatch which a senior detective said in an affidavit “was clearly there for Browning’s use.”

The description of Chestnut Lodge cottage on the auction advert- where Browning’s mother Julie and her partner, ex-garda David O’Brien lived – says it is a “two bedroom cottage extending to approximately 164m2 while internally accommodation briefly comprises entrance hall, open plan living/kitchen/dining area, two bedrooms (master ensuite) and bathroom. The property is in good condition internally and has been finished to a high standard.”

‘The House’ is described as a three-bedroom, red brick house located behind the warehouse. Internally accommodation comprises a living room, open plan kitchen/dining area, three bedrooms and bathroom while the warehouse is described as steel framed, concrete floor with lorry height doors and extends to x496m2.

Links to virtual tours of the cottage, the red brick house and the warehouse are available online showing the insides of both the houses and warehouse.

The property was deemed the proceeds of crime by the High Court last year and Browning, originally from Hardwicke Street in Dublin’s inner city, didn’t challenge the €1.4 million Criminal Assets Bureau against him.

In his judgement, Judge Alexander Owens said Browning’s mother Julie Conway and her partner ex-garda David O’Brien, who had been living in Chestnut Lodge, be allowed part of the proceeds from the sale of the renovated cottage because they had put some of their own money into it. This included €40,000 borrowed from the Garda Credit Union.

In his judgement Judge Owens said that although Browning’s name was not on the properties they were controlled by him, his partner Sinead Mulhall and his mother Julie Conway.