Dealer controlling drugs network from city flats ‘trading on Kinahan hitman’s name’

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An associate of convicted Kinahan ­cartel killer James Quinn is allegedly running a drug-dealing network in Dublin’s south inner city.

The man, aged in his 20s, has hardly any criminal convictions and sources say he has been “trading on the name” of Quinn, who is serving a 22-year sentence in a Spanish jail for his role in the murder of Gary Hutch in 2015 – the killing that sparked the Hutch-Kinahan feud.

“Despite being locked up and not being based in Dublin for years, James Quinn is still a criminal who commands major respect and fear, particularly in his old patch in the south inner city,” a source said.

“His younger associate has over 10 young lads working for him, selling every type of drug, including crack cocaine and heroin.

“He is in total control of the Oliver Bond complex and other blocks of flats in that locality. Addicts are travelling from all over the city to these locations to buy their drugs and it is estimated that Quinn’s associate is making tens of thousands of euro every week from this.”

The source added: “His product has built up a reputation of being of the very highest quality, but Quinn’s associate never handles the drugs himself, the risk is all taken by the runners who work for him.

It has also emerged that the man has been making regular trips to Spain, where it is suspected he has been ­visiting Quinn in prison (41).

“All of this shows that the activities of drug dealers with links to the ­Kinahan cartel continue to be a significant issue at a street-dealing level, even in this day and age when there is much talk of international sanctions and extradition in relation to the senior members of the cartel,” a source said.

He was also found guilty of possession of illegal weapons and has been in custody since being arrested in Madrid in September 2016.

Quinn was also ordered to pay the Hutch family €90,000 compensation.

Prosecutor Jose Barba had initially accused Quinn of being the gunman who shot Hutch in the head on September 24, 2015, after chasing him around the gated estate where he lived in Miraflores near the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola.

However, Mr Barba later gave the jury the option of convicting him of murder on the basis that he was only the getaway driver and lookout.

Quinn is a nephew of veteran criminal Martin ‘The Viper’ Foley and had been living in Spain for a number of years before the Hutch murder, working as an enforcer for the Kinahan gang, who were based there before relocating to Dubai.