Kinahan gang members face ‘second wave’ of sanctions
THE Kinahan crime cartel may be hit with a ‘second wave’ of sanctions as ramped-up efforts are being made to bring the gang’s members to justice.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said yesterday that Ireland and its international policing partners have gathered a significant amount of intelligence on the group within the space of a month.
Last month, US officials placed a $5million bounty on Daniel Kinahan, his father Christopher Kinahan, and brother Christy Kinahan Jr.
In addition, the crime bosses were hit with substantial financial sanctions by the US and UAE, along with their associates Seán McGovern, Ian Dixon, Bernard Clancy and Johnny Morrissey. It now looks as if other members of the Kinahan gang will face similar financial penalties.
‘There’s also ongoing consideration in respect of what may be termed as a “second wave” of sanctions,’ said Commissioner Harris. ‘But already we have seen the impact of the sanctions. We will look carefully at what we need to do in the second stage, so all avenues remain open in relation to other individuals or entities.’
The Garda Commissioner said the Kinahans may be prosecuted in either Ireland, the US or in mainland Europe. He said: ‘The object is to bring those gang members and the leaders of those gangs to justice... We’ve engaged with so many international partners to give us every chance to bring a prosecution either here in Ireland, or in Europe or indeed in the US.’
Commissioner Harris was speaking yesterday at the opening of a new Garda station at Dublin Airport. He added that the gardaí are currently building a case against the Kinahans based on the evidence they’ve acquired. The Commissioner continued: ‘We’re working very closely with US law enforcement in respect of that; that’s an ongoing and, in fact, daily engagement with both US law enforcement, federal law enforcement but also then Europol... It may be that some other jurisdiction will take the prosecution on – we’d be seeking them to support that.’
The Commissioner’s comments came following an EU report which noted that the Kinahans are among a number of crime groups dominating the European drug trade.
The report said conflict between the Kinahans and rival groups has led to the murder of at least 20 people in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain.