Notoriously observant and experienced in assessing whether or not he was being watched, Christopher Kinahan Sr was one of the world’s most wanted criminals, the founder of a cartel that ranks alongside the Italian mafia and the brutal Los Zetas in Mexico. It is noteworthy that on that occasion, Kinahan did not appear to be watching the policeman in civilian clothes from the UK National Crime Agency. And Taylor has gained new intelligence in an effort to dismantle the Kinahan cartel, which has made more than 8 850 million in revenue from drugs, firearms and extortion. Last Tuesday, NCA information about Kinahan was among the evidence used by U.S. officials to announce financial sanctions against the Kinahan Organized Crime Team (KOCG), along with a $ 5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. or the conviction of Christopher Kinahan Sr and other senior members. The 65-year-old currently lives in a luxury location in Dubai, near the Palm Jumeirah development, where his son, Daniel, is said to be overseeing criminal transactions. Daniel also used his wealth to become one of the most influential figures in boxing, with links to people such as world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. As the investigation progresses, the Observer interviewed three veteran NCA front-line officers tasked with gathering information for a transnational crime syndicate known to have killed at least 12 people, most of them rivals. On condition of anonymity, the perpetrators reveal the challenges and dangers associated with the Kinahan cartel approach. Not only are Kinahan members very much in tune with locating the police who can monitor them, but the police face the real risk of corruption within law enforcement with people on their payroll and others vulnerable to bribery. Officials, some of whom have been monitoring the Kinahan team for 15 years, say the cartel uses high-level surveillance techniques, which NCA sources believe are “very likely” to have been transmitted by IRA executives and perfected. during problems. At least twice, NCA officers monitoring Kinahan’s activities approached and intimidated members of the cartel. It is well established that the cartel has amassed significant lethal weapons. In 2017, in a village outside Dublin, Gardaí found custom-made “murder kits” associated with the group: full of revolvers and ammunition for members who could deploy immediately. NCA officer Taylor (not his real name) has been following the cartel since 2006. He said: “Some very, very unwelcome people approached colleagues, some with convicted armed robbers, others with links to political groups. .. and have been challenged. It is very intimidating. These people say, “We know who you are.” “It’s not a good place, it’s very inconvenient, but we work at the risk of compromise. There were compromises with the Kinahan. It has not jeopardized the investigation, but it has jeopardized them [the officers] as an individual, something that then put them in a very difficult position. ” Incidents where police investigating the group have been put in danger include a case where colleagues had to rescue a police officer. “During a regional search for the Kinahans, they were chased in the street with a knife. “Another was chased in a car,” said an NCA agent. Researchers are also revealing how the Kinahan cartel has invested some of its wealth to hire specialist advisers who train members in the latest “tradecraft” techniques to help avoid detection. Similarly, technology such as sophisticated surveillance devices is regularly used by criminals to track drug and weapons shipments – and possibly targets. Matt Horn, deputy director of investigations at the NCA, said the adoption of countermeasures by Kinahan members was twofold. “You have to be able to find out where your opponents are, when they can be vulnerable. But if you understand how to monitor, you learn how to detect surveillance. Tyson Fury has publicly praised Daniel Kinahan. Photo: John Walton / PA “It simply came to our notice then. “When some of the trade tricks are known, it makes it harder to get people under surveillance.” Last month, he celebrated the imprisonment of Thomas “Bomber” Kavanagh, who led the British wing of the Kinahan criminal empire. The 54-year-old, who lived in a hammock with bulletproof windows in Staffordshire’s Tamworth, was jailed for orchestrating multimillion-pound drug shipments. Although the NCA has been investigating Kinahan since 2006, it took an entire decade to fully demonstrate the extent of its potential for violence. More specifically, it was only when gunmen armed with AK-47s stormed a boxing match at a Dublin hotel on February 5, 2016. During the guerrilla-type attack, Kinahan gang member David Byrne was killed and another high-ranking member was shot in the leg. . However, the main target of the attack – Daniel Kinahan – had left shortly before the gunmen arrived, some disguised as elite guards and a dressed woman. Kinahan vowed revenge against the rival Hutch-based Hutch gang, which was responsible. As a result of the brazen attack, 18 people were killed as a result of the vendetta, most of them from the Kinahan cartel. In addition, officers have linked the Kinahan union to 23 other assassination attempts. Gardaí has also intervened in 46 cases following “life-threatening” reports, often involving assassins. NCA officials have prevented eight other “life-threatening” incidents involving the cartel in the United Kingdom. The Kinahans’ vigilance in police surveillance techniques has also increased the risk for police officers investigating in other ways, with sources saying the constant fear is misunderstood by rival gangsters. “When Kinahan members counter-surveillance and counter-surveillance for rival gangs, and we are out and about, they may not recognize us,” said an NCA official. “They do not necessarily know the good from the bad – and that can put us in a difficult position.” Their high level of violence stands out along with the efforts they make to ensure that the vendetta will be followed. NCA Officer The deteriorating policing difficulties are the steps the Kinahan leadership is taking to ensure that it is free from crime. Not only is criminal proceeding distributed through a maze of shell companies and communications are encrypted, but people like Christopher and Daniel Kinahan have relocated from Dublin to Dubai, which has no extradition agreement with Ireland or the United Kingdom. “You will not catch them running from a car with five kilos of cocaine, that is for sure. “They are a long way from this level of crime: the structure of the cartel is extremely hierarchical,” said an NCA investigator. This, Horne says, may have helped convince Kinahan’s senior figures that they were “intact”, which is why Daniel Kinahan felt encouraged enough to become one of the most important figures in boxing, with people like Fury praise publicly. For the police, however, the approach of the founder of the Kinahan cartel is a constant challenge. “Most jobs have offered different levels of seizures. However, I have managed to approach the main man [Christopher Kinahan Sr], which fortunately did not matter to me because I was shooting. “But I was quite nervous,” said Taylor, who was not allowed to share further details about the meeting for security reasons. There are many reasons to be careful. In a European context, the violence of the Kinahan cartel is striking: its fight against the Hutch gang is one of the bloodiest on the continent. “The main difference is the high level of violence they use. “It really marks them, along with the lengths they take to ensure that the vendettas are followed,” said one NCA official. Horne describes the Kinahans as a “high-threat, high-harm” organization that plays a key role in drug supply in Europe. However, despite the cartel’s toughness in eliminating rivals, the NCA never found any evidence that the Kinahans intended to target the police. The danger, however, comes from the police themselves, with NCA sources acknowledging that the cartel has exploited and benefited from high-level corruption. “We are always fully aware of the danger of this group in particular. “Business security is paramount because of their wealth and the way they try to protect themselves,” said a source. However, Horne points out that the fact that international sanctions were announced – measures that required complex coordination with global partners – and that the Kinahan cartel was apparently ignored, is a positive sign. “They had no indication he was coming,” Horn said. Preparations for removing the upper echelons of the Kinahan cartel from the international banking system have been under way for years, with the NCA and international law enforcement partners raising the issue of sanctions against US officials in September 2019. Further sanctions may follow, with police investigating the group on various fronts. At the same time, pressure is mounting on UAE authorities to take action against Kinahan, although the NCA says it has an “excellent relationship” with the Gulf state. “It’s not over at all, until we completely dismantle this cartel,” Taylor said.
