The Garda has completed a major criminal investigation into the leadership figures of the Kinahan cartel, with a file submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and a decision on criminal charges awaited.
As The Irish Times report, The crimes investigated were committed in the Republic and are linked to the cartel’s drug-trafficking business and its dispute, which escalated into a bloody feud, with the Hutch gang.
Many Garda officers believed the United States authorities were the most likely to bring the Kinahans to justice, mainly because of the power of US law enforcement and the rewards of up to $5 million (€4.61 million) offered for information that would lead to criminal charges.
However, there is now renewed hope the leadership figures of the cartel, who have been based mainly in Dubai for much of the past decade, will be charged in the Republic and extradited here to face trial.
The Garda file has been under review by the DPP for several months and there is optimism within Irish law-enforcement charges will be approved.
The completion of the major Garda investigation and submission of the file into the cartel’s top tier is very significant as its founder, Christy Kinahan snr, has not been before the courts in Ireland for more than two decades.
He has never been charged with any cartel-related crimes in the Republic. His sons, Daniel and Christopher jnr, who have been named in Irish courts as leaders in the cartel, have never faced charges in Ireland.
When asked about the investigation being completed and the DPP’s ongoing review of the file, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said he could not comment on any investigations into “individual members of the Kinahan organised crime group.
“But we have completed a very comprehensive and wide-ranging investigation into numerous serious offences committed here in Ireland and that file has been submitted to the DPP,” he said.
“And we would hope to see leadership figures within the Kinahan organised crime group brought to justice here in Ireland.”
