Dubai’s neighbourhood where Daniel Kinahan resides is characterised by lavish homes in Palm Jumeirah, underlining its sense of opulence. Access to this enclave is fortified with security checkpoints, affirming its rather elite status.
This is in stark contrast to the Liberties area of Dublin’s south inner city where Kinahan spent his early years in the Oliver Bond flats. Today, those Dublin streets, along with numerous others in Europe, see rampant street drug dealings, marking the endpoint of the cartel’s supply chain. It is on these very streets that drugs, supplied by the Kinahan cartel, are exchanged for cash, accumulating their wealth to well over €1 billion.
They have ascended to the role of vital players in the European super-cartel leadership, supervising and routing sizeable cargo of cocaine from South and central America into Europe. Their significance on a global scale is such that it has led to recent modifications in the Irish foreign policy.
Palm Jumeirah, their Dubai base, is a synthetic cluster of islands formed like a palm frond, situated off Dubai in the Gulf. Security personnel are aplenty, albeit without any apparent inquisitiveness. Their apparent motive is to keep unwanted guests at bay and they are content to let taxis pass by once a house number is provided by the driver.
These guards note down the house number but refrain from further investigations. They appear satisfied once they have recorded the number. Their duty, at least for the time being, seems done.
Calls to the property said to be inhabited by Kinahan, who is married with children, go unanswered. For the most part, residents either choose to ignore inquiries from The Irish Times or remain reticent when they discover that the caller is attempting to locate an Irish family supposedly residing there at some point.
Expensive BMW and Mercedes SUVs occupy the parking lots. The houses here, boasting five bedrooms and marketed for more than €5 million, overlook a spacious beach at the rear, with many properties even having swimming pools.
A gentleman claims to have resided in that locality for a couple of years, and assertively declares that no Irish clan has lived on that lane during that period. Another enduring inhabitant emphatically rejects any recognition of Kinahan when presented with his photo, though whether his outburst indicates familiarity or denial is hard to tell.
A longer stop on this oft-empty road—save for those tending to the landscaping or ensuring the streets’ immaculate condition—eventually catches the security guards’ interest. This intriguing activity of methodically visiting each opulent mansion in the sweltering Dubai afternoon isn’t typical. The directive then is to move along, otherwise, law enforcement might be summoned.
Notably, a substantial number of locals firmly believe that a Russian family now occupies the Kinahan-associated estate, with Russians, apparently, forming the majority of local residents. Garda contacts verify that Kinahan relocated multiple times within Dubai in the past few years.
The Irish Times recently visited an address sourced from documents published by the US Department of Treasury and they’re Office of Foreign Assets Control in their April 2022 sanction of Kinahan. Alongside Kinahan, six additional leaders and central figures of the Kinahan cartel, including his father Christopher senior and brother Christopher junior, faced penalties which restricted their financial capabilities and travel movements.
Recent media conjecture has suggested that the Kinahans are intending to escape – possibly to Pakistan or Afghanistan – or that they’ve made a departure for Iran. Nevertheless, they are still undoubtedly based in Dubai. “We have verification from our associates here, this is their location,” said Garda Commissioner Drew Harris while participating in an international police conference in Dubai this week.
It’s deemed that the three Kinahan men have tried to make backup plans as the US law enforcement has offered a hefty $5 million (€4.6 million) reward for information leading to their capture. Their plans are further disrupted by prohibiting them from using US banking services and forbidding any business interactions with US citizens or firms.
Simultaneously, efforts are underway by the Irish Government and the Garda to develop a relationship with Dubai officials enabling Kinahans to be charged with grave crimes and tried, potentially in Ireland following extradition.
Harris’s second visit to Dubai came after his inaugural trip last September where he convened with Dubai Police’s top brass. During the World Police Summit on Thursday, he relayed to the attendees, in his words, “somewhat embarrassingly”, the story of the Kinahan cartel’s rise to prominence from a humble crime syndicate in Dublin in the 1980s to a dominant force in international crime. He also had a meeting with Lieut Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, the head of Dubai Police.
In a discussion with The Irish Times, Harris firmly stated that his journey to Dubai was not solely focused on the Kinahans. Rather, he explained that it was crucial for Irish law enforcement to deepen its relationship with the authorities in the Emirates. Given Dubai’s increased significance as a global trading and financial hub, its role in criminal justice can’t be denied. Hence, fostering a close partnership becomes crucial for the foreseeable future.
Harris elaborated that assigning a Garda liaison officer to the UAE is a part of Garda’s strategy of strengthening its presence in global law enforcement. Garda has been significantly active in Europe, collaborating with organisations such as Europol and Interpol. Liaison officers have now been designated in Washington, Bogotá and UAE, with the upcoming appointment in Bangkok marking a notable shift in Ireland’s foreign policy regarding criminal justice. This hasn’t occurred by random chance.
“The main driving force was probably the Kinahans, and now that we’re becoming more involved, we’re seeing the benefits,” Harris added.
“We yearn to be viewed as a policing institution that is confident, competent, driven; proficient in our duties and contributing effectively to any partnership,” Harris said, referring to the growth of the Garda network, echoing the international presence of the Kinahan crime syndicate. While the Kinahans remain unfettered in Dubai, the local authorities are willing to help with the Irish and global inquiry into the crime syndicate, he revealed.
Despite Daniel Kinahan establishing a significant global presence in the professional boxing industry, including associations with world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, US sanctions led to his public influence being curtailed as US-based entities in international boxing distanced themselves from him.
Another individual reflecting on the Kinahans, their rise, and their modus operandi, especially on Daniel Kinahan’s ventures in professional boxing, is Eric Montalvo, a former US marine who now practises law.
Montalvo is presently taking legal action against Kinahan and his previous affiliate MTK, a boxing company, seeking damages of up to $20 million (roughly €18 million) represented for his client, boxing promoter Moses Heredia. Central to Montalvo’s accusation, which MTK contests, is the assertion they lured away boxer JoJo Diaz from Heredia, using money allegedly affiliated with a cartel.
Montalvo shared with The Irish Times how, in Dubai — where Kinahan sought refuge after a murder attempt by the rival Hutch gang in Dublin’s Regency Hotel in 2016 — he seemed to enjoy a somewhat peaceful spell. This grace period, Montalvo suggests, let Kinahan rapidly rise prominence in professional boxing promotion, despite persistent drug trafficking accusations from Ireland.
Montalvo believes Kinahan saw professional sports as an ideal entry point due to the subjectivity regarding investments, as monetary allocations based on a boxer’s potential future success can be negotiated. This effectively allowed for any amount of money to be shuffled under the banner of investment in a boxer or match.
Despite Kinahan’s early successes garnering him attention in the boxing promotion world, Montalvo asserts the public face of Kinahan’s initiatives in the boxing world should ideally have been sourced elsewhere. Simultaneously, Kinahan had to project an assertive persona to compete against established boxing promotion companies.
By publicly associating with famous players like Fury, Kinahan drew substantial international focus towards himself and succeeded in establishing immediate credibility in professional boxing.
“If you’re legitimate, then the path he’s chosen would be commendable,” Montalvo adds. “However, if you’re a narco-terrorist, it isn’t quite as praiseworthy.”
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