Craig Taylor felt a mixture of thrill and horror as he sat down next to the leader of the deadliest gang operating in Ireland and the United Kingdom and secretly began filming.
Known for being observant and skilled at assessing whether he was being watched or followed, Christopher Kinahan Sr. was one of the world’s most wanted criminal figures, founder of a cartel ranked next to the Italian mafia and brutal Los Zetas in Mexico.
It is noteworthy that on this occasion, Kinahan did not seem to notice the officer in civilian clothes from the National Crime Agency of the United Kingdom. And Taylor has gained new intelligence in an attempt to crack down on the Kinahan cartel, which generates more than £ 850 million in revenue from drugs, firearms and extortion.
Last Tuesday, NCA intelligence on Kinahan was among the evidence used by U.S. officials to announce financial sanctions against the Kinahan Organized Crime Group (KOCG), along with a $ 5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Christopher Kinahan. senior and other senior members.
The 65-year-old currently lives in a lavish address in Dubai, near the Palm Jumeirah complex, where his son Daniel is said to be watching criminal deals. Daniel has also used his fortune to become one of the most influential figures in boxing, with connections to personalities such as world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
As the investigation progressed, the Observer interviewed three veteran NCA frontline officers tasked with gathering information about a transnational criminal syndicate known to have killed at least 12 people, mostly their rivals. On condition of anonymity, operatives reveal the challenges and dangers of approaching the Kinahan cartel.
Not only are Kinahan members strongly committed to identifying police who can track them down, but the police face a real risk of corruption within law enforcement agencies, with individuals on its payroll and others vulnerable to bribery.
Officials, some of whom have been tracking the rise of the Kinahan Group for 15 years, say the cartel uses high-level counter-surveillance techniques that NCA sources believe are “very likely” to have been handed over by IRA operatives and refined during the Problems. At least twice, NCA officials monitoring China’s activities have been approached and intimidated by members of the cartel.
It is well established that the cartel has amassed a significant lethal weapon. In 2017, in a village outside Dublin, the gardaí found custom-made “killing kits” related to the group: loaded revolvers and ammunition that members could deploy at any time.
NCA official Taylor (not his real name) has been following the cartel since 2006. He said: “Colleagues have been approached by some very, very unwanted people, some in the company of convicted armed thieves, others belonging to political groups. .. and have been challenged. It’s very scary. These people say, “We know who you are.”
“The place is not good, it is very uncomfortable, but we work at the risk of compromise. There were compromises with Kinahans. This did not compromise the investigation, but it did compromise them [the officers] as a person who put them in a very difficult position at the time. ”
Incidents in which the police investigating the group were at risk include one case in which colleagues had to rescue a police officer. “During a peripheral investigation into Kinahans, they were chased on the road with a knife. Another was chased by a car, “said an NCA official.
Investigators are also revealing how the Kinahan cartel has invested some of its wealth in hiring specialized advisers who train members in the latest “craft” techniques to help avoid disclosure. Similarly, technology such as sophisticated tracking devices is regularly used by criminals to track shipments of drugs and weapons – and possibly targets.
Matt Horn, NCA’s deputy director of investigations, said the adoption of counter-surveillance measures by Kinahan members was twofold. “You need to be able to find out where your opponents are, when they may be vulnerable. But if you know how to observe, you will learn how to notice observation.
Tyson Fury publicly praised Daniel Kinahan. Photo: John Walton / PA
“It simply came to our notice then. When some of the tricks of the trade are known, it makes it difficult to keep people under surveillance, “added Horn, who is leading the NCA’s operation against the Kinahan criminal group.
Last month, he celebrated the imprisonment of Thomas Kavanagh the Bomber, who commanded the British division of the Kinahan criminal empire. The 54-year-old man, who lived in a fortified mansion with armored windows in Tamworth, Staffordshire, was jailed for organizing multimillion-dollar shipments of drugs.
Although the NCA has been investigating Kinahan since 2006, it took a decade to fully understand its capacity for violence. Specifically, it was only after AK-47 gunmen stormed a boxing weigh-in at a hotel in Dublin on February 5, 2016. During the guerrilla-style attack, Kinahan gang member David Byrne was killed and another high-ranking member he was shot in the leg.
Yet the main target of the attack – Daniel Kinahan – had left moments before the armed men, some disguised as elite guards, and one dressed as a woman arrived.
Kinahan vowed to avenge the rival Dublin-based Hutch gang, which was responsible. After the brazen attack, 18 people were killed in the fighting, most of them from the Kinahan cartel.
In addition, officials linked the Kinahan union to 23 other assassination attempts. Gardai also intervened 46 times after “life-threatening” intelligence, often involving assassins. NCA officials have prevented eight more life-threatening incidents involving a cartel in the United Kingdom.
Kinahans’ vigilance for police surveillance techniques has also heightened the danger of investigating officers in other ways, with sources saying the constant fear is confused with competing gangsters.
“When Kinahan members carry out anti- and counter-surveillance of rival gangs while we’re out, they may not recognize us,” said an NCA official. “They don’t necessarily recognize the good from the bad – and that can put us in a difficult position.”
The high level of violence marks them, along with the length they take to ensure that revenge is followed. NCA employee
Complicating police difficulties are steps the Kinahan leadership is taking to ensure they are away from crime.
The proceeds of crime are not only distributed among a maze of bogus companies and communications are encrypted, but figures such as Christopher and Daniel Kinahan have moved from Dublin to Dubai, which has no extradition agreement with Ireland or the United Kingdom.
“You will not catch them escaping from a car with five kilograms of cocaine, that’s for sure. They are far from this level of crime: the structure of the cartel is extremely hierarchical, “said an NCA investigator.
That, Horn says, may have helped convince Kinahan’s top figures to be “untouchables,” which has made Daniel Kinahan feel encouraged enough to become one of the most influential figures in boxing, with people like Fury in public. praise him.
However, getting closer to the founder of the Kinahan cartel is a constant challenge for the police.
“Most tasks provide different levels of ass twitching. Still, I managed to get closer to the main man [Christopher Kinahan Sr], which fortunately did not pay attention to me, because I was shooting. But I was quite nervous, “said Taylor, who was not allowed to share more details about the meeting for security reasons.
There are many reasons to be cautious. In a European context, the violence of the Kinahan cartel is striking: its feud with the Hutch gang is one of the bloodiest on the continent.
“The key difference is the high level of violence they use. That’s what really sets them apart, along with what they do to make sure the vendetta is followed, “said one NCA official.
Horn describes Kinahans as a “high threat, great harm” organization that plays an important role in drug supplies in Europe.
And yet, despite the cartel’s ruthlessness in eliminating rivals, the NCA has never found any intelligence showing that Kinahans intended to target the police.
However, the danger comes from the police themselves, with NCA sources acknowledging that the cartel has exploited and benefited from high-level corruption.
“We have always been keenly aware of the risks, especially from this group. Operational security is paramount because of their wealth and the way they seek to protect themselves, “said a source.
However, Horn points out that the fact that international sanctions have been announced – measures that required complex coordination with global partners – and the Kinahan cartel has clearly not been noticed is a positive sign.
“They had no indication that this was coming,” Horn said.
Preparations for the removal of the high levels of the Kinahan cartel from international banking systems 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.
Additional sanctions may follow, with police investigating the group on a number of fronts. At the same time, he is pressuring the UAE authorities to act against China, although the NCA emphasizes that it has “excellent relations” with the Gulf state.
“It’s not over, not until we’ve completely dismantled this cartel,” Taylor said.
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