Drug-trafficking boss Christy Kinahan tried to buy Egyptian air force planes

International drug trafficker Christy Kinahan tried to buy used aircraft worth $8 million (€8 million) from the Egyptian air force, The Irish Times has learned.

The 65-year-old founder of the Kinahan organised crime group, who has spent recent years living in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, also tried recently to secure residency status for himself, his partner and their three young children, in Zimbabwe.

Material connected with Kinahan’s activities in Africa has been shared with The Irish Times, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Malawi-based Platform for Investigative Journalism.

Revealed: Christy Kinahan's Zimbabwe connection

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[ Plan to set up a ‘humanitarian’ aviation business in Africa ]

It shows the founder of the Ireland’s largest-ever organised crime group using the name Christopher Vincent – Vincent is Kinahan’s middle name – while presenting himself as a legitimate businessman interested in supplying aviation services to humanitarian organisations.

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Kinahan attended the 11th Global Humanitarian Aviation conference in Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt in October 2019, organised by the World Food Programme (WFP), a branch of the United Nations. Representatives of the International Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières also attended.

The WFP has confirmed that Kinahan attended, but said it did not, as far as it was aware, have any dealings with him at the time or since.

“A Mr Christopher Vincent Kinahan, a passport holder of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, registered at the open event’s on-site check-in desk as a walk-in, under the name ‘Christopher Vincent’,” the organisation said in a statement.

The material seen by The Irish Times includes photographs of Kinahan in Sharm El-Sheikh, as well as emails between Kinahan and others where using the name Christopher Vincent he discussed a variety of proposals.

At no stage did Kinahan refer to his criminal activities or suggest that any of the ventures proposed were linked to criminal activity.

Kinahan stayed with his long-term partner and their three children in Harare, the Zimbabwean capital, frequently over the past five years. Kinahan’s connection with Zimbabwe, and his having a partner and young children, have not been reported before. He had wanted to set up there “with a clean image,” said one source.

[ Kinahan snr's plan for fresh start in Zimbabwe ]

Kinahan tried to secure a marriage licence in Zimbabwe for himself and his partner, a Dutch citizen in her late 40s, but the effort failed when he lodged the necessary paperwork, gardaí believe.

There, he got involved with a construction business, opened a website and a social media account linked to the venture, and explored other investments. He is not believed to have been back there since April last.

In April the US authorities offered $5 million rewards for information leading to the arrest of Kinahan and his sons Daniel and Christy jnr. Sanctions were imposed on the men and companies associated with the drug-trafficking group. The Zimbabwean authorities have liaised with US law-enforcement agencies.

The US authorities’ move ended Kinahan’s Zimbabwean dreams, which he saw as an escape route if he had to flee Dubai.

[ Christy Kinahan: A timeline of the international drug trafficker and gang leader’s life ]

Kinahan used Dubai company Sea Dream Middle East General Trading in his dealings to buy the nine de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo turboprop aircraft, which are famed for being able to land and take off on short runways and on rough terrain. If bought, they were to be leased to a small air ambulance service in Malawi, the Egyptians were told. The deal collapsed over difficulties over money. Some of the parties have fallen out with each other since.

Setting out his view about the benefits that arise when people act as a team, Kinahan said in one email: “Just as in metallurgy and physics, composite materials when woven together make the resulting fabric stronger, lighter, more efficient. I believe the same is true of business relationships.”

The emails shows Kinahan taking a hands-on approach to his affairs, involving himself in the design and content of websites associated with his Christopher Vincent business persona. Most of the websites closed when the US authorities announced they were targeting his criminal operations.