The three leaders of the Kinahan drugs cartel have not left the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for almost four years, gardaí believe. They are cartel founder Christy Kinahan snr and his sons, Daniel and Christopher jnr.
The three men, who remain active at the top end of the European drugs trade, are “not hiding in Dubai” but they are “now trapped there”, according to senior security sources.
Intelligence reports detailing the movements of the Kinahans in their Dubai base, as well as their lifestyles, are being supplied to the Garda, which also continues to gather its own information on the men.
That intelligence suggests the Kinahans have not left the UAE in the four years since the US treasury department imposed financial sanctions on the men and some of their associates, as well as offering $5 million rewards for their arrests.
READ MORE
They remain headquartered in Dubai, as they have been for the past decade, and have moved around the UAE. Sources told The Irish Times the intelligence has offered gardaí an insight into the lives of the Kinahans, including their living arrangements and social lives.
The same sources said the three men had well-established routines in Dubai and had long been linked to the same properties there. They had not, for example, moved homes frequently in a bid to hide their locations.
The Kinahans can live openly in Dubai because they are charged with no crimes in any jurisdiction, meaning their extraditions have not been sought. They also enjoy the presumption of innocence under criminal law. It has been their decision not to leave the UAE for four years, rather than any restriction imposed on them.
Gardaí believe the men are probably fearful of leaving Dubai in case they are refused entry on return. They have come to regard the country as a secure base. Any difficulty to get back into Dubai would separate them from each other, as well as their criminal associates and the secretive financial structures they have put in place.
Both Christy Kinahan snr and son Daniel were seen attending a mixed martial arts event in Dubai last June. Their presence in the crowd was confirmed at the weekend. Images and video of the men, reportedly taken at the mixed martial arts event, was secured by The Sunday Times and Bellingcat, an international “independent investigative collective”.
The images of the men highlight how they live openly in Dubai, including taking up VIP seats close to ringside at a popular sports event they probably knew was being streamed globally on pay-per-view.
Kinahan snr attempted to conceal his identity by wearing a Panama hat, which was pulled down slightly, and holding his hand to his mouth, thus concealing his face.
However, Daniel Kinahan was in a prominent position beside the ring and did not try to conceal his identity. Though he wore a cap, no effort was made to use it to hide his face.
