Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has told a media gathering at Dublin airport on Friday that the Kinahan cartel leadership may be prosecuted in the US or another country as part of a “multinational operation.”
US authorities have offered a $5m reward for information leading to the apprehension of each of the cartel’s three leaders – Daniel Kinahan, dad Christy and brother Christopher Junior.
Commisioner Harris says that is proving fruitful “It’s been successful in terms of other major criminals,” the commissioner said, adding that investigating gardaí see this as a “very credible tactic” to bring down the leadership, which is based in the United Arab Emirates.
The commissioner said ”we are involved, in effect, in a multinational operation against this OCG (organised crime group) and it’s where then we see the best opportunity in terms of prosecution and bringing them before the courts.”
Gardaí have engaged with many international partners to improve their chances of bringing a prosecution either in Ireland, Europe or in the US.
“We’re working very closely with US law enforcement in respect of that, that’s an ongoing and, in fact, daily engagement with both US law enforcement, federal law enforcement but also Europol.”
The commissioner said a “huge amount of work” has been done since the multinational announcement of the reward and the sweeping financial sanctions imposed in the US on the three leaders and four senior associates as well as three business entities.
