Kinahan's 'main man' has €350k worth of drugs seized
Garda anti-gang units have delivered a blow to one of the country’s biggest drug traffickers after seizing around 5kg of cocaine and several encrypted devices.
The 38-year-old is considered the Kinahan cartel’s “main man” in the Clondalkin area of west Dublin.
In a planned operation, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau searched a premises in Ballyfermot, south west Dublin, on Monday.
In a statement, Garda HQ said a substance suspected to be cocaine, but awaiting confirmatory tests, was seized. They said it had an estimated street value of €350,000 — equivalent to around 5kg of cocaine.
“In the course of an ongoing intelligence-led investigation, targeting an organised crime group, in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, personnel attached to the Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau and a Special Crime Task Force, undertook a search of a premises located in the Cherry Orchard area of Ballyfermot,” it said.
“A substantial quantity of a substance suspected to be cocaine (to be confirmed through forensic analysis) was seized along with encrypted communications devices, in the course of this search.
“The estimated street value of the controlled substance that has been seized, is in the region of €350,000.”
It said a male, aged 29, was in the premises when they entered and was arrested. He was brought to Clondalkin Garda Station and detained under section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.
Following the seizure, Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, who heads Garda Special Crime Operations said: “The Garda Síochána is alert to the fact that particular criminals and organised crime groups may continue to operate while we are tackling issues associated with the existence of the coronavirus (Covid-19) or may attempt to take advantage of its existence.
“For this purpose, each of the bureaus within special crime operations is targeting particular criminals and OCGs who are known or suspected to engage in a wide range of criminal activity and will continue to do so until the virus no longer represents a problem within the communities we serve”.
The person behind the gang is considered by gardaí to the Kinahan cartel’s “main man in Clondalkin”.
Described by sources as “no fool”, he operates a substantial drug trafficking operation across the west Dublin area.
He himself has been linked to a number of gangland murders and attempted murders, including a murder plot against a senior figure in the Hutch grouping.
