Conor Lally
A senior Garda has welcomed the convictions of two Kinahan gang members in Spain and Britain and said the fight to bring down the gang would continue.
Assistant Commissioner John O'Driscoll was commenting in the wake of the conviction of Dubliner James Quinn (35) in Malaga for the gun murder of Gary Hutch (35) in Spain in September, 2015.
Earlier this week another member of the Kinahan cartel, James Mulvey (42), was jailed for 32 years for his role in trafficking cocaine and cannabis valued at €77 million into Britain.
Mulvey worked for the Kinahan gang in close association with his cousin Gerard ‘Hatchet’ Kavanagh, a 44-year-old Dubliner shot dead in Spain in September, 2014, in an internal Kinahan gang dispute.
Quinn, who now faces up to 28 years in jail for the Hutch murder, was also suspected of involvement in the Kavanagh murder, at a bar near Malaga.
The killing of Hutch began the Kinahan-Hutch feud which has claimed 18 lives to date.
Mr O’Driscoll, who is head of the Garda’s special crime operations, said the convictions in Spain and Britain underlined the international cooperation now underway in targeting the Kinahan gang.
“The successful outcome to particular court proceedings in the UK and Spain, this week, is a very positive development in the efforts being made by law enforcement authorities, at an international level, for the purpose of tackling criminality associated with organised crime groups,” he said.
"The Garda Síochána will continue to liaise with the law enforcement in as many jurisdictions as is necessary, for the purpose of achieving additional success into the future.
“We are currently engaged in liaison of this nature, which we are satisfied will soon lead to significant additional success”.
