The jailing of Kinahan cartel “senior lieutenant” Sean McGovern for 24 years by the Special Criminal Court represents a major victory for the Garda Síochána. It is perhaps the most significant blow to the drug gang in Ireland since its inception here more than 25 years ago.
The 40-year-old Dubliner and father of two was sentenced to 14 years for directing the 2016 gun murder in Dublin of Noel Kirwan (62), who had no involvement in crime but was a Hutch family friend. The court imposed a further jail term of 10 years for McGovern’s role in directing unsuccessful efforts to murder Hutch associate James ‘Mago’ Gately. The sentences are to run consecutively. Both conspiracies formed part of the Kinahan-Hutch feud. McGovern then fled to Dubai and became the most trusted confidant of Daniel Kinahan, reputedly the cartel’s day-to-day leader. Kinahan is now in a cell in Dubai awaiting extradition to Ireland to face trial for directing organised crime.
The success of the Garda’s disruption of the top of the cartel and the securing of criminal charges is a significant advance in the fight against organised crime. It comes after the Kinahans’ Irish operation was dismantled following scores of prosecutions over the past decade.
The evidence against McGovern revealed a practice of monitoring rivals in real time by planting GPS trackers on their cars. The cartel leaders communicated via modified Blackberry devices on a secure messaging system run off a private server.
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They flew foreign gunmen into the Republic for contract killings. They appeared to have an army of men, working relentlessly, in their pay around the world.
The Kinahan cartel had the time and space to grow so powerful and rich that by the time the State got truly serious about tackling the group it was a formidable foe.
The Garda’s specialist units fighting organised crime must be provided with the budgets and technology they need to meet the challenge of the most sophisticated crime groups. And that should be supported by diplomacy at Government level and Garda liaison postings in key international law enforcement agencies, so that borders cannot protect Irish criminals.
The men and women who make up those specialist Garda units must remain energetic and alert to the next major threat.
A small Irish street gang was given the time and space to grow, initially out of sight in Spain. It became one of the biggest and most ruthless gangs in the western world, blighting many lives and destroying others.
It helped flood Europe with drugs, murdering as it went. It was a national embarrassment. That cannot happen again.
