The Kinahan cartel’s ‘essential member’ who was detained on the Costa del Sol on Monday is accused of aiding his criminal superiors in the unprecedented £170 million money laundering in 18 months.
Video from the Civil Guard reveals that Johnny Morrissey, a former doorman for Rochdale with an Irish passport, was caught following a search on his residence when he was sitting topless and wearing shorts.
Additionally, officers were shown on camera checking automobiles at a different residence that were reportedly used to transport narcotics and money in concealed compartments and running wads of seized cash through counting machines.
Detectives claim that his arrest has destroyed the largest international criminal organisation operating in Spain, which is claimed to have been laundering £300,000 every day.
Morrissey’s wife Nicola is the CEO of Nero Drinks, a Glasgow-based vodka company that is accused of serving as a front for the gang, however she was freed yesterday after making a court appearance.
The money, according to Spanish authorities, may not have ever left Spain but rather been dispersed globally through the antiquated Hawala method of money transfers.
It is known that criminal gangs have adopted the informal technique of transferring money, which derives from an Arabic phrase for transfer or trust and involves a network of brokers. These groups utilise code numbers or tokens, such as torn-in-half banknotes, to demonstrate that money is due.
With no paper trail and a trusted network of agents working outside of banks, the technique is frequently utilised in the Middle East to move funds.
Along with his wife, Nicola, two of his acquaintances were detained in Spain, while a third was detained in the UK.
‘The Civil Guard has dismantled the most significant international criminal organisation that existed in Spain committed to money laundering,’ a Civil Guard spokeswoman said.
“They may have used the Hawala system to launder more than £173 million in little over a year and a half.”
Overnight, it became known that Morrissey had been detained at his Costa del Sol residence on suspicion of money laundering. Morrissey had been named by US officials in April as a senior aide of the Kinahan Organized Crime Gang.
200 kg of cocaine and 500,000 euros were found by Spanish police last year hidden in automobiles with “advanced concealing devices.”
A used vehicle business was operated by one of the suspected members of the criminal group that was dismantled by the police.
The Kinahan gang: who are they?
According to reports, Christy Kinahan formed the Kinahan cartel, which is now regarded as Ireland’s most “powerful organised criminal organisation,” in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
His criminal past extends back to the 1970s and includes forgery, handling stolen items, automobile theft, home breaking, and burglary.
According to Irish authorities, the gang has expanded from Dublin’s heroin and cocaine markets to include all of Europe.
According to Irish courts, the Kinahan gang is a “murderous organisation” that engages in the trafficking of narcotics and weapons over international borders.
International money laundering is one of the illegal acts that generates profits in the UK. These earnings are then gathered and given to local criminals before being sent to Irish organised crime gang members and laundered out of the UK.
Additionally, the Kinahans regularly utilise Dubai as a hub for the facilitation of their “illicit operations.”
The criminal gang has been engaged in a gang war with another organisation in Ireland and Spain since February 2016, which has resulted in multiple killings, including the deaths of two innocent bystanders.
Over a billion euros were reportedly made via a variety of illegal activity, including over a dozen killings.
The US announced a $5 million reward in April of this year for information leading to the capture of the trafficking gang’s top brass.
One of the three commanders identified by U.S. investigators, Daniel Kinahan, has recently organised high-profile boxing matches.
Tyson Fury, the current heavyweight champion, gave him credit for mediating a prospective unification fight two years ago.
Although authorities could not be contacted for confirmation early this morning, it is believed that Nicola has been released on bond and is still being investigated.
After being detained, the two were seen in handcuffs, with Nicola giving the middle finger to journalists as she was being brought away and Morrissey attempting to hide his face.
The elite Central Operative Unit of the Civil Guard Unit, which is in charge of investigating and prosecuting the most severe crimes and organised crime, conducted a thorough investigation that resulted in the arrests on Monday.
The finale of the police operation included officers from the Garda, the National Crime Organization of Great Britain, Europe, and the powerful US DEA law enforcement agency.
Detectives said that the discovery of 200 kilos of cocaine and 500,000 Euros (£430,000) in cash at the beginning of last year, stashed in cars with “advanced concealment systems,” served as the catalyst for the Spanish police probe.
One of the suspected members of the criminal group that the police dismantled managed a used vehicle lot.
A former Irish expat living on the Costa del Sol was detained in the UK in addition to the three arrests made in Spain.
In addition to Britain, almost a dozen searches were conducted at homes and businesses, including two in Glasgow that were allegedly connected to Nero Drinks and one in Heywood in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.
The Civil Guard stated that the main target in Spain dedicated himself to collecting sizable sums of money in cash from criminal organisations operating in our country and transferring it via the Hawala system to organised criminal groups in other countries and vice versa. However, Johnny Morrissey was not specifically mentioned in the Spanish police statement about the operation.
Investigators “were able to establish that he allegedly managed to move more than two hundred million Euros (£173 million) over the course of the inquiry.”
In a statement, the Civil Guard described the alleged role Nero Drinks played: “The main members of the organisation in Spain allegedly created a luxury vodka brand promoted at shows, parties, and events at nightclubs and restaurants in upscale Costa del Sol environments, presenting it as a successful drinks brand.”
Drugs were discovered in the autos when police were searching a vehicle storage facility.
‘According to information from tax officials, it couldn’t be supporting the way of life of the persons detained, so this couldn’t be farther from the truth.
To conceal the actual identities of the directors of the businesses that were used to launder the money from Hawala, they reportedly constructed a second firm in the UK that was dependant on a third company founded in Gibraltar.
According to the US authorities, John Morrissey has worked for the Kinahan Organized Crime Group (KOCG) for a number of years, including as an enforcer, and facilitates international drug shipments for the organisation from South America.
Morrissey is so close to alleged cartel boss Daniel Kinahan that he was invited to his wedding in Dubai in the summer of 2017. Money laundering is also a concern for John Morrissey.
He was included among others including his father Christopher, seasoned Dublin-born criminal Bernard Clancy, and Daniel, who according to the same statement “played a key role in organising the supply of narcotics in Ireland.”
Christopher Kinahan Jr., Sean McGovern, who was described as Daniel Kinahan’s “closest confidant” and “advisor,” and Ian Dixon, who was detained but never charged in connection with the 2015 murder of Gary Hutch on the Costa del Sol, were the other individuals named as part of a $5 million appeal for information.
Since it was made public, Morrissey is the first person on the list to be detained.
One of the three businesses on the list that was prohibited from doing business in the United States was Nero Drinks Company Ltd.
As the brand ambassador for his wife’s beverages company, Johnny courted celebrities including models and reality TV personalities. Johnny fled Ireland more than 20 years ago when it was claimed that he was engaged in an attempt to harm a Criminal Assets Bureau officer there.
The Kinahan cartel rose to prominence around the globe due to its conflict with the Hutch gang, which resulted in at least 18 fatalities in Ireland and Spain.
Gerry “The Monk” Hutch, a wanted criminal, was apprehended in August of last year close to his hideout in the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola. He will go on trial later this year for the murder of David Byrne in February 2016 at the Regency Hotel in Dublin.
Last year, a report on BBC’s Panorama revealed Daniel Kinahan’s power in global boxing and prompted demands for the sport to be more strictly regulated.
Tyson Fury, a two-time heavyweight world champion, allegedly fired the Irishman as his negotiator after learning of his “important” part in arranging a two-fight contract between Joshua and Fury. Earlier, Fury expressed gratitude to Kinahan on Instagram.
After the Panorama broadcast, the 45-year-old Dubliner who is now located in Dubai insisted: “I am not a member of a criminal group or any plot. I lack any strong opinions. None. not just in Ireland but anywhere else in the globe.