Gardai probe reports that hunted mob boss Kinahan has fled his safe-haven of Dubai

Detectives are investigating reports that under-pressure cartel boss Daniel Kinahan has fled Dubai and is travelling from country to country in the Middle East.

Senior sources said last night that if the information given to officers by high-level informants is correct, it shows the impact the unrelenting pressure on the gangster from gardai and other police forces is having on Kinahan (43), who has been desperately trying to reinvent himself as an international boxing promoter.

"Certain countries in the Middle East region have been mentioned as to where he has been staying in recent weeks, but proper verification of this information has not yet been established, but it has come in from a number of sources," a senior source told the Herald.

Charges

"There is a massive investigation into Kinahan's activities, which is being co-ordinated by the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) in conjunction with a number of international police agencies, and there is a growing feeling that criminal charges are likely to be brought against him here.

"It seems that Daniel is acutely aware of all this, and this may well be the reason why he has fled Dubai, which had been his safe haven now for over four years.

"Maybe he feels that the authorities in the United Arab Emirates are finally going to come down on him."

Last month, then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar confirmed he had contacted the UAE regarding Kinahan's activities.

Mr Varadkar told the Dail that the Department of Foreign Affairs had made diplomatic contact with the UAE regarding the self-exiled leader of the international crime syndicate.

This government move foll-owed representation by Labour leader Alan Kelly and Dublin Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond, who said Kinahan's bid to reinvent himself as a boxing promoter cannot be allowed to succeed.

Yesterday, the funeral of Kinahan's mother-in-law took place in Dublin in the absence of the gang leader.

Hillary Robinson, from Ayrfield near Coolock, died peacefully in the Mater Hospital on July 1.

Her daughter Caoimhe married Kinahan in a lavish ceremony in Dubai in the summer of 2017.

It is understood he begged his wife not to travel back to Ireland for her mother's funeral.

Caoimhe was said to be heartbroken at her mother's death and is feeling homesick.

It was unclear if she had made the journey home.

Hillary Robinson's remains were taken to Dardistown cemetery, near Swords, for a funeral service at the crematorium there. The hearse and three cars entered the cemetery in convoy at 1pm.

Floral tributes in white blooms interlaced with red roses and spelling the word "Nanny" were placed either side of the coffin.

The Kinahan cartel is braced for a wave of arrests following the arrest last week of its main encrypted phone supplier in a raid by the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The hacking of the EncroChat system by authorities has already led to a series of arrests across Europe of top-tier criminals.

The arrest of the supplier in Ireland during a probe into money-laundering by Chinese gangs has left criminals here scrambling for cover.

Kinahan's empire suffered another serious blow in recent days when his key lieutenant, Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh, and two associates pleaded guilty in court in England to a series of serious drug and firearms offences.

The three face lengthy sentences when they next appear before Ipswich Crown Court on October 26.

Inherited

Kinahan has been identified in the High Court as a senior figure in organised crime, who controlled and managed the family-organised cartel he is seen to have inherited from his father, Christy Kinahan.

Last week, the Herald revealed that gardai are looking to question Daniel Kinahan as part of a number of investigations, but detectives are also now building a file with hopes of charging him with membership of an organised crime group.

Sources said a large amount of material had been gathered already, and gardai were foc- using on charging the head of the Kinahan organised crime outfit under anti-gangland legislation.