Court told Daniel Kinahan ‘sanctioned number of murders' as CAB to seize mansion

The High Court has granted an order for the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to seize a Dublin mansion controlled by mob boss Daniel Kinahan.

The luxury property is the first to be seized from Kinahan after it was found to be the proceeds of drug trafficking.

An application to appoint a receiver will be heard next month to allow any persons currently living at the house, 10 Coldwater Lakes in Saggart, to vacate it.

Evidence was previously heard that the home was given to Kinahan in partial repayment by Jim Mansfield Jnr after the businessman failed to invest €4.5m for the crime gang.

The cash was handed over in two suitcases for payment of four townhouses in 2009 but the deal never went ahead after the Mansfield fortune deteriorated.

Shelley Horan BL, for Cab, said that relations "soured" after this and that threats were made to the Mansfield family for repayment.

The court was told an agreement was made that three cash sums would be paid and that 10 Coldwater Lakes would also be handed over to Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh, who the Bureau say was acting as Kinahan's agent.

While attempts were made to formalise the handover, this never happened.

The Cab said that the mansion was in control of Daniel Kinahan and that items recovered during a search in 2015 were evidence of this.

This included Kinahan's passport and boarding passes linked to him being present in a bedroom at the property. A further €3,850 in cash was found in a hidden compartment behind a safe in this room which was also part of the Cab proceedings.

Documentation was also found belonging to James Quinn, currently serving a sentence for the feud murder of Gary Hutch, while CCTV footage recovered showed Kinahan's brother Christopher Jnr at the house.

Former boxer Matthew Macklin, a business associate of Kinahan, was also present when gardaí searched the house. The court heard he was "courteous" but declined to answer any questions.

Evidence was also given in an affidavit from Det Chief Supt Seamus Boland, of the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, about Daniel Kinahan.

He stated that Kinahan played an "integral part" in importing drugs and firearms to Ireland, the UK, and mainland Europe, as well as money laundering.

The senior detective also said Daniel Kinahan is an individual who "sanctioned a number of murders" as part of the Hutch/Kinahan feud.

He added that Thomas Kavanagh is believed to be an international drug trafficker and key player of the Kinahan organised crime group who is closely associated to Daniel Kinahan.

The High Court heard the Mansfield family disavowed all interest in the property and that efforts had been made to serve papers on the other two respondents.

'Bomber' Kavanagh had been visited in prison in the UK, where he is serving a sentence for conspiring to import drugs but refused to engage with gardaí and police officers.

Efforts to serve papers on Kinahan at two address in Dubai which the bureau believes he still has access to have also been unsuccessful.

A Cab detective contacted DHL to deliver the documents, but they refused citing "operation and commercial" reasons and "reputational risks" after he was sanctioned by the US Government.

Attempts to serve Kinahan had also been made through a third party from whom "Daniel Kinahan stood as best man for his wedding" but this also proved fruitless.

Ms Horan said there is an abundance of evidence to support Cab's position and it was "noteworthy" nobody has claimed ownership over the substantial property.

Mr Justice Michael McGrath said he was satisfied that all reasonable efforts had been made to serve the two men and that they are aware of the proceedings.

He accepted that Thomas Kavanagh and Daniel Kinahan were in possession or control of the property and that it was acquired in hole or in part through the proceeds of crime.

The judge granted an order under Section 3 of the Proceeds of Crime Act for the mansion and cash to be seized and put the matter back to November 15 to hear an application on a receiver being appointed.