Ken Foy
The gang war between the Christy Kinahan cartel and the Hutch mob will not end until Daniel Kinahan is shot dead.
The grim warning was made this week by a major criminal who is believed to be one of the three hitmen who were disguised as gardai in the Regency Hotel murder of rival mobster David Byrne.
Daniel Kinahan, the son of cartel boss Christy Kinahan, was the chief target of the Regency attack – but he escaped from the hotel unharmed.
The chilling threat stands in contrast to the statement the Hutch family issued after the funeral of Eddie Hutch Snr, calling “on everybody for this cycle of violence to stop – and to stop now”.
The Herald can reveal that Daniel and his brother Christopher, as well as David Byrne’s thug older brother Liam, have all left Dublin and are currently based in London – where they are believed to be plotting their next move.
“They flew out to London City Airport a number of days ago, and things are calmer now they’re not in Dublin,” a source said.
Detectives are concerned by the “hardened” attitude displayed by members of the mob connected to slain Gary Hutch, despite this week’s massive raids on the gang at 11 locations in the capital.
“We will not rest until Daniel Kinahan is dead. He caused all of this – it won’t end until he is in his grave’,” the gunman said.
This notorious north inner city criminal is a feared hitman who is suspected of carrying out the murders of Paul Kavanagh last year, as well as Eamon ‘The Don’ Dunne in 2010, on behalf of the Kinahan cartel.
However, he cut ties with the gang after the murder of his close pal, Gary Hutch, and is now their sworn enemy.
In the aftermath of Gary’s murder, sources revealed that the hitman refused to attend a number of meetings which the cartel attempted to organise with him because he was “disgusted and heartbroken” about what happened to his pal.
Of major concern is that up to 40 of the killer’s associates are of the same frame of mind.
“Some of these lads have fled, others have not. The people who are around do not seem to mind at all – they are not worried about the gardai. They are only interested in the cartel,” a source said.
It is understood that the Dublin criminal, who is aged in his early 30s, is now based in the Coolock area.
6FUNERAL: Mourners carry the remains of slain taxi driver Eddie Hutch Snr after he was gunned down in an attack at his Ballybough home in Poplar Row, Dublin by a four-man hit-team following the murder of David Byrne in the Regency Hotel
While his arch rival Daniel Kinahan and former pal Liam Byrne are based in London, it is understood that their close pal ‘Fat’ Freddie Thompson remains in the capital.
Byrne, from Raleigh Square in Crumlin, is one of the capital’s most feared criminals and has convictions for firearms and a savage assault.
Daniel Kinahan, who does not have previous convictions, was one of the main targets and was arrested in 2010 as part of Operation Shovel – the international police probe against his father’s criminal empire.
He spent a number of weeks in custody before being released without charge.
Yesterday, the Herald revealed that the six-man hit team that were involved in the Regency attack were collected in six separate cars close to where they burnt out their getaway van after escaping the scene.
Tensions remain high in the capital, with armed gardai still patrolling the streets.