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FUEL CON CRIMINAL OUT €1M

AN ULSTER fuel smuggler stands to lose more than £1 million after he was unwittingly caught up in a global police probe into a criminal gang dubbed the 'Irish Mafia'.

The Sunday World has learned that the seven figure sum owned by the south Armagh man was frozen by a Spanish court several weeks ago.

It followed a decision by Spanish police to seek freezing orders on bank accounts held in the names of some Irish people as it investigated the Dublin crime king Christy Kinahan.

The farmer, who is aged 50 and from the south Armagh area, had amassed a personal cash fortune of nearly £4 million from the proceeds of crime, mainly smuggling goods across the border.

"He was never into drugs, never once. That's just not his gig,'' said an underworld source.

"The money came from smuggling fuel and stuff like that. He is an ordinary decent criminal.

"Now he is caught on the horns of a dilemma. Does he go to court in Spain to fight it and say: 'I am in no way involved with this Irish
gang' or does he cut his losses to protect the rest of his money.

Wrong

"The first he knew anything was wrong was when he was told by the bank in Spain that £1.1 million he transferred from an account in Gibraltar had been frozen.

"When he asked why he was told that the police had been granted freezing orders by a court over Spanish bank accounts with large sums of money held in the names of Irish people.

"He was totally stunned. Now he really doesn't know what to do. He had around £3.85 million in an account in Gibraltar.

"He has no connections to this 'Irish Mafia' gang. It just so happened that he moved money from Gibraltar to Spain as the Spanish police were investigating this gang.''

Last month, detectives from elite police units in the Republic, Spain and Brazil swooped on crime godfather Christy Kinahan, aka The Dapper Don.

For months, a secret world wide investigation was being conducted into the 53-year-old's global'Empire in the Sun' property
portfolio estimated to be worth €650 million.

Kinahan amassed his multi million pound fortune over an eight year period from flooding cities and towns in the Republic with cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy tablets and guns.

In total, 34 people were arrested in the Republic, England and Spain as Operation Shovel tightened its noose on the gang.

Kinahan, his two sons Daniel and Christopher, are behind bars in Spain while their case is investigated by Judge Maria Henares.

Also lifted was Christy Kinahan's right hand man Dubliner John Cunningham. The 58-year-old convicted armed robber and drug
dealer from Ballyfermot was convicted and jailed for the Jennifer Guinness kidnapping in 1986.

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