Exclusive snaps show how Christy Kinahan’s glamorous moll has been by his side for 10 years

Little has been known about Yildirim until she was named as being part of a failed multi-million dollar plan by the ‘Dapper Don’ to buy Egyptian air force planes in order to smuggle drugs.

Investigators revealed she was part of an attempt by Kinahan Snr – posing as an aviation consultant – to buy a fleet of second-hand military aircraft.

Yildrim is reported to be the mother of three of Kinahan’s children and the couple had planned to marry and settle in Harare, Zimbabwe.

But it’s not the first time his long-term partner has been ready to help out.

We exclusively pictured the glamorous mum picking up Kinahan Snr near Estepona courthouse in Spain in 2013, two days after his release from prison in Belgium.

The drugs baron was obliged at the time to sign on at the office as part of his bail conditions following his arrest under Operation Shovel.

Sporting sunglasses, she was in the driver’s seat of the nondescript black jeep just seconds after an irate Kinahan tried to hit a Sunday World photographer with his umbrella.

Moments earlier he had tripped on a bollard and dropped some documents as he tried to shield himself with the umbrella from being photographed.

It has since emerged how Kinahan Snr had later attempted to re- invent himself as an aviation consultant in a bid to set up routes to channel cocaine from South America via Africa into Europe.

Company records show Yildirim, a Dutch businesswoman, registered as a founder of the firm he used in the failed deal, CV Aviation Consulting Services, of which she was also listed as general manager.

Emails and documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) show how Kinahan wanted to buy surplus Buffalo transport aircraft in Egypt.

The twin-engine planes are capable of taking off and landing at rugged airstrips and therefore perfectly suited to conditions in remote parts of Africa.

The documents acquired by the ICIJ revealed how Kinahan Snr posed as a flight consultant before the purchase plan was put to four high-ranking Egyptian military officers in 2020.

The deal eventually fell through in 2021 and Kinahan’s plans to pose as an aviation consultant were dashed by the crushing US sanctions imposed on him last April.

A previous attempt to set up an airline business was highlighted earlier this year in which he used a firm called Nyasa Air Charters running flying ambulance services.

The Malawi-based Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ) first revealed his interest in the firm, which Kinahan Snr had mentioned on his social media accounts.

The Sunday World previously reported how it had been part of a move to control Africa’s ‘cocaine corridor’ – one of the main routes for importing drugs into Europe.

The Kinahans linked up with the Dutch and Moroccan criminal gangs who control the smuggling through the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

It succeeded in making a lot of money for both groups as well as consolidating their power as international cocaine brokers.

Their operations were first uncovered by the US authorities when they observed meetings between them and the leaders of European mafia groups at Daniel Kinahan’s 2017 wedding at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai.

The ‘Dapper Don’ had hidden in plain sight in the Gulf State and put himself forward as a legitimate aviation broker.

He tweeted about new business ventures for the planes, which continued the movement of drugs during Covid lockdowns using the guise of emergency medical transporters.

The firm he mentioned in the tweet, Nyasa Air Charters, is based in Malawi and is affiliated with another charter business, Crescents and Crosses, which runs an air ambulance service.

Using his CVK Investment account, he tweeted about their ‘memorandum of understanding’: “CVK Investments have signed MOU to invest in a joint venture with a Malawian company, Nyasa Air Charter Limited, to operate an air ambulance service. More updates to come.”

Nayasa Air Charters also states on its LinkedIn page that it works “to provide aviation services throughout Africa and the Middle East”.

One of the named directors of the firm is Irishman John James Nammock, who made international headlines in 1976 when he was captured while fighting as a mercenary in Angola’s civil war.

The then 20-year-old, an Irish citizen with an address in London at the time, had served in the British Paratroop Regiment and was recruited to fight for £150 a week.

In 1983, he was again wounded when an ammunition dump beside his prison blew up, according to a report from an international news agency.

On the Crescents and Crosses website, he was described as a director and chief security officer for the air ambulance company.

“John is responsible for advising and planning of personal security procedures, particularly in country.”