Garda chief Drew Harris says Kinahan cartel leaders not likely to be arrested in Ireland

Speaking at a lunch hosted by the Association of European Journalist, he said that the gang are more likely to be arrested abroad.

“The prospect of them gripping a rail here in Dublin, I’m not sure,” he told the Irish Examiner.

"I think it’s more likely that international law enforcement will bring them to book.”

"And that’s fair enough, that somebody brings them to book somewhere.”

“Whenever you engage with people internationally, you just have to set aside any sort of selfish regard, it doesn’t really matter. All things balance out and you’ll get your own success in time,” he added.

He said that An Garda Siochana has to think “what’s our best percentage chance” of bringing down the mob.

“The best percentages are probably with international law enforcement. It’s probably in respect of flows of cash, the illicit movement of money, illicit business transactions, and drug trafficking.”

In April, at a press conference held in Dublin, the US Department of State announced a $5 million reward in return for key information leading to the dismantlement of the Kinahan OCG.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris was joined by Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, who is in charge of Serious and Organised Crime, as well as speakers from the Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA), and US Customs & Border Control.

At the briefing, US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin told the media that the US government is offering the reward for information "leading to the financial disruption" of the Kinahan transnational group, or the arrest and conviction of its leaders.

The three leaders of the gang are named by the authorities as Daniel Kinahan, who runs the day-to-day operations, his father Christy Kinahan Snr who organises property purchases, and Christy Kinahan Jnr who oversees their finances.

On Thursday, the High Court in Dublin granted an order for the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to seize a mansion in Saggart owned by Daniel Kinahan.

The news was monumental as the property at 10 Coldwater Lakes, is the first to be seized from Kinahan after it was found to be the proceeds of drug trafficking.

Evidence was previously heard that the luxury 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.

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

He said 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.

Efforts to serve CAB papers on Kinahan at two addresses in Dubai have also been unsuccessful.