THE HAGUE: Police have arrested “one of Europe’s biggest money launderers” after a raid in southern Spain, saying the British-Irish suspect is believed to have shifted more than 200 million euros ($200 million) in illicit cash.

The operation led by Spain’s Guardia Civil and coordinated by Europol is seen as a major blow against the notorious Kinahan organised crime group, which US law officials called “a threat to the entire licit economy”.

The chief suspect in the case was detained Monday “as a result of an international law enforcement operation led by the Spanish Guardia Civil”, Europol said. “Two of his associates were also arrested in Spain, and one in the United Kingdom,” Europol said in a statement on Thursday.

Europol did not name the suspect, but a source close to the investigation and Irish newspapers said he was John Francis Morrissey, 62, a known associate of the notorious Kinahan gang.

Based out of Dubai, the Kinahan crime group — led among others by Irishman Daniel Kinahan — “smuggles deadly narcotics, including cocaine, to Europe, and is a threat to the entire licit economy through its role in international money laundering,” US Treasury Department Under Secretary Brain E Nelson said.

Morrissey peddled a brand of vodka along Spain’s tourist-heavy Costa del Sol, allegedly to disguise his white-washing activities, law officials said. He also worked as an enforcer for the Kinahan cartel and helped with drug shipments from South America.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2022