US offers $5 million reward for arrests of 3 Irish gang members

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US offered rewards Tuesday of up to $5 million for information that leads to the arrests of three senior members of Ireland's Kinahan crime family.

The rewards for information on Christopher Vincent Kinahan and his two sons, Daniel Joseph Kinahan and Christopher Kinahan, Jr., were announced by the State Department, which accused the men of being involved in transnational organized crime and narcotics trafficking that spanned the UK and Europe.

The announcement comes one day after the Biden administration sanctioned what it calls the Kinahan Organized Crime Group (KOCG), and seven of its senior leaders, including the three Irish nationals for which the US offered a reward for information.

The KOCG has become the most powerful organized crime group in Ireland after forming in the late 1990s and has branches in Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the UK, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

In addition to selling narcotics, it is accused of being involved in firearms trafficking and murder.

The eldest Kinahan is currently based in Dubai where the Kinahan organization has what the US describes as a "facilitation hub for its illicit activities."

His sons are also based in Dubai and manage the organization's drug smuggling activities, according to the Treasury.