Gardaí have warned the father and younger brother of jailed cartel boss Daniel Kinahan: ‘You’re next.’

Senior sources said gardaí intend to pursue ‘Dapper Don’ Christy Kinahan and his son Christy Jnr as they stressed the arrest of Daniel and jailing of his key lieutenant Seán McGovern – who was sentenced to 24 years in prison this week – is ‘not the end’ for their investigation.

The Kinahan cartel’s grip on the criminal underworld of Ireland has been dramatically weakened, with principal figures behind bars or awaiting extradition.

Sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department and a Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) investigation targeting its leaders has also dealt a crushing blow to the Kinahan Organised Crime Group’s ability to operate.

The warning to the remaining Kinahan leadership comes after McGovern was sentenced on Monday following his guilty plea to directing the activities of a criminal organisation.

A source familiar with the ongoing investigation into the Kinahan operation told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘This certainly isn’t the end of the story from the Garda’s point of view.

‘Gardaí will continue to go after the gang to make sure it is dismantled in its entirety after the murderous chaos it caused on the streets of Dublin.

‘I’ve no doubt they [Christy Snr and Jnr] were closely watching the McGovern sentencing this week.

‘Christy Kinahan is also facing trial in Spain for passport fraud – and don’t forget the DEA [US Drug Enforcement Agency] are after them too.

‘Their world has become very small in recent years.’

Detectives believe Christy Snr and Christy Jnr may be making plans to leave the luxury Dubai bolt hole they have made their home for the past decade, following the infamous Regency Hotel shooting.

However, sources this weekend said gardaí have the ability to ‘drop the net’ on the cartel leaders wherever they turn to.

The US sanctions imposed against top Kinahan figures in 2022 has severely restricted their movements and made them fearful of leaving their Dubai base of operations.

Rewards of $5million (€4.3million) were offered by the US to anyone who could supply information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of Daniel Kinahan and his father and brother.

The late Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll is largely credited for setting up the international structures that have resulted the jailing of McGovern and arrest of Daniel Kinahan.

On Monday, there were gasps in court as McGovern was sentenced to 24 years in prison for directing the activities of the criminal gang in relation to the murder of one man and the attempted murder of another between 2015 and 2017.

The 40-year-old, formerly of Kildare Road, Crumlin, planned, oversaw and directed the murder of Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan by controlling the tracking device on his car and directing the gunmen who were lying in wait at the 62-year-old’s home in Clondalkin.

Mr Kirwan was shot dead in his driveway on December 22, 2016, simply because he had been seen in a photograph with Gerard Hutch at the funeral of his brother Eddie, who was also shot dead as part of the feud.

McGovern’s fingerprints were found on the instructions for a tracker device, which had been placed on Noel Kirwan’s car and on the laptop used to operate the tracking device.

He also directed members of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group during an attempt to murder rival Hutch gang member James Gately.

Tracking devices were placed on the cars of Gately’s partner and sister and McGovern gave instructions to other members of the gangs on what to do and updates to Kinahan gang leaders. 

Detective Superintendent Dave Gallagher of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau noted that McGovern’s sentencing was ‘significant’ in holding to account a ‘key’ figure who was engaged in directing the activities of a violent criminal organisation.

He said that the gang’s campaign of ‘ruthless murder and violence’ had hugely impacted several Dublin communities. 

Det Supt Gallagher told the court: ‘I wish to pay tribute to the Kirwan family whose innocent father, Noel, was brutally murdered, for no other reason except to portray power in the criminal underworld, by Seán McGovern, working with and directing others, who believed they were untouchable.

‘Let the conviction and sentence of Mr McGovern today be a lesson to those who glorify organised crime and promote it as a way of life.

‘There are no untouchables,’ Det Supt Gallagher added.