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How the deadly Kinahan Cartel could set up a new gangster's paradise in China and become even richer Do YOU have a story? Email chris.matthews@dailymail.co.uk By CHRIS MATTHEWS, SENIOR NEWS FEATURES REPORTER Published: 08:42 GMT, 26 October 2025 | Updated: 08:43 GMT, 26 October 2025 The Kinahan Cartel, one of the most deadly and powerful criminal organisations in the world, could be eyeing up a move to China. The gang is currently based in Dubai, but after a series of high-profile mob arrests, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is no longer seen as the crime haven it once was. Instead, China is thought to be welcoming some of the world's most vicious gangsters in a bid to destabilise the West, a security expert has claimed. It could be the perfect opportunity for the notorious Irish crime family to create a new gangster's paradise. The telltale sign they may have China in their sights boils down to the movements of a Scottish gangster who has followed the Kinahans around the globe for years. Former Rangers football hooligan Ross 'Miami' McGill, 31, fled the UK for the Kinahan stronghold of Fuengirola in Spain before moving to be near the Irish thugs in Dubai. This year, he launched the UK's deadliest gang war, in partnership with Kinahan associates, as revenge for being duped out of £500,000 of cocaine in February. But as the death toll mounted, the pressure increased on Dubai's authorities to arrest him, which they duly did, before releasing and banishing him. Now he is thought to be in China. A source with knowledge of the gangs suggested this was an obvious signal the Kinahans might move there as well. An insider in China said they may target the city of Shenzhen as a base. For security experts focused on organised crime groups, it is little surprise the Kinahans could view China as a replacement for Dubai. Kathryn Westmore is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI, the UK's leading defence think tank. She specialises in how Chinese organised crime groups facilitate transnational crime through money laundering. She said the Kinahans would likely only move to China 'with the full knowledge of the Chinese state'. Luckily for them, they've been forging links with the Chinese for years. The city of Shenzen (pictured) in China could be the new gangster's paradise for the Kinahan Cartel. A Scottish gangster linked with the Irish mob has reportedly moved to China Christy 'The Dapper Don' Kinahan Snr (pictured) was born in Dublin's north inner city but is now the head of one of the most ruthless drugs networks in the world His son Daniel Kinahan (pictured) is his heir apparent and a boxing promoter who once represented 'The Gypsy King' Tyson Fury Daniel's brother Christopher 'Mano' Jnr (pictured) allegedly looks over his family's accounts Scottish gangster Ross McGill (right) is a Rangers FC hooligan pictured here with former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard - whose daughter Lilly is engaged to the son of a top ranking Kinahan Cartel thug Ms Westmore said: 'It's clear that the Kinahan Cartel has had links established with China for a while now. 'The Kinahans have links to Chinese organised crime groups and, in particular, money laundering groups. 'The reason why China is appealing is that there is limited law enforcement [co-operation] between countries in the West and China. 'That's an advantage if you're a criminal. It is less likely that you would be extradited.' She said Chinese organised crime groups were 'offered a degree of protection by the state', especially if their activities were harming the West. 'That creates an environment where organised crime groups flourish,' she added For years, the Kinahans have grown their empire from the sun-kissed desert city of Dubai. The Kinahans are a crime family originating in Dublin who are accused of importing vast amounts of South American cocaine and heroin into Europe, as well as involvement in gun smuggling, murder and money laundering. Daniel Kinahan, Christy 'The Dapper Don' Kinahan Snr and Christy Jnr are all wanted, with US rewards totalling $15million Caoimhe Robinson, pictured, married Kinahan mobster Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan in a glitzy ceremony at the £1,000-a-night Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai in 2017 They allegedly have links to Russian and Iranian spies as well as to jihadists in the Middle East, which is understood to be a major reason why the US has taken such an interest in stopping them. The US has put three bounties totalling $15million on godfather Christy 'The Dapper Don' Kinahan Sr, 68, his son and heir-apparent Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan, 48, and his other son Christopher 'Mano' Kinahan Jr, 44. Their businesses and associates have also been sanctioned in a style similar to Russian sanctions following the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The Kinahans are also responsible for the majority of the 19 killings in the Kinahan-Hutch feud in Dublin with their arch-rivals the Hutch family. But while they come from Dublin's north inner city, Ireland is now far too risky a place to live. Despite Daniel Kinahan's lack of a criminal record and aversion to using technology to communicate - he shunned using the supposedly secure messaging system EncroChat that once hacked by the French, led to hundreds of arrests - living in the West is a one-way ticket to a jail sentence. By operating outside of the West's control, the Kinahans have moved far beyond the days of peddling drugs on the streets of Dublin in the 1990s. Gangster guide to Dubai: Criminals from England who call it home - and tricks they use to live it up They are now one of the most powerful organised crime groups in the world, worth around £1billion and, for around 15 years, their base has been in the tax and extradition-free haven of Dubai. The emirate's strict financial confidentiality laws, hot climate, abundance of designer shops, and its many corrupt officials were also key benefits. A British mobster told the Mail that Dubai is seen as a neutral ground where gang rivalries are set aside so criminals can enjoy some family time and grow their empires — a sort of Shangri-La for murderous, drug-obsessed gangsters. On some level, the Kinahans were the true sheikhs of Dubai, holding court with the great and the not-so-good. One of the largest underworld society events this century - and that any criminal worth their salt was invited to - was the wedding of suspected mob boss Daniel 'Chess' Kinahan to Irish gangster's moll Caoimhe Robinson, now 43, in a lavish ceremony at Dubai's £1,000-a-night Burj Al Arab hotel. The guest list is thought to have helped investigators determine the membership of a 'Super Cartel' of top gangsters operating from Dubai and responsible for smuggling £30billion of cocaine into Europe each year. They include mobsters from Italy, Holland, Bosnia, Spain, Scotland, and most importantly, Ireland. But although Daniel Kinahan is facing pressure to hang on to his family's huge wealth owing to US sanctions, it just so happens that his wife Caoimhe, who is not a fugitive, has a multi-million pound property empire in Dubai. There is no suggestion that Caoimhe is a criminal herself. Luckily for Daniel, just months after the US unveiled sanctions against seven senior figures in the Kinahan Cartel, Caoimhe started selling her Dubai properties. Her property deals allegedly include a mansion that was rented out for £20,000-a-year before being sold for £4.3million, and a luxury villa with a swimming pool and a terrace overlooking a golf course that was sold for nearly £10million. When she's not wheeling and dealing in Dubai's luxury property market, she keeps herself busy raising her and Daniel's children. Daniel is thought to have at least six children by three women. From time to time, she might even mourn her last boyfriend, another Irish gangster called Micka 'The Panda' Kelly. He was linked to six murders and was shot dead and run over by a car by the Real IRA in Clongriffin, north Dublin, in 2011. A man thought to be connected with his killing was later shot dead — supposedly on orders from the Kinahans. Caoimhe has sold and let millions of pounds worth of property in Dubai despite international sanctions freezing her husband's assets The Kinahan Cartel has been based in Dubai (pictured) for around 15 years, during which time they have become one of the most powerful organised crime groups in the world Daniel Kinahan's wife Caoimhe Robinson has been linked to a slate of property deals in Dubai since 2022. This includes buying a four-bedroom, 300 sq m apartment in the Elite Residence skyscraper (third from left) for £750,000 Meanwhile, when Daniel is not plotting how to smuggle more drugs into the UK and Europe, he concerns himself with boxing. His name is almost as famous in the sport as it is in the crime world. He's represented some of the sport's greatest athletes, including Tyson 'The Gypsy King' Fury, who previously heaped lavish praise on the criminal godfather. When the Kinahans were based in the Costa Del Sol, they ran the MTK Global boxing gym in Marbella and opened a sister venue in Dubai when they moved there. How Steven Gerrard's daughter became part of one of the most feared crime families in the world Daniel's life as a crime boss was hardly a secret. The New Yorker reported that one of his associates in Dubai remembered seeing Super Cartel members Raffaele Imperiale and Ridouan Taghi dropping in on a breakfast for Kinahan's boxers at Grosvenor House, a hotel in Dubai. Raffaele 'The King of Narcos' Imperiale was a key drug trafficker in the Camorra, one of Italy's oldest and largest mafia groups, based in Naples. He was arrested in Dubai in 2021 for having a fake passport and was expelled in February 2022. Months later, he turned supergrass for the state. Ridouan Taghi is the head of the Mocro Maffia, a gang of mobsters of Moroccan descent working predominantly in the Netherlands and Belgium. Taghi was arrested in Dubai in 2019 and extradited to the Netherlands, where he was jailed for life in 2024 for murder and drug trafficking. And his sons? Well, it's believed they just so happen to be friends with Ross 'Miami' McGill. The 'King of Narcos' Raffaele Imperiale (pictured) was arrested in Dubai in 2021 for having a fake passport and was expelled in February 2022 Dutch-Morrocan murderer and drug trafficker Ridouan Taghi (pictured), the head of the Mocro Maffia, was arrested in 2019 McGill has had a tough old year. First, in February, he was allegedly swindled out of £500,000 of cocaine by associates of jailed Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson, 38. His crew supposedly paid for the drugs with counterfeit cash. As a result, he teamed up with the Kinahan's Scottish allies, the Lyons family, to 'eradicate' the Richardsons and their Glasgow partners, the Daniel family, putting £100,000 bounties on the key players. But then in May, two of his pals (and senior Kinahan associates) were gunned down in his old hometown of Fuengirola because of his war-mongering. Before this year, McGill wasn't even considered a major mobster. He was a former Rangers hooligan who had posed with Steven Gerrard (whose daughter has just had a child with the son of Kinahan lieutenant Liam Byrne) and fled Scotland around four years ago, supposedly afraid he would be arrested on drug charges. Inside Britain's deadliest gang: Meet the mobsters who gun down rivals on our streets He and his girlfriend, Olivia Newall, a dental nurse whose cousin Lloyd Cross, 33, is the incarcerated right-hand man of Scottish cocaine baron Jamie 'Iceman' Stevenson, 60, went to Spain and then Dubai. There, he capitalised on the jailing of key drug bosses in Scotland, such as 'Iceman' and Mark Richardson, to take control of much of the country's cocaine supply. He has reportedly been living a life of luxury in a £1.4million five-bed, six-bathroom villa with a private pool beside Donald Trump's golf course in Dubai. Meanwhile, over in Scotland, his band of thugs Tamo Junto (TMJ) has been firebombing homes and attacking rivals with machetes, before posting sick boasts of their horrific crimes on TikTok. After the group allegedly seriously assaulted a 12-year-old at a house in Glasgow, one of the crew bragged to the Daily Mail: 'F*** em mate, it's called caught in the crossfire of war.' Asked why the group was targeting children, he added: 'You're talking like innocent people are being attacked [and] hurt, which is not true at all.' Two months after Kinahan associates Eddie Lyons Jr, 46, and Ross Monaghan, 43, were executed in a Costa Del Sol pub shooting, McGill was one of four Scots, including Eddie's brother Steven, 44, who were arrested and told to leave Dubai. Paired with the extradition of senior Kinahan lieutenant Sean 'Lugs' McGovern, 41, in May this year, it means crime families are hunting for a new Dubai. McGill is thought to be responsible with bringing sustained bloodshed to the streets of Britain In a gushing post on social media, a woman who knew Newall and McGill posted this photo with the caption: 'Look who I ran into in Spain. Great to see you Olivia Newall and Ross! It meant a lot to me that you came to see me [three love heart emojis] Keep living your best life sweetheart [pink heart emoji]' Left to right: Kinahan Cartel member Liam Byrne with his wife Simon McEnroe, and Sean 'Lugs' McGovern with his partner Anita Freeman. Both McEnroe and Freeman are not thought to be involved in criminality in any way Kinahan gangster Liam Byrne's son Lee (left) is engaged to and has had a baby with Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard's daughter Lilly (right) Steven Lyons (pictured) is now the boss of the Lyons gang after two senior members were gunned down in Spain. He has also been banished from the UAE Lyons gangsters Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, (left) and Ross Monaghan, 43, (right) were shot dead by a masked gunman while they were watching the Champions League final at Monaghans, an Irish pub run by the gangster, in Fuengirola, Spain on May 31 At least 11 top gangsters have been arrested in Dubai in recent years, with at least seven deported. As one former Scotland Yard detective told the Mail, 'the game is now up for [organised crime groups] such as the Kinahans in Dubai'. McGill has already fled. It seems his loved ones will soon follow if they haven't already. Since the Mail exposed Newall as McGill's girlfriend, she and her family have been much more careful on social media. However, needs must when the Devil drives, and last week she posted an advert on a Dubai car sales group for a Chinese-made Jetour T2 SUV for around £10,000 under the usual asking price. Olivia Newall is a secretive moll going out with feared gangster Ross 'Miami' McGill, who has tasked his enforcers Tamo Junto (TMJ) with attacking the Richardsons and Daniels in Scotland Olivia Newall is selling her Jetour T2, an SUV popular in the desert city of Dubai (Stock image) Newall and McGill lived in this stunning £1.4million villa next to Donald Trump's golf course in Dubai It is thought the Kinahans could soon be the next on a plane out to China. Former undercover police officer Simon McLean, who infiltrated Scotland's gangs, said: 'For sure, [China is] the ''in place'' now.' The key question is where. An insider with knowledge of the Chinese system said the most likely options were the Tier 1 cities, with the most luxury properties and a higher proportion of English speakers, of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. He said Hong Kong would be attractive but too risky to live in owing to its connections to the West. However, despite being safer from extradition in mainland China, it may be more difficult to access money. 'If you have money to invest, they will turn a blind eye to almost anything in Hong Kong,' he said. 'Shenzhen is just over the border with Hong Kong. [McGill] could go into Hong Kong on a daily basis and do his business as long as he returns each night. 'That may be quite a good way around.' While sunning himself in Dubai, McGill reportedly ordered his gang Tamo Junto to carry oiut a wave of violence in Scotland RUSI expert Ms Westmore explained that while there are risks in moving to China, the Kinahans have forged deep connections with Chinese organised crime groups and would likely only emigrate there with the permission of the Chinese state. She said: 'Dubai and the UAE are taking a much firmer stance, and while it still remains a jurisdiction of concern, it's clear some criminals are looking to move on. 'China offers some but not all of the same advantages. There are fancy properties. If you are a criminal, those things are available to you. '[There's also] much less intelligence sharing. It allows you to operate much more in the shadows.' One worry they may have, she said, was the level of Chinese state surveillance. Equally, if mafia families fall foul of the regime, they can face the death penalty — even for financial crimes. In September, a Chinese court sentenced 11 members of the Ming mafia family to death for running scam centres in Myanmar. A further 28 Chinese gangsters from the same family received sentences varying from suspended death sentences to life in jail. Eleven members of the Ming crime family (pictured in court) were sentenced to death in China for their part in a billion-dollar scam centre However, she added: 'Chinese networks in the West are the pre-eminent money launderers. Those Chinese networks are key to how transnational networks operate and how they are able to profit from their crimes. 'Organised crime groups in the West and China have been really profiting. Those relationships have been very successful.' She said while the Triads - the Chinese mafia - 'might not appreciate the spotlight' the Kinahans bring, as long as they direct their crimes 'not at China but at countries in the West', they are unlikely to have many problems. Ms Westmore added: 'The Chinese will know they are there and will be monitoring them closely, but as long as they are not affecting Chinese citizens, [they are unlikely to be troubled].' The Kinahans, however, rarely take action based on liklihoods. They build their empire using cunning, corruption and dead certainties. RUSI expert Westmore added: 'Anybody moving [to China] contracted with a criminal organisation in the West has probably done so with the full knowledge of local Chinese crime groups and the Chinese state as well.' The Mail contacted the UK, Chinese, UAE and Dubai governments for comment. None of them replied. Share or comment on this article: How the deadly Kinahan Cartel could set up a new gangster's paradise in China and become even richer Add comment
