Senior member of Kinahan crime group sentenced to 24 years in prison
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InterpolA senior member of the Kinahan organised crime group has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Sean McGovern appeared before the non-jury Special Criminal Court on Monday morning, which is a non jury court in Dublin made up of three judges.
McGovern was suspected of being a senior figure in the Kinahan organised crime group, which has been sanctioned by the US.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of directing the activities of a criminal organisation.
One charge – dated between 20 October 2016 and 20 December 2016 – is in connection with the murder of Noel Kirwan.
The other charge is in relation to the surveillance of rival Hutch gang member James Gately in preparation for a serious offence between the dates of 17 October 2015 and 6 April 2017.
McGovern was given 10 years in prison for the offence relating to Gately and 14 years in prison for the offence relating to Kirwan.
The sentences will be served consecutively and backdated to include the timeline from when McGovern was taken into custody in Dubai.
The judges were Patrick McGrath, Sarah Berkeley and Fiona Lydon.
No one is ‘untouchable’
Detective Superintendent Dave Gallagher of An Garda Síochána’s (Irish police) National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, said the sentence shows how no one is “untouchable”.
“The sentencing of Sean McGovern is significant in holding to account a key person who was engaged in directing the activities of a violent criminal organisation engaged in a campaign of ruthless murder and violence which impacted so negatively on our communities and Ireland’s national reputation,” he said.
Gallagher said work is continuing to “disrupt and dismantle” national priority criminal organisations.
He added: “Let the conviction and sentence be a lesson to those who glorify organised crime and promote it as a way of life”.
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