Christopher Kinahan - Archive PhotoThe alleged drug trafficker known as the ‘Irish Godfather’, Christopher Kinahan, has been granted bail by the judge, María del Carmen Gutiérrez Henares, in Court Number 3 in Estepona. She also authorised the release from prison for his two sons, Christy Junior and Daniel, with bail set at 60,000 € for each one of the three.
Reports indicate that they all left the Albolote prison in Granada on Friday
They have been held on remand since May when the police arrested them as part of an operation, codenamed Shovel, which extended across five countries.
Kinahan has been ordered to present himself to the court every Monday as part of the bail conditions, and has had his passport withdrawn. He is accused of heading a grand network of organised crime, which distributed drugs across Europe and offered money laundering services to other drug dealers.
Intelligence services from five countries took part in the Shovel operation, which saw some 30 arrests in Spain, Ireland and the UK. Most of the arrests were in Marbella, Estepona and Fuengirola. 60 properties worth 150 million € were impounded and the ownership of some 50 others in Brazil is being investigated.
Kinahan is also linked to the February 2008 shooting of a 28 year old in an Estepona urbanisation.
Police consider him to be highly intelligent and say that is why he has managed to appear distant from the criminal activities, although he has been sentenced in Ireland for both drug trafficking and financial crimes. Irish police say he spent his time in jail perfecting his Dutch and Spanish languages.
