Irish police have signed a historic agreement with their Colombian counterparts to crack down on drug gangs such as the Kinahan cartel and its successors. The Memorandum of Understanding marks a "significant milestone" in cooperation between An Garda Síochána and the Colombian National Police in the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking.
Colombia has long been a stronghold for Daniel Kinahan's mob, with the cartel profiting from millions of euros worth of cocaine shipped from there around the globe. A senior garda was dispatched to Bogota in 2020 to work in a specially sanctioned liaison post to build connections with authorities there.
Cooperation leads to major seizure
Both forces have since shared intelligence and worked together to establish links between Irish and Colombian criminals as part of a major international crackdown on cartels. That work helped lead to the seizure of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine from a ship in Irish waters in 2023.
The Irish Army Ranger Wing carried out the operation off the south coast of Ireland, seizing €157 million of drugs that had originated from a Colombian cartel to benefit the likes of the Kinahans and other gangs.
Kinahan extradited from UAE
Since then, alleged mob boss Daniel Kinahan was arrested and successfully extradited from the United Arab Emirates. The Kinahan cartel's influence on Ireland has significantly waned.
However, sources say Irish gangs such as 'The Family' continue to try to benefit from working with foreign criminals to ship drugs in from around the world, the Irish Mirror reports.
New agreement formalises cooperation
In a statement issued on Monday, gardai said the new agreement "formalises existing cooperation and provides a framework for enhanced information sharing, operational collaboration, training opportunities and the exchange of best practice in tackling serious and organised crime."
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said: "An Garda Síochána is determined to play our part internationally in combatting the deadly and harmful impacts that transnational organised crime groups inflict on communities."
General William Oswaldo Rincón, director general of the National Police of Colombia, said: "The agreement officially establishes the framework for cooperation between both institutions, enabling them to join forces in the investigation and exchange of criminal intelligence regarding transnational crime and serious offences affecting both nations."
The agreement will also lead to joint training programs, the development of citizen security projects assisted by digital technology and the implementation of global best practices in the fight against corruption.
