Wanted Kinahan gang member arrested in Lanzarote

The Guardia Civil has arrested a 38-year-old Irish man with the initials G.F.V. on the island of Lanzarote with an International Arrest Warrant against him, issued by the British authorities. The detainee is being investigated for the trafficking of large shipments of cocaine and for money laundering and is believed to be a member of the criminal organization led by Thomas Kavanagh, a henchman of the Kinahan Clan in the UK, working several occasions on their behalf in relation to organized crime.

The detained man was supposed to appear at a trial was held in the United Kingdom in July, but he didn’t appear in person, and only did so electronically, saying that it was impossible for him to get a PCR test on time to get there. However, because of this, the British judge decided to issue an international arrest warrant.

This arrest is the result of the ongoing collaboration between the Guardia Civil and the British NCA (National Crime Agency), which informed the Guardia Civil's Central Operative Unit of the possible whereabouts of the now detained man, as well as the imminent activation of the arrest warrant.

When the operation started, agents located GFV on the island of Lanzarote, in a house in the municipality of La Asomada, just north of Puerto Del Carmen, where he and his wife ran a recreational boat rental business and had resided since 2017.

The arrest took place yesterday on the terrace of a bar close to his house, when the Guardia Civil agents, after several hours of discreet monitoring of both him and his immediate surroundings, considered the ideal moment to act. During the arrest, along with the plainclothes team, uniformed members of the Las Palmas Guardia Civil Command took part.

The detainee has been placed at the disposal of the Central Court of Instruction No. 6 of the National Court, which has ordered his admission to prison pending his extradition to the United Kingdom.

Thomas Kavanagh:
The detainee's boss, Thomas Kavanagh, is serving a three-year sentence imposed last year for possessing a stun gun disguised as a torch. In addition, he is awaiting sentencing for the same events that are attributed to GFV in Lanzarote, namely drug trafficking and money laundering.

Kavanagh is considered the most important representative of the Kinahan organized crime group in the UK. He coordinated his activities from a secure mansion with bulletproof glass near Birmingham. In addition, he is the brother-in-law of David Byrne, who was shot to death in the 2016 shooting at the Regency Hotel in Dublin.

Gerry "The Monk" Hutch:
This important arrest is in addition to the one carried out by the UCO Justice Escape Team in August of Gerry Hutch, known as "The Monk", leader of the Hutch clan, and recognized rival of the Kinahans in the fight for control of organized crime in the Irish republic, known in Ireland as 'Kinahan - Hutch feud'.