Daniel Kinehan – you know him. The one they sent the Irish government jet to Dubai to arrest and bring to Ireland? Well, here’s something you don’t know: Kinehan is innocent.
He has been charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation. He hasn’t been charged with murder or drug-trafficking.
So what do you think of his chances of being found guilty? I would rate them very high. Very high indeed. Because if he’s not found guilty, the Irish government that sent their own special jet all the way to Dubai, that had several blue-lights-flashing Chelsea tractor in front of his blue-lights flashing Chelsea tractor behind him, and was that a government helicopter we saw? – if Kinehan isn’t convicted,the Dublin government is going to look very, very silly. So will he get a fair trial? I don’t think that’s possible.With all the media attention, most of us assume he must be guilty. We tend to forget that he had nothing to do with the Regency Hotel attack some years back – well no, he did have something to do with it: he was the principal target, and escaped by the skin of his teeth.
Supposing the Kinehan and Hutch gangs had been dealing in, say, cigarettes or alcohol – some legal product – the media would (rightly) be hailing them as extremely deft businessmen. Certainly Kinehan comes from an educated background.
Maybe you know that Christy Kinehan Senior was a middle-class father -he was a dairy farm manager and his wife ran a b &b. Christy wound up in jail, and according to the Indo, he used his time to study for a degree. He refused the offer of early release, so he could complete his languagestudies (Spanish, Dutch and French).
In short, the Kinehan family appear to have been- are – very intelligent,and if we are to believe the brief exchange Daniel Kinehan had with the judge a few days ago,very polite.
But the South has for years been fighting the Drug War, and if you want a forever war, that has to be it. But let’s finish with this short but important thought.
The Kinehan and the Hutch would immediately collapse if….What do you think? – if vast numbers of people didn’t engage in drug-taking.No customers, no trade, no business.
So two thoughts to hang onto amid the media and legal furore:
- Nobody is forcing anyone to take drugs. Members of the public choose to indulge in drug-taking, and where there’s a market there’s a supplier.
- Daniel Kinehan is innocent, but his hopes of receiving a fair trial are nil. The media have reported him as a criminal drug cartel boss, all the actions and words of the politicians shout aloud “He’s guilty!” Fair trial my arse.
Hmmmm I’m conflicted views on this one….the presumption of innocence is a vital protection for all those accused of a criminal offence. It is for the State to prove guilt. The idea being that the State with its panoply of resources had the means to investigate, whilst the accused was at a disadvantage. However the narrative that no one forces another to take drugs rather hides behind the notion that everyone starts on a level playing field…and clearly heroin use has blighted certain communities far more than others. Selling a highly addictive substance which robs a person of good health and human dignity whilst also impoverishing them and at the same time exposes the user to the threat of extreme violence as per organized drug dealers…..is an abomination. How many women, boys and girls are being trafficked because of the drugs industry? I’m sure DK will have no difficulty establishing the source of his wealth and lifestyle. Queensbury rules and all that. Ned Kelly deserved to be seen as a folk hero…the drugs industry is not a social service. It exists to exploit and extract from the human condition. Perhaps next week we’ll have the same theme advanced towards Prince Andrew…I sincerely hope not.
I agree that sending a government jet to arrest somebody is very weird. Shocking actually. It gives off a whiff of Trump, never good. I don’t know if Daniel Kinehan is guilty of anything, I wouldn’t fancy him moving in next door, but I think the free state government have certainly made his chances of a fair trial smaller.