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Graffiti in Dublin naming Daniel Kinahan warned boxing broadcaster was ‘not safe’.
According to the Irish Times Gardaí — Ireland’s national police force — are investigating graffiti that appeared on the walls surrounding the Dublin offices of SKY; a British telecom company that owns Sky Sports.
The graffiti read, ‘SKY STAFF NOT SAFE MTK’ and ‘DANIEL CANCE KINAHAN MTK SCUM’.
Authorities suspect, according to IT, that the graffiti was motivated by Sky’s broadcasting of boxing bouts promoted by MTK Global. MTK was formerly known Macklin’s Gym Marbella (MGM); a company founded by Daniel Kinahan, who Irish courts and press have named as the leader of the Kinahan criminal organization.
The word ‘cance’ in the graffiti is thought to be shorthand for ‘cancer’, a nickname associated with Daniel Kinahan.
Kinahan’s father Christy Kinahan is alleged to have established the Kinahan criminal group in the early 2000s. Today the outfit, which is accused of smuggling arms and narcotics across several continents, is estimated to be worth over $1 billion.
In recent years MTK Global, which claims it has severed ties with Daniel Kinahan, has grown to become one of the most powerful companies in world boxing. MTK currently represents top box-office drawing heavyweight Tyson Fury, as well as Carl Frampton, Jamie Conlan and dozens more boxers. MTK also represents MMA fighters, most notably UFC welterweight Darren Till (who has claimed to be a close friend of Daniel Kinahan).
Gardaí are likely to take threats involving Daniel Kinahan and MTK very seriously. Since 2015 the Kinahan criminal organization has been involved in a deadly gang war with the Hutch Gang. The war, which has killed at least 20 people, is thought to have started after Gary Hutch, the nephew of alleged Hutch Gang leader Gerry Hutch, was executed by alleged Kinahan members in the south of Spain.
Since Gary Hutch’s death a number of Hutch family members have been assassinated in Spain and Ireland. In retaliation for these killings, police believe Hutch Gang members attacked an MTK boxing show weigh-in at the Regency Hotel in Dublin in February 2016.
The Regency Hotel shooting resulted in the death of David Byrne, an alleged top Kinahan lieutenant. Authorities in Ireland believe Daniel Kinahan was the intended target of the shooting.
Since the shooting Daniel Kinahan has relocated to Dubai.
Though MTK has tried to distance itself from Kinahan, reports keep emerging of the alleged mob boss being involved with the company. In 2017 former boxer Matthew Macklin, who co-founded MGM with Kinahan, said Kinahan “still advises lots of fighters.” Also in 2017, MTK client Tyson Fury tweeted a selfie with Kinahan.
Last week boxing promoter Bob Arum claimed that Kinahan helped organize a Michael Conlan title defense fight in Belfast last year.