The criminal landscape in Ireland has shifted dramatically since the Kinahan cartel’s grip began to loosen, and the Garda is now facing a more complex and globally connected threat than ever before.
Irish drug gangs have evolved fast. Where older organisations relied on tight local networks and familiar faces, the new wave of crime groups are operating more like businesses, sending members abroad to build international connections and broker deals with foreign suppliers. These individuals are effectively acting as criminal liaison officers, embedding themselves in drug trafficking networks across Europe, South America and beyond.
It is a level of sophistication that has forced the Garda to rethink how it approaches organised crime entirely.
The collapse of the Kinahan cartel’s dominance did not lead to a quieter street-level drug trade. Instead, it created a power vacuum that multiple smaller, more agile groups have rushed to fill. Rather than one dominant organisation calling the shots, investigators are now dealing with a fragmented but highly active network of gangs competing for territory, supply lines and influence.
Senior Garda figures have acknowledged that tracking these groups is significantly harder than monitoring a single large cartel. Smaller outfits are harder to infiltrate, quicker to adapt and often more willing to use violence to resolve disputes.
The international dimension is what concerns law enforcement most. Irish criminals are no longer simply buying drugs through middlemen. They are travelling directly to source countries, meeting cartel representatives face to face and cutting out the layers that used to exist between Irish gangs and the major international suppliers. This direct access means bigger shipments, better prices and a more reliable supply chain for criminal operations back home.
Garda units working on organised crime have been building out their own international relationships to counter this. Cooperation with Europol, the Spanish National Police and law enforcement agencies in South America has become a core part of major drug investigations. Several significant cocaine seizures in Irish ports in recent years have come directly from intelligence sharing between these agencies.
But it is not just about intercepting drugs at the border. The Garda has been focusing heavily on following the money. Proceeds of Crime legislation has been used more aggressively, with the Criminal Assets Bureau targeting the financial infrastructure that keeps these gangs running. Luxury cars, property and cash linked to criminal activity have been seized in operations targeting figures connected to the new generation of drug networks.
Technology has also changed the game on both sides. Encrypted messaging apps and sophisticated counter-surveillance techniques have made it harder for investigators to monitor communications. The takedown of the EncroChat encrypted phone network in 2020 was a major breakthrough across Europe, and Irish investigators benefited significantly from the intelligence it produced. But criminal groups adapted quickly, moving to other platforms and changing how they communicate.
Recruitment is another area where these gangs have modernised. Young people, some still in their teens, are being drawn into drug distribution networks through social media, with the lifestyle sold as glamorous and lucrative. The Garda and community organisations have flagged this as a serious concern, particularly in urban areas where economic disadvantage makes young people more vulnerable to being targeted.
The post-Kinahan era has also seen an increase in gang-related violence in certain parts of the country as groups fight to establish dominance. Feuds that might once have been mediated or suppressed by a larger controlling organisation are now playing out on the streets, with shootings and assaults linked to disputes over drug territory.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has spoken publicly about the need for sustained investment in specialist units to keep pace with how organised crime is evolving. The Organised Crime Unit and the Special Crime Task Force have both seen increased activity, and there are ongoing calls for more resources to be directed toward financial investigation and cyber capabilities.
The challenge is real and it is not going away. Irish criminal gangs are more internationally connected, better funded and more adaptable than they were even five years ago. The Garda is working hard to stay ahead, but the post-Kinahan vacuum has produced a threat that is in many ways more difficult to tackle than what came before.