Irish thug hit with $233k bill after using addicts to get drugs into New Zealand

A PLAYBOY Irish gangster who used addicts to courier drugs supplied by the Kinahan cartel into New Zealand is facing a $233k tax bill.

We can today reveal how officers from the Southern Asset Recovery Unit under ‘Operation Covenant’ are still pursuing Fran Fennell, 34, despite him currently serving an eight-year sentence in Mountjoy Prison for drug trafficking.

And we also reveal the texts sent by the socialite during his transnational trafficking network, where he urged drug mules to tell customs they were in New Zealand to see the Lord of the Rings theme park.

Fennell — who received his cocaine from associates of senior cartel figure Ross Browning — has been targeted after making a fortune from sending couriers to New Zealand and Australia.

The couriers — who included a 65-year-old pensioner and vulnerable drug addicts — operated by inserting up to six pellets of pure cocaine inside their bodies.

In a file obtained by The Irish Sun on Sunday, investigators described Fennell as a “key suspect” in the importation of drugs to Australia and New Zealand.

They said: “We believe Fennell has derived an unlawful benefit in excess of NZ$233,000 from the criminal activity of importing and selling drugs and the associated laundering of funds from the sale of those drugs.

“Fennell imported controlled drugs into Australia and New Zealand, and funds from those sales were transferred to him via banks, a money transfer company and couriers.

“The respondent (Fennell), by using a debit card attached to his account in New Zealand, has supported his lifestyle and world travel.

High Court Order

“The High Court has made an order to recover the $233,525.”

Our exclusive CCTV images show associate Alan Fagan, 35, making cash deposits into an account previously opened by Fennell when he flew to New Zealand in 2014.

Investigators also established how Fennell had offered a businessman in New Zealand a monthly cash payment of NZ$1,000 and cocaine to place him on his company’s books as a “consultant”.

On one trip to New Zealand, detectives established that the courier “panicked and flushed the drugs down the toilet” after telling officers they were feeling unwell.

When stopped by customs, the courier also told officers they wanted to see Bondi Beach and visit the set of the TV show Neighbours — despite both being located in Australia.

WhatsApp messages recovered revealed how they were instructed to say they were in New Zealand to see where Lord of the Rings was filmed and for horse racing.

Couriers were also ordered to strap cash to their bodies on return trips to Ireland.

Fellow associates Aaron King, 30, and socialite Christopher Mellon, 32, who were also convicted for their roles in the network, often travelled with the couriers to ensure they arrived safely.

‘Covered in Blood’

On another occasion, Fagan informed Fennell in a text how “there was a little leak bud — all covered in blood”.

But without any regard for the wellbeing of the courier, Fennell ordered him to get the drugs mixed and “into a blender” before adding: “If it’s wet, leave it out in the sun.”

Messages also showed the lack of trust between the gang members, with Fagan sending a video to ­Fennell to prove he had been attacked by a biker gang he was due to sell drugs to.

The gang’s lack of trust over the transfer of money was also evident when Fennell texted Fagan and said: “Pal, can’t let me down like, I will fall out with people. I need that Western to me — I’m proper depending on that.” Referring to cash, Fennell also said: “Put ten into that account ASAP.”

In other correspondence, the code names they used for cocaine were ‘Special K’, ‘Kellogs’ and ‘Steak’.

Although Fennell had been a target for officers in his native Ballymun, he later became a key target for the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau after he was stopped at a routine check in Darwin Airport in April 2015.

On that occasion, officers examined his phone and found a thread of messages exposing his gang’s transnational drug trafficking scheme along with info on transactions involving transfers to Ireland.

This led to detectives in New Zealand seizing NZ$72,000 in his account and establishing over NZ$233,000 had gone through it in 15 transactions.

Fifty Transfers

Fifty transfers were also sent from a money transfer firm. Fennell had the cash in his account, despite having an employment history of just three weeks.

Interpol became involved before an investigation started in Ireland by Det Sgt Ronan McMorrow and Det Garda John Rourke at the GNDOCB.

Fennell’s penthouse in north Dublin was targeted in October 2015, with officers recovering another phone containing messages that provided instructions on couriers, videos of drugs, details of bank transactions and images of cocaine.

Gardai also received evidence of Fennell’s lavish lifestyle, with trips to Dubai, Colombia, Ethiopia, South Africa, Las Vegas, Spain, Italy and Hungary. As the huge amount of evidence was analysed by the international probe, Fennell was finally charged on October 19, 2020.

He later received a ten-year sentence, with the final two suspended, after he pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit a serious offence between 2012 and 2016.

Following the dismantling of Fennell’s gang, Det Chief Supt Seamus Boland of the GNDOCB paid tribute to Irish cops and “our colleagues in Australia and New Zealand police”.

And detective Duncan Bull, from New Zealand police, added: “It was great to get his money, but also to see him receive a custodial prison sentence for his criminal enterprise.”