The Kinahan cartel, once one of Europe’s most feared and violent criminal networks, is back in the spotlight.
Following a fresh wave of gangland killings, including the execution of two Scottish gang figures in the streets of Fuengirola, the group appears to be shifting the head of its operations east, towards China.
According to The Scottish Sun, several key figures in the Kinahan circle, including ally and Glasgow-born Ross ‘Miami’ McGill, have relocated to the Chinese mainland after being forced out of their former stronghold in Dubai.
Kathryn Westmore, a financial crime specialist with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told the paper that China is increasingly becoming a safe haven for high-level criminal actors.
The country’s lack of extradition agreements with the West, alongside protection from local networks and limited law enforcement cooperation, makes it a strategically appealing base for fugitives seeking both anonymity and influence.
Ross ‘Miami’ McGill: From Dubai to Shenzhen
Ross McGill, a 31-year-old with links to Scottish football hooliganism and a known figure in Glasgow’s underworld, has been closely watched by intelligence services for years.
Once a bitter enemy of the rival Lyons gang, he later emerged as a key ally of the Kinahan network, which is allied with the Lyons.
After being released from a Dubai prison in September, McGill is reported to have travelled through Saudi Arabia and Thailand before arriving in southern China – likely between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
With no extradition treaty in place between the UK and China, McGill is believed to feel relatively secure from further arrest – for now.
His escape route reads like a screenplay, but its implications are very real.
The recent killings in Fuengirola were allegedly carried out by Michael Riley. Spanish police said he was a member of the Daniels clan, the fierce Glasgow rivals of the Lyons (Police Scotland refuted this).
Riley has already been extradited to Spain and is awaiting trial.
The murders came amid an ongoing war between the Lyons and Daniels, which allegedly began after a €500,000 cocaine shipment of McGill’s was ‘paid for’ with fake notes in March.
In the weeks that followed, shootings, arson, and threats erupted in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Police responded with Operation Portaledge, resulting in 57 arrests to date.
A source told the Scottish Sun: ‘Since the killings in Fuengirola the D-Mob have regained control of much of the north of Glasgow from the Lyons crew.
‘And most know if you control that part then you basically control the city.
‘The Lyons have not recovered from the Spain murders. Understandably it rocked them to the core.’
From Marbella to the World
The Kinahan name has been tied to Spain’s Costa del Sol for over two decades. Christy Kinahan, aka ‘The Dapper Don’ – established the group’s European headquarters in Marbella in the early 2000s.
His sons, Daniel and Christopher Jr., ran a high-end empire out of luxury villas across Marbella, Mijas, and Estepona, blending drug trafficking with front businesses in property, sports management, and offshore finance.
The 2015 murder of Gary Hutch, nephew of their longtime Dublin rival Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, marked a turning point.
Hutch was shot dead by a pool in a gated community in Mijas, in a move that ignited a deadly feud stretching across Europe.
From that moment on, the Kinahan operation evolved from local muscle to international cartel, leaving a trail of violence, cash, and cocaine in its wake.
Dubai’s closing Door
For years, Dubai served as the Kinahan family’s golden fortress. Using shell companies and high-level political connections, the gang moved freely and operated with near-total impunity.
Daniel Kinahan, the group’s heir apparent, even brushed shoulders with elite figures in boxing – most famously Tyson Fury, who publicly thanked him for brokering a blockbuster bout in 2021. That public nod triggered global scrutiny.
In 2022, the US government imposed sanctions on the cartel’s top brass and offered $5 million for information leading to their arrest. Shortly after, the UAE froze their assets. Under mounting pressure, the group began looking for new territory – and found it in Asia.
China, according to Westmore, offers more than just legal shelter. Chinese money laundering syndicates provide complex, well-oiled financial systems that are increasingly attractive to Western criminal organisations.
The Kinahan cartel, long skilled in routing funds through tax havens like Panama, Liechtenstein, and the Gulf, sees China as a new frontier for rebuilding its financial web – out of reach of Western law enforcement.
Allies fall, landscape shifts
The wider network around the Kinahan cartel is also fracturing, according to reports.
In Dubai, several Scottish associates have been detained, including Steven Lyons (44), Steven Larwood (42), and Stephen ‘Jimmy’ Jamieson (42). Lyons is thought to have fled to Spain or Turkey, Larwood’s whereabouts remain unknown, and Jamieson remains in custody in the Emirates.
Despite the setbacks, there are signs the Kinahan influence is reasserting itself. Since the Fuengirola murders, sources claim Daniel Kinahan’s faction – known in underworld circles as the D-Mob – has regained control of north Glasgow, a key battleground in Scotland’s gang hierarchy.
