Two of the world’s most wanted crime bosses have been filmed living openly in Dubai – sitting ringside at a mixed martial arts event despite multi-million dollar bounties on their heads.
New images obtained in an investigation by The Sunday Times in partnership with Bellingcat show Christy Kinahan and his son Daniel Kinahan attending a major MMA fight night at the Coca-Cola Arena in front of around 6,000 spectators.
Christy Kinahan, wearing a Panama hat, blue polo shirt and white trousers, reportedly spent hours sitting in the VIP section near the ring, casually watching the fights and ordering drinks.
His son Daniel sat nearby wearing glasses and a baseball cap. The event took place last June.
According to the investigation, the only sign of caution was Christy occasionally turning his face away when he noticed photographers.
The Kinahans fled the Costa del Sol to Dubai in 2016 and vanished from public view in 2022 shortly after the United States offered $5 million rewards for information leading to their capture.
Despite those bounties, the new images show them appearing relaxed and moving freely in public.
Christy Kinahan is believed to run one of Europe’s most powerful criminal organisations, linked to cocaine trafficking, arms smuggling and global money-laundering networks.
Investigators say the cartel works with major criminal groups including Latin American drug cartels and other international networks.
Authorities believe the family has built a fortune estimated at around $1.5 billion.
The images were uncovered using open-source investigative techniques, including AI facial recognition searches that scanned billions of public images online.
This led reporters to footage from the 971 Fighting Championship, a six-hour MMA event livestreamed online.
Journalists then analysed video frames and social media footage to identify the pair among thousands of spectators.
Experts and people familiar with the cartel later confirmed the identities of both men.
The footage also shows Daniel greeting his father during the event – a rare public moment between the two.
The event’s organiser, former UFC fighter Mounir Lazzez, has previously spoken publicly about his friendship with Daniel Kinahan.
The Kinahans moved from Spain’s Costa del Sol to Dubai after a violent feud with the rival Hutch gang erupted in Ireland following an attempted assassination on Daniel Kinahan in 2016. That conflict left 18 people dead.
In Dubai, Christy Kinahan reportedly reinvented himself as a businessman operating through companies in free-trade zones.
Daniel meanwhile became heavily involved in boxing promotion through MTK Global, working with major fighters including Tyson Fury.
MTK later shut down after US sanctions targeted the Kinahan cartel.
Despite claims by UAE authorities that they have frozen millions in cartel assets, the investigation suggests the family continues to live comfortably in the country.
Law enforcement agencies around the world still consider the Kinahans among the most powerful figures in international organised crime.
