Saturday, 14 May 2022 | 11.6°C Dublin

Byrne is scrambling for cash

Drug dealer Liam Byrne is trying to shore up funds from his new bolthole in Dubai by making threatening phone calls while on the run from the UK's National Crime Agency.

B yrne is believed to have sent a gang of enforcers to a number of car dealerships in Dublin in recent weeks demanding money, and has followed up the menacing visits with phone calls from the United Arab Emirates where he is hiding out.

The mob boss has been spotted in McGettigan's Bar at the Jumeirah Lakes Towers in the past week with his wife Simoan McEnroe and is understood to be under surveillance in the city along with other members of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.

Desperate for funds and determined to move his drug money out of the UK and Ireland, he has got sloppy, according to sources, and is using his phone in an attempt to terrorise anyone he believes owes him money.

Liam Byrne carrying the coffin of his brother, David, who was killed in the Regency Hotel

Police in the UK have been told that Byrne recently linked up with a property developer and acted as his enforcer to demand money with menaces from other business people. On a number of occasions he advised individuals under threat: "Google me - I'm Liam Byrne from Dublin."

Byrne is understood to be wanted by UK police in connection with ongoing money- laundering investigations and has fled England, where he has been based since 2016 following the murder of his brother David at the Regency Hotel.

He had been living in Birmingham near the Tamworth mansion of his brother-in-law Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh and his sister Joanne, but moved last year to Liverpool where his son Lee lives in an exclusive property in the suburb of Formby.

Lee, who previously dated well-known influencer Daisey O'Donnell, has been pictured in various social media posts flashing his wealth and showing off expensive watches, designer gear and jetting off on luxury holidays.

Although he has no involvement in crime, Lee's spend and home - located near the millionaires Victoria Road, home to Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp - has come to the attention of the NCA, who continue to investigate his father Liam's gangland links.

It is understood that the Byrne family attendance at Ascot and several other horse racing events have also been under investigation, while regular trips to Majorca have also come under scrutiny.

A proceeds-of-crime case is already underway into the wealth of jailed 'Godfather' Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh and his wife Joanne and they have been told to list their global assets before Ipswich Crown Court by May. Apart from their luxury home in Tamworth, the couple own a huge villa in Majorca which overlooks a prestigious harbour.

Byrne leaves the Regency Hotel after the shooting of his brother David

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The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) have already stripped Liam and Simoan of their home in Dublin, cars, cash, designer jewellery and clothes. But in recent years they have come to the attention of UK authorities for a similar luxurious lifestyle.

In Dubai, they have been staying in hotels and trying to remain on the move - but sanctions levelled against the Kinahan Cartel by the US Treasury have left them reeling.

Byrne's one-time best friend and business partner Sean McGovern is wanted for murder and an arrest warrant has been issued for him. It is hoped he will be picked up within weeks in Dubai, where he has been living with his partner Anita Freeman and their children since the murder of Noel 'Duck Egg' Kirwan.

So far, the Byrnes have been the biggest losers since the implosion of the Kinahan gang, but the sanctions have seen a chaotic collapse of the business interests of the top tier of the mob in the past 12 days.

Companies identified as being linked to dad Christy Snr, Christopher Jnr and Daniel Kinahan, as well as their cohorts, Bernard Clancy, hitman Johnny Morrissey and former boxing coach Ian Dixon, have all been deemed toxic by the powerful US Treasury.

MTK, the boxing company founded by Daniel Kinahan, folded this week while other companies linked to him are also coming under pressure as the tsunami effect of the sanctions hit the top command.

Byrne, a thug with a string of convictions for violent assault and drug dealing, has been trying to collect funds since last year as brother-in-law Kavanagh faced sentence for money laundering and drug importation charges.

Paranoid following Kavanagh's jailing, Byrne left the UK in recent weeks and has been using his mobile phone and his name to collect his 'debts' from the Gulf.

Liam Byrne with his wife Simoan McEnroe

"His head is gone for a long time," a source said. "He's lost his nerve and he is afraid of police and rivals. Like the rest of them, he is on the run now and feeling cornered. He is desperate for money but nobody is going to pay him anything now - he is over."

Byrne, like other members of the Kinahan mafia, posed as a legitimate businessman who made his money buying and selling second-hand cars - but sources say he has suffered with anxiety over the past few years since 'Bomber' became the target of the NCA.

With his brother-in-law, their boss Daniel Kinahan and his cousin, murderer 'Fat' Freddie Thompson, he had led mourners at the lavish mafia-style funeral of his brother David - but just a month later the CAB raided his home in Dublin.

Officers, with back-up from specialist units, had to use an angle grinder to get into the property during a raid, where they discovered a panic room, a Jacuzzi and drinks cabinets stocked with fine champagnes.

His used-car company, LS Active Car Sales, was also raided and €1million in luxury cars seized. The company, which he ran with co-director  McGovern, was later dissolved.

A month later, he returned to Ireland for a family party and was arrested by officers who quizzed him about his lavish lifestyle but subsequently left for good.

Liam and David Byrne were the scourge of south Dublin for decades and were both involved in the bloody Crumlin-Drimnagh feud. They later rose up the ranks of the Kinahan Cartel and spent years living between Dublin and Spain.

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