THE former Garda who led the probe into the kidnapping of businessman Kevin Lunney has described the case as being “truly horrific”.
Retired Chief Supt John O’Reilly also welcomed the 30-year sentence handed down to sadistic criminal Alan Harte, 43, from Dublin’s north inner city, for his role in the abduction.
Mr O’Reilly — who had 37 years’ policing experience before retiring in September 2020 — made the claims after Harte last month lost his appeal to review the State’s decision to have his trial at the Special Criminal Court.
Harte — whose pals Alan O’Brien, also 43, received a 25-year sentence and Darren Redmond, 30, an 18-year jail term for their role in the kidnapping — is currently serving his stretch at Portlaoise Prison, with an inmate number of 3083.
All three kidnappers are set to appear in court in March after they appealed their convictions.
A fourth man, Luke O’Reilly, 68, was acquitted by the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.
The trio were recruited by notorious border criminal Cyril ‘Dublin Jimmy’ McGuinness, who dropped dead when UK cops stormed his hideaway in November 2019, to kidnap and terrorise the businessman.
The suspected paymaster who recruited McGuinness still remains at large and the Garda investigation is ongoing.
Mr Lunney — who is now back working — was targeted after a campaign of intimidation against employees of Quinn Industrial Holdings by McGuinness’ mob.
Speaking publicly for the first time about the businessman’s brutal abduction in Co Cavan on September 17, 2019, the former senior police officer expressed his revulsion at the level of violence used in the abduction.
During the terrifying ordeal, Mr Lunney had the letters QIH carved into his chest with a Stanley blade, suffered a broken leg, had bleach poured over him and warned that his family would be killed if he didn’t resign.
Mr O’Reilly said: “Harte was the one who inflicted those terrible injuries on Kevin Lunney and it was barbaric and savage.
“The level of violence used was similar to the violence we saw during the Troubles with the abductions of John O’Grady and Don Tidey.
“It was similar to what you might see the drug cartels of South America use. I had never come across anything like this — it was horrific.
“It was unbelievable to conceive how a human being could inflict such injuries on another human, leaving them marked for life.
“The fact that Harte received a 30-year sentence is a reflection of the court’s view on the level of depravity used in this terrible crime.”
The former senior officer added: “I can’t imagine how Mr Lunney and his family have coped with their ordeal and I wish them the very best.
“We met him during the investigation and he was very patient and understanding. Hopefully, he is now in a better place and can move on with his life.”
‘PROLIFIC & VIOLENT’
The former investigator also spoke for the first time about McGuinness, adding: “McGuinness was one of the most prolific and violent criminals operating in Ireland at that time and used the border with Northern Ireland for years to evade prosecution and facilitate his many criminal enterprises.
“He had connections all over Ireland, the UK and also in Europe.
“Our belief is he recruited Harte and his accomplices for this criminal enterprise because they had built up a relationship when they were both serving prison sentences.
“We had the first Joint Investigation Team operation with the UK police and the PSNI when we were targeting McGuinness and the Lunney investigation overall — but McGuinness never faced justice because he passed away.”
TRIBUTE TO HERO COP
And Mr O’Reilly, who travelled to the United States with former Supt Brian Mohan to forge links with officers during the investigation into the murder of hero cop Adrian Donohoe, paid tribute to the investigation team who brought Harte and his cohorts to justice.
He added: “I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by great people during the course of this investigation.
“The level of work that went into it was extraordinary, particularly by young male and female officers from the Cavan and Monaghan Division who uncovered vital evidence in inner city Dublin early in the investigation.
“We also had great support from the Gardai’s national units and people like Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis. We were committed and dedicated to securing justice for Mr Lunney and his family from day one.”
‘TOUGH TRIAL’
The former Chief Supt also said: “We were under tremendous pressure to get a result in this case from our own job and also politically. We didn’t know about Alan Harte’s involvement because he was a criminal from the north inner city in Dublin.
“It’s only when we obtained details about their phones, the top-up cards they were buying and the CCTV that we linked Harte and his pals to this shocking crime.
“We had amassed a lot of evidence and in the end it was great to see justice prevailing because it was a tough trial.”
Before he was exposed as one of Mr Lunney’s kidnappers, Harte was classified as being a member of McGuinness’ organised crime gang.
Although from Dublin, cops in Belgium investigating McGuinness identified Harte as one of his close associates.
MULTI-MILLION EURO SCAM
The Belgian police targeted McGuinness under Operation Segund after he masterminded a €3.4m plant machinery scam.
A file read: “Cyril McGuinness was the director and leader of a criminal organisation consisting of ten individuals operating in Ireland.
“Cyril McGuinness was the one who pulled the strings and who was the brains behind the criminal organisation.”
The gangster died of a heart attack in the UK at the age of 54 during a police raid of his safe house in the Midlands, England.
The ‘paymaster’ who recruited ‘Dublin Jimmy’ — also known as ‘Saddam Hussein’ because of his love of violence — to mastermind the abduction of the businessman is still being hunted by Gardai.
