Convicted drugs trafficker Nathan McDonnell remains under threat from Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and, for his own safety, is set to remain on the same landing of Portlaoise Prison where he was seriously assaulted.
The threat from the cartel, which owned the record haul of crystal meth the Kerryman was helping smuggle, is much greater than any he faces in prison, sources say.
McDonnell (44) was sentenced to 12 years by the non-jury Special Criminal Court last week. The father of three was once regarded as a leading figure in business in the Tralee area.
He was to be paid €150,000 by an Irish crime gang based in Kerry for storing a large machine containing the drugs. The consignment, which was own by the cartel, had a street value of €32.4 million.
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The drugs were stored at McDonnell’s Ballyseedy Garden Centre, Co Kerry, with the former businessman also helping to arrange for the consignment’s transportation to Australia. His own business, which employed 140 people, had run into serious financial problems.
Each time McDonnell has appeared in court since his arrest in October 2023 a significant armed escort operation has been put in place. The Sinaloa cartel, one of the most powerful and ruthless in the world, is regarded as an ongoing threat to his life, even in prison, for fear he may provide information to the Garda.
McDonnell required surgery last month after being assaulted by another prisoner in Portlaoise. His jaw was broken and he had two plates inserted into his face to stabilise broken bones. However, for his own safety he has not been transferred off the jail’s A3 landing, which houses some gangland prisoners.
Instead, the prisoner who assaulted McDonnell has been moved. That man is in his 20s and is linked to the Kinahan cartel. He has been jailed for a role in serious Kinahan-Hutch feud offences. He was transferred to Portlaoise, the State’s only maximum security prison, after a prison officer in the jail where he was formerly housed came under serious threat.
It appears the prisoner was one of about six men, including McDonnell, being held on the A3 landing, away from other prisoners, for a variety of security reasons. However, the Dublin prisoner punched McDonnell in the face as part of a dispute that is unconnected to the Kerry drugs haul.
The Irish Times understands McDonnell has not requested 23-hour lock-up, which he could seek for his own safety. Prison management regards the issue as having been dealt with.
In reply to queries, the Irish Prison Service declined to comment on the assault on McDonnell or about any safety measures. “The Irish Prison Service does not comment on individual prisoner cases or on security or operational matters,” it said.
McDonnell, of Ballyroe, Tralee, Co Kerry, admitted importing methylamphetamine, on October 16th, 2023, at Cork Port, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.
He also pleaded guilty to being involved in, or contributing to, with knowledge of a criminal organisation, the importation and supply of a controlled drug between October 2023 and February last year.
