Former Rochdale bouncer who ‘laundered money for major cartel’ freed after posting bail of more than £50,000

A former Rochdale goalkeeper identified as a key member of the Kinahan crime cartel by US authorities has been released from a Spanish prison after paying tens of thousands of pounds to secure bail.

Alleged gangster Johnny Morrissey was forced to swap millionaire villas and meet and greet celebrities for a small prison cell after he was arrested in a dawn raid alongside his Scottish-born wife in September 2022.

The Spanish Civil Guard, which led the operation against him through its elite UCO unit with support from other police forces including the Guard and the National Crime Agency, said at the time it believed he had helped criminal gangs launder up to 350,000 of Euros (£297,000). ) one day over the 18 months that the investigation took.

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Wife Nicola, 49, was released on bail days later following a court appearance, but her husband remained behind bars until last week. Officials have now confirmed that Morrissey, 63, is back on the streets after posting €60,000 (£51,000) bail and surrendering his passport after accepting a travel ban International.

He continues to be investigated by a court in Marbella on suspicion of money laundering and gang membership, like his wife and a second man who remains behind bars because he has so far been unable to pay his bail.

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A spokesman for the investigating magistrate confirmed today: “Morrissey was given the opportunity about a week ago to leave prison on bail of €60,000 (£51,000) and was provisionally released after surrendering the money. There are several conditions attached to his release.

“They include the prohibition to leave the country and the surrender of the passport, the obligation to register in court twice a month and the designation of an address to be able to receive court notices. Another man who has yet to post bail remains in custody.”

A well-placed source added: “The criminal investigation which Morrissey is at the center of continues. The investigating judge will decide once it is nearing completion whether to recommend charges. Morrissey’s wife remains under investigation, as does her husband.”

Morrissey became the first of seven alleged leaders of the Kinahan organized crime group named and sanctioned by US authorities to be arrested nearly two years ago.

US authorities listed Morrissey as a member of the Kinahan crime syndicate

The US Treasury identified him in a list of key members of the Kinahan cartel that it released six months before his September 12, 2022 detention at an apartment near Marbella.

US authorities said at the time: “John Morrissey has worked for the Kinahan organized crime group for several years, including as an enforcement agent, and facilitates international drug shipments for the organization from South America. John Morrissey is also involved in money laundering.”

He was listed alongside alleged Dublin-born cartel leader Daniel Kinahan, from Dubai, whose close relationship with boxer Tyson Fury has come under the spotlight.

British-born Irish passport holder Morrissey was accused by police after his arrest of using a business called Nero Drinks to camouflage his alleged criminal activities.

The informal Hawala method of moving money said to have been used, which comes from an Arabic term for transfer or trust and involves a network of brokers, is known to have been adopted by criminal gangs using code numbers or tokens such as bills torn in half for evidence that cash is owed.

Highlighting the role played by Nero Drinks, the Gardai said in a statement after Morrissey’s arrests: “The main members of the organization in Spain allegedly created a brand of luxury vodka promoted at shows, parties and events in nightclubs and restaurants luxury from the Costa del Sol. media, presenting it as a successful beverage brand.

“This could not be further from the truth because according to information from the tax authorities, it could not be financing the lifestyle of the people arrested.

“Similarly, they are alleged to have set up another company in the UK which was dependent on another company set up in Gibraltar, with the aim of concealing the true identity of the directors of the firms which were used to launder the Hawala money.”

It is not known where Morrissey and his wife currently live. Before their arrest, they lived in a seven-bedroom, five-million-euro (£4.5m) fortress near Marbella, behind high walls lined with metal fencing and cameras.

It was one of the properties police searched after taking him and his partner prisoner at a nearby address they had moved to a few weeks earlier. The two children in the flat, his then 10-year-old son with Nicola and an older daughter from a previous relationship, were taken separately.

Morrissey on crutches

Since his release from prison last week, Morrissey has been seen on crutches. The other suspect still behind bars is a second-hand car salesman accused of providing him with modified vehicles in which money could be hidden in secret compartments.

In an interview with Marbella business and lifestyle magazine Exclusive Life, before Morrissey was ‘outed’ as a key member of the Kinahan cartel by US authorities, Nicola spoke about their plans to open a wellness center near At Cala de Mijas at another property she and Johnny lived years ago.

She gushed alongside photos of them showing off the mansion they moved into from there, but ditched it just before the summer for a rented flat in an alleged attempt to ‘lie’ after Morrissey was publicly linked to the Kinahan family.

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“A busy year for sure. Nero Drinks Company will continue to support and work with local venues, adding more to our customer list, as well as launching in Mallorca, Tenerife, the UK and finalizing plans to launch in America.”

She added in the interview, titled ‘At Home With Nicola Morrissey’: ‘We are also opening an exclusive five-star wellness retreat with sea views in La Cala.

“We have been busy overseeing the luxury building project, assembling a team of experts to deliver the latest therapies and treatments. We will have a full-time nutritionist, an in-house specialist in yoga and meditation, colonic hydrotherapy, cryotherapy and more.”