A violent Irish organised crime group has been named as a top target by the National Crime Agency.

A gang linked to more than a dozen gangland murders has been hit with international sanctions and a £3.8m bounty.

The National Crime Agency has taken the rare step of naming people linked to the Kinahan cartel and supporting financial sanctions.

It follows a two year international investigation with partners including the US Drug Enforcement Administration and Dept of Treasury, An Garda Siochana the Police Service Northern Ireland, the Spanish National Police.

The US Treasury has put up $5m (£3.8m) for information on the Kinahan’s activities.

the extraordinary announcement was made at a joint press conference in Dublin attended by Greg Gatjanis of US Dept of Treasury and the US Ambassador to Ireland.

The NCA claimed the gang was responsible for importing multi-tonne quantities of drugs and firearms around the world for more than 20 years and was linked to more than a dozen murders.

Christopher Vincent Kinahan Snr, and his two sons, Daniel Joseph Kinahan and Christopher Vincent Kinahan Jnr, along with a number of their associates and businesses, will be subject to the sanctions.

Other individuals who will be added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list are Irish nationals Sean Gerard McGovern, Bernard Patrick Clancy, Ian Thomas Dixon and John Francis Morrissey.

All deny any wrongdoing.

Three business entities - Nero Drinks Company Limited (owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, John Morrissey), Hoopoe Sports LLC (owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Ian Dixon) and Ducashew General Trading LLC (owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, Daniel Kinahan) will also be added to the designation list and are subject to the same sanctions.

It’s the latest stage in the complex story of the crime gangs who rose to prominence in Dublin during the late 1990s and came to wider public attention following the death of investigative journalist Veronica Guerin.

She had exposed some of those figures who had been involved armed robberies, art thefts and extortion going back to the 1970s. But the growth of the drugs trade intensified violence and even drew in Republican paramilitaries.

Incidents, including a shooting in 2016 at a boxing weigh-in by assassins disguised as Garda officers with AK47 machine guns, have escalated as part of disputes over dominance in the Irish, cross-border and international drug trade.

The Garda revealed yesterday it has prevented 46 threats to life from being carried out.

The NCA revealed its officers have prevented eight threats to life - murders and punishment beatings - on the streets of the UK and elsewhere by sharing intelligence with law enforcement partners.

Merseyside has been part of the NCA input as the city’s port and its own organised crime gangs are heavily involved.

The NCA and its partners have also seized dozens of firearms including machine guns and automatic rifles.

It is a significant step forward for the Garda which for years has struggled to make impact against Dublin’s gangs because it has struggled with working across international boundaries.

But it will need its new partners and more if those named are to be brought to trial.

After the weigh-in shooting, Daniel Kinahan fled to United Arab Emirates as an associate, David Byrne, was killed – and it was claimed he was the intended target.

NCA Deputy Director of Investigations, Matt Horne, said: “We target criminals who cause the most harm, are the most violent, those who exploit the vulnerable, and dominate communities. The Kinahan crime group fall into all of those categories.

“They have transcended international boundaries – distributing multi-million pound shipments of drugs throughout Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe, and have been engaging in firearms trafficking and money laundering.”

Mr Horne said sports stars and promoters should now rethink their associations.

“They thought they were untouchable but the sanctions imposed today will be a huge blow to the Kinahans,” he said. “It has cut them off from the global financial system, making them toxic to legitimate businesses and financial institutions, and will cause other criminals to think twice about doing business with them.”

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said a huge amount of work had gone into the investigation.

"Today is a landmark day in the fight against organised crime and in particular the Kinahan organised crime gang,” he said.

"It will withstand scrutiny and what we're saying today is based very solidly on the evidence and information that very many law enforcement agencies here today have gleaned and have provided in effect to an independent office for what is a presidential direction."