Under investigation - ships sanctioned 2024
Kinahan Tankers
How a UFC fighter linked to the Kinahan cartel directed $84 million in sanctioned oil tankers
5 suspects11 events9 locations2020 - present
// intel brief
Mounir "The Sniper" Lazzez, a 38-year-old former UFC fighter and self-described friend of sanctioned cartel boss Daniel Kinahan, was listed as director of two Marshall Islands shell companies that purchased oil tankers worth $84.5 million in 2023. Both vessels - the Serene I and the Phonix - were subsequently sanctioned by the US Treasury for transporting Iranian oil on behalf of the IRGC-Qods Force and Hezbollah-affiliated entities. The companies shared a registered address with Matthew Maritime Inc, operator of the MV Matthew - seized off the Irish coast with 2.3 tonnes of cocaine worth EUR 157 million in the largest drug bust in Irish history. Photographic and video evidence from June 2025 places Lazzez cageside with both Daniel and Christy Kinahan at a Dubai fight event, while shipping data reveals both tankers made multiple round trips between the Persian Gulf and China. Lazzez fled Dubai for Italy in late 2025 and deleted his social media accounts immediately after Bellingcat made contact.
// timeline
2011Lazzez relocates from Tunisia to Dubai and begins professional MMA career
2020Lazzez signed to UFC after recommendation by a friend of Dana White's teenage son
Nov 2022Lazzez publicly thanks sanctioned Daniel Kinahan from inside UFC cage in Las Vegas: "Without him, I would never be the man who I am today"
Jul 2023Dragon Road Limited (Lazzez as director) purchases oil tanker "Alisha" for $41.75 million - renamed "Serene I"
Sep 2023Faith Enterprise Limited (Lazzez as director) purchases oil tanker "Luna Lake" for $42.75 million - renamed "Phonix." Same month: MV Matthew seized off Ireland with EUR 157M cocaine - operated from same Marshall Islands address
2023-2024Both tankers depart Singapore Strait toward Persian Gulf - make multiple round trips between Iran and China carrying suspected IRGC oil products
Jun 2025971 Fighting Championship at Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai - Daniel and Christy Kinahan photographed cageside. Lazzez seen interacting with both during 6-hour event
Sep 2024US Treasury sanctions Dragon Road Limited and Serene I for loading IRGC-QF products on behalf of Hezbollah-affiliated Concepto Screen SAL Offshore. Dragon Road annulled, Faith Enterprise dissolved
Dec 2024US Treasury sanctions Phonix and its operator Vision Ship Management LLP for transporting Iranian oil
Oct 2025Lazzez departs Dubai gym - staff confirm no contact since. Relocates to Italy with family and starts personal training business in Ascoli Piceno
Mar 2026Bellingcat and The Sunday Times publish investigation. Lazzez immediately deletes social media accounts and does not respond to inquiries
// key locations
Dubai, UAE
Lazzez base of operations (2011-2025) - 971 MMA gym and fight events - Kinahan family residence
Sfax, Tunisia
Birthplace of Mounir Lazzez
Ascoli Piceno, Italy
Lazzez relocation destination late 2025 - ML MMA & Fitness personal training
Majuro, Marshall Islands
Registration of Dragon Road Limited, Faith Enterprise Limited, and Matthew Maritime Inc
Singapore Strait
Departure point for both oil tankers toward Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
Loading zone for Iranian oil products - IRGC-QF cargo
Cork, Ireland
MV Matthew seized off coast - EUR 157M cocaine - largest Irish drug bust
Las Vegas, USA
Lazzez publicly thanked Kinahan from UFC cage (Nov 2022)
Panama City, Panama
Ship flag registry - consulate notarized tanker sale documents in Dubai
// operation map
// key figures
Mounir Lazzezstatus_unknown
Former UFC fighter - director of sanctioned shell companies that purchased $84.5M in oil tankers | Tunisian/Italian
Tunisian-born Italian citizen, age 38. Former UFC welterweight fighter (2020-2023, 4 fights). Relocated to Dubai around 2011 for professional MMA career. Listed as director of Dragon Road Limited and Faith Enterprise Limited, two Marshall Islands companies that purchased oil tankers Serene I ($41.75M) and Phonix ($42.75M) in 2023. Both vessels sanctioned by US Treasury for transporting Iranian oil for IRGC-QF and Hezbollah. Co-owner (25%) of 971 MMA & Fitness Academy in Dubai. Founded 971 Fighting Championship in 2024. Publicly thanked Daniel Kinahan from inside the UFC cage in November 2022, calling him "a good friend, brother and advisor." Photographed with both Daniel and Christy Kinahan at June 2025 fight event in Dubai. Fled to Italy late 2025 and deleted social media after Bellingcat contact. Established personal training business in Ascoli Piceno under "ML MMA & Fitness."
Daniel KinahanFugitive
Alleged cartel manager - co-founder MTK Global - US-sanctioned fugitive | Irish
Age 48. Son of Christy Kinahan and alleged manager of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, designated by the US Treasury as a "murderous organisation" with an estimated value of EUR 1.5 billion. Co-founded MTK Global sports management company, which represented Lazzez and other fighters. Sanctioned by US government in September 2022 with a multi-million dollar bounty. Fled to Dubai in 2016 with father and brother. Photographed seated cageside at Lazzez's 971 Fighting Championship event at Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai in June 2025. The cartel's primary operations involve international cocaine trafficking from Colombia to Europe, with alleged ties to Iran's intelligence services and Hezbollah.
Christy KinahanFugitive
Founder and kingpin of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group | Irish
Age 68. Founder and head of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group, an international cocaine trafficking operation valued at EUR 1.5 billion. Father of Daniel and Christopher Jr. Fled Ireland to Dubai in 2016 with both sons. The cartel is allied with Colombia's Clan del Golfo and is alleged to have partnerships with Iran's intelligence services and Hezbollah. Photographed seated on a white VIP sofa at front row during Lazzez's 971 Fighting Championship event at Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai in June 2025. Lazzez was seen tapping his arm, crouching in front of him, and sitting on his chair armrest during the six-hour event.
Christopher Kinahan Jr.Fugitive
Cartel leadership - son of Christy Kinahan | Irish
Age 45. Son of Christy Kinahan and brother of Daniel Kinahan. Member of the Kinahan cartel leadership. Fled to Dubai with father and brother in 2016. US-sanctioned.
Dominican Co-Ownersstatus_unknown
Co-owners of 971 gym - one studied law in Iran, one named in Panama Papers | Dominican
Two citizens of Dominica who co-own Nine Seven One Rising Mixed Martial Arts Academy LLC (the Dubai gym entity) alongside Lazzez (25%). One studied law in Iran and specializes in maritime law. The other was named in the Panama Papers and is involved in the global shipping industry. Both hold the remaining 75% of the gym. Neither responded to Bellingcat inquiries. Their backgrounds in maritime law, Iranian connections, and offshore finance raise questions about their role in the tanker purchases.
// other files
Marengo
The trial that exposed the heart of Dutch organized crime
The Cocaine Route
How billions in cocaine flows from South America to European streets
EncroChat
How police cracked the criminal underworld's secret phone network
Mocro Maffia
The rise of Dutch-Moroccan organized crime networks in Europe
Port Wars
The battle for Europe's cocaine gateways - Rotterdam vs Antwerp
Rif Connection
Morocco's Rif Mountains - the world's largest hashish production zone
Isaac "Boom" B.
From Katendrecht to cocaine kingpin - the rise and fall of Black Mamba
Taghi Dynasty
How Ridouan Taghi ran a criminal empire from the most secure prison in the Netherlands
Sky ECC
The crack of the century - how Belgian police broke the criminal underworld's encrypted phone network
Taghi's Hitman
The rise and fall of Gerel P. - Ridouan Taghi's most trusted assassin, from Utrecht to a Brazilian prison cell
Audi Gang
Dutch ATM bombers terrorizing Germany - high-speed Audis, explosives, and a trail of destruction across the border
The Invisible Baron
The shadowy rise and violent world of Peter van D, Limburg's unseen drug lord.
The Cocaine War
How the theft of 1,400 kg of cocaine from Antwerp ignited a six-week war across the Netherlands
The Helicopter Escape
Benaouf Adaoui - the man who ignited the Mocro War and planned one of the Netherlands' most spectacular prison escapes
Antwerp Drug War
How Europe's second port became a warzone between rival cocaine clans
Kompania Bello
The Albanian cocaine federation run from behind prison bars in Ecuador
keywords
kinahan / lazzez / mounir / ufc / oil tanker / iran / sanctions / hezbollah / irgc / serene / phonix / mv matthew / cocaine / dragon road / marshall islands / dubai