GRINNING for the camera next to celebrity couple Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright, Johnny Morrissey holds aloft a bottle of his family’s famous vodka.
The booze brand, owned by his glamorous wife Nicola, had made the couple the toast of the Costa Del Sol, with celebs lining up to pose with the luxury drink.
But last week the glitzy lifestyle Johnny and Nicola Morrissey built for themselves in Marbella came crashing down when they were arrested in their bed at gunpoint.
Now it is alleged that their Nero Premium Vodka company — named after Rome’s bloodthirsty fifth emperor — was merely a front for a massive money-laundering operation.
Johnny has been linked to 38 murders and is thought to be a key player in the Kinahan Cartel — an Irish crime syndicate alleged to be involved in a drug-smuggling racket worth millions of pounds.
And Spanish cops believe that the 62-year-old, known as “Johnny Cash”, could have played a key role in laundering £173million in the past 18 months alone.
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Many in Marbella were unsurprised to see images of British-born Irish passport holder Johnny being led away in cuffs while wearing garish tropical shorts.
At the glamorous pool parties held to promote his vodka brand, there were always whispers about how he made his fortune.
Expat acquaintances on the sun-kissed coast he moved to 20 years ago knew not to ask too many questions.
But the celebrities who promoted or posed with his vodka seemed clueless about his alleged criminal links.
Strictly Come Dancing contestant Will Mellor described their vodka as “the best”, plugging the tipple on Twitter in 2019.
And stars lined up to be pictured with Nicola and Johnny at glitzy parties.
The couple posed for selfies with actress Michelle and her husband Mark — with a vodka bottle in the shot.
It is understood the couple thought they were posing for a fan photo at the time and had no relationship with the Morrisseys.
And Celebrity Juice host Keith Lemon, real name Leigh Francis, also agreed to pose for snaps.
There is no suggestion he knew the Morrisseys or that any of the stars were aware of alleged criminality.
Nicola and her husband officially launched their vodka with a lavish party at Marbella’s five-star Puente Romano Hotel on the resort’s famous Golden Mile where the likes of Tom Cruise, Prince and Barbra Streisand have stayed.
The Gladiator-themed bash, featuring fire dancers and acrobats, was the first in a number of ostentatious events including a pool party where guests were entertained by world-class house violinist Quike Navarro.
Last year their Nero vodka brand was one of the sponsors of the 16th Marbella International Film Festival.
It was also the main sponsor of a nightclub premiere for British gangster film Rise Of The Foot-soldier 4: Marbella.
A party regular said of the Morrisseys: “They never did anything by half. You always knew that if they were putting on the show, money was going to be thrown around like confetti.”
As the CEO of Nero Drinks Co, Nicola opened up the £4.5million mansion they had called home until a few weeks ago for a Hello! mag-style glamour shoot.
The brunette posed alongside a convertible Rolls-Royce on the drive of the palatial seven-bed property with its own pool behind high walls teeming with CCTV cameras on a leafy residential street just outside Marbella.
In the town’s business and lifestyle magazine Exclusive Life, which recently featured David Beckham on its front cover, she revealed her plan to open a five-star wellness retreat in another mansion owned by her husband, close to Fuengirola.
Shaven-headed Johnny and their ten-year-old private school-educated son also posed for the glossy shoot, which featured pictures of them playing chess and plugged their vodka.
Nicola gushed: “Everything John and I do is to provide a happy and secure life for Sean and our family.
“Like many couples with businesses, John and I sometimes disagree but we respect each other’s opinions and understand we are both working towards the same goal.”
The attractive expat, known for her year-round tan and designer dresses, also named April 2022 as the date her retreat would open.
Fast-forward to September 2022 and the once-breathtaking property decked with extravagant statues at the end of a winding cul-de-sac is a building site.
Bags of sand and gravel lie beside the empty pool and barbecue area where the couple used to entertain friends before their move to a new villa registered in Nicola’s name.
Now the alleged gangster is languishing in jail near Malaga after being told he is under investigation on suspicion of money- laundering and gang membership.
His 46-year-old wife, who he married while dressed in a kilt at five-star Dundas Castle near Edinburgh, was released after appearing in court but remains under investigation and has had to surrender her passport.
Even if she escapes prosecution, her husband’s future looks bleak as he mulls over the sudden change in his fortunes from a cell at the maximum-security Alhaurin de la Torre prison.
The Spanish authorities branded Nero a “front company” after arresting the couple, insisting there was no way it could be financing their lavish lifestyle.
Despite the celebrity endorsements, accounts for the firm show in the past year it made a loss of nearly £300,000.
Party-loving Johnny’s reputation took a very public nosedive five months ago when US authorities named him as one of the key members of the Kinahan Cartel.
The major Irish organised crime syndicate gained notoriety around the globe over a feud with the rival Hutch gang which has led to the deaths of at least 18 people in Ireland and Spain.
The group was thrust into the spotlight in June 2020 when boxer Tyson Fury praised Daniel Kinahan, believed to be the group’s current leader, on social media.
Fury thanked Dublin-born Daniel, now holed up in Dubai with his dad and brother Christopher Jr, for helping him sort a two-fight deal with rival Anthony Joshua by going on social media to say: “Big shout-out Dan — he got this done.”
The extraordinary moment brought massive heat on the boxer and the exiled mob boss, now on the run from the US government after it placed a huge $5million bounty on his head and banned him from accessing funds held in US-controlled banks.
Morrissey had been identified as a “High Value Target” by European crime-fighting organisation Europol before his arrest, according to Spanish police.
And officers from six different law enforcement agencies led by the Spanish Civil Guard, including Britain’s National Crime Agency and America’s powerful Drugs Enforcement Administration, participated in the operation that led to the September 12 arrests of the British couple at an apartment in Mijas.
Under Spanish law, Morrissey could be held behind bars for up to four years without charge unless his lawyers can persuade a judge he is not a flight risk and should be released on strict bail.
A damning three-page statement, issued by the Civil Guard and posted on the Spanish Home Office’s official website, states they have taken out the “most important international criminal organisation operating in Spain devoted to money laundering”.
The amounts of “dirty” cash it claims the gang was capable of “cleaning” were astronomical — up to £302,000 a day and £173million in the 18 months Operation Whitewall lasted.
Morrissey and his wife are not named in the official press release, in keeping with strict Spanish laws on identifying criminal suspects.
But the giveaway was photos of Morrissey being marched out of his apartment before trying to cover his face with his handcuffs when he saw a waiting snapper — and his wife flipping her middle finger upwards as she followed.
Video footage released by police, showing him bare-chested in his living room as cops searched for secret hiding places, also pointed towards their arrests.
Spanish police say mountains of money were being laundered through an ancient cash transfer system called Hawala, which bypasses traditional bank controls and means problematic country border controls can be avoided.
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It is known to have been adopted by criminal gangs who use code numbers or tokens like banknotes torn in half to prove money is due.
Now the Morrisseys’ luxury vodka brand is likely to be put on ice permanently — with Johnny behind bars rather than supping in them.
