SHE rubbed shoulders with celebs and even let glossy mags into her home to show off her glamorous life on the sun-kissed Costa Del Sol.
Nicola Morrissey’s premium vodka brand sponsored glamorous events and hosted glitzy parties that made her and husband Johnny “Cash” Morrissey the talk of the town among Marbella high society.
SolarpixNicola Morrissey lived a glamorous life in the south of Spain[/caption]
Nicola and her husband Johnny rubbed shoulders with celebrities like Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan thanks to their luxury vodka brandSolarpix
SolarpixThe couple were arrested in 2022, though Nicola was released shortly after[/caption]
It was this glamorous, celebrity-style life that ultimately contributed to their downfall.
For it’s now alleged that the booze company was in fact a money-laundering front for one of the world’s most notorious crime gangs – the Kinahan family.
Nicola’s life of luxury came crashing down in 2022 when armed police raided their multi-million pound properties and arrested the couple.
As Nicola, 49, was led out in cuffs she was snapped giving a middle-finger to press photographers waiting outside.
“Nicola’s known in the area as a bit of a hard nut,” a local source told The Sun.
“Despite her public facade of being a legitimate businesswoman, she’s very much known for her links to the ‘Dodgy Dave’ types.
“She knows she is in a very powerful position within the world she’s in, and that comes off in her attitude towards people who are ‘below’ her in the rankings.
“It also comes off in her attitude with other women in the scene. I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of her at all.”
Meanwhile father-of-two Johnny, 65, is alleged to have been a “loyal servant” of mobster Daniel Kinahan, one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, and even attended his 2017 wedding in Dubai.
Following a US-led world-wide investigation it was claimed he had been laundering more than £170million in just 18 months through Nero Vodka.
At the time of his arrest Spanish police described it as “the most important international criminal organisation that operated in Spain dedicated to money-laundering”.
Meanwhile Nicola, the brand’s primary shareholder, was described by the US Treasury Department as a “front person for his interests”.
Johnny – who earned his nickname thanks to his habit of carrying around wads of cash – was held in a Malaga jail until June 2024 before being released on bail, on the condition he surrendered his passport.
Nicola herself is also under investigation and is also believed to have surrendered her passport.
Exclusive crowd
The couple wed in a lavish ceremony at a five-star castle in ScotlandSolarpix
SolarpixIt is alleged that Nicola’s husband Johnny had been running a money-laundering operation for the Kinahan cartel[/caption]
SolarpixThe couple lived in a palatial seven-bedroom mansion on the Costa del Sol[/caption]
Growing up in Rochdale, Johnny fled to Ireland after coming into conflict with the notorious Quality Street Gang, then travelled to the Costa del Sol in the early 2000s after coming under the attention of the police.
He and Nicola – who tied the knot at a lavish ceremony at the five-star Dundas Castle in her home country of Scotland – founded their Nero Vodka brand in 2018.
They held multiple extravagant launch events, including one Gladiator-themed bash at Marbella’s five-star Puente Romano Hotel on the town’s famous Golden Mile.
It was just one of a number of flashy promos designed to cement the booze brand – and Nicola and Johnny themselves – as part of Costa del Sol high society.
Another pool party, held at the exclusive La Sala by the Sea beach club, featured an appearance from Blue band member Lee Ryan and acrobatic performers.
Numerous stars lined up for pictures with the couple and their brand, unaware of who they were really mixing with.
That includes actress Michelle Keegan and her husband Mark Wright, seen posing beside a grinning Nicola while Johnny clutched a bottle of the spirit.
You always knew they were putting on the show, money was going to be thrown around like confetti
Party regular
The pair are not understood to have a relationship with the Morrisseys and at the time thought they were posing for a fan photo.
Comedian and host of Celebrity Juice Keith Lemon, real name Leigh Francis, also posed with a bottle.
And actor Will Mellor described Nero vodka as “the best” in a post on Twitter promoting the brand back in 2019.
There is no suggestion that the stars were aware of or linked to any alleged criminal activity.
One regular at their bashes said: “They never did anything by half. You always knew they were putting on the show, money was going to be thrown around like confetti.”
Celebrities like Will Mellor posed for pictures with the vodkaSolarpix
SolarpixComedian Keith Lemon also snapped a pic with the brand[/caption]
NewsflashDaniel Kinahan is one of the world’s most notorious mobsters[/caption]
The brand also briefly sponsored Scottish League One team Hamilton Academicals and the 16th Marbella International Film Festival.
Rather ironically, it was also the sponsor of a nightclub premiere of British gangster film Rise of The Foot-Soldier 4: Marbella.
Aspirational Nicola even opened up her £4.5million home for a photoshoot and interview with Malaga’s Exclusive Life magazine.
She was seen posing beside a flash Rolls-Royce, parked on the drive of her seven-bed property with its own pool.
Another saw her wearing what appeared to be a diamond necklace.
Everything John and I do is to provide a happy and secure life for Sean and our family…
Nicola Morrissey
Husband Johnny and their then-10-year-old son, Sean – who is privately educated – also posed up for shots.
“Everything John and I do is to provide a happy and secure life for Sean and our family,” she told the lifestyle magazine.
“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.”
In the interview Nicola revealed plans to open a five-star wellness retreat in another mansion her husband owned, and to expand the vodka brand into the US.
“We have been busy overseeing the luxury building project, gathering an expert team to deliver the latest therapies and treatments,” she boasted.
“We are due to open in April 2022 and bookings are already rolling in.”
But work on the project came to an abrupt end following the raid on their villa by Spanish authorities amid their investigation into Johnny’s links to the Kinahan mafia.
SolarpixNicola had plans to open a 5-star wellness retreat before her arrest[/caption]
SolarpixFootage from the raid shows the moment a shirtless Johnny was placed in cuffs[/caption]
SolarpixThe Spanish authorities found secret compartments in cars on the couple’s property[/caption]
CollectThe couple were spotted in public for the first time in months in April enjoying dinner at an Indian restaurant near their home[/caption]
Dramatic footage showed the moment officers stormed the villa and placed them under arrest.
Cops also searched the house, finding wads of cash and uncovering hidden compartments inside cars.
Paintings were removed from the wall to look for potential hiding spots. In the video, a large oil painting of a naked woman lying across a bed, reportedly Nicola, was lifted down.
Accounts from their vodka firm from around the time of the arrest showed it had made a loss of nearly £300,000 – which had roused the suspicions of Spanish police.
According to information from tax authorities, it couldn’t be funding the lifestyle of the people arrested
Spanish Civil Guard
A statement from the Spanish Civil Guard said: “The principal members of the organisation in Spain allegedly created a luxury vodka brand promoted at shows, parties and events at nightclubs and restaurants in luxury Costa del Sol environments, presenting it as a successful drinks brand.
“This couldn’t be further from reality, because according to information from tax authorities, it couldn’t be funding the lifestyle of the people arrested.”
Following their arrest it was reported that mob boss Daniel Kinahan blamed Johnny and Nicola’s extravagant lifestyle for drawing unwanted attention from law enforcement.
Nicola has since laid low, with sources saying her family fears she could find herself tied up in the Kinahan-connected gang war currently raging across Scotland, which has seen homes and businesses firebombed.
She was pictured in public for the first time since her arrest at an Indian restaurant with her husband in April, mingling and conversing with fellow diners.
Both Johnny and Nicola deny any wrongdoing, and it has been reported they are moving ahead with opening their wellness centre.
Nicola has since laid low, with sources saying her family fears she could find herself tied up in the Kinahan-connected gang war currently raging across Scotland, which has seen homes and businesses firebombed (pictured: a firebomb thrown through the window of an Edinburgh hair salon owned by the girlfriend of Mark Richardson) Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
