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Extradition to Ireland
An Irish government jet flew to Dubai to extradite alleged crime boss Daniel Kinahan, with the Dublin boxing promoter arrested in relation to alleged serious organised crime offences.
“It's understood that the aircraft is presently in Dubai.”
Sky News said the aircraft took off from Casement aerodrome in Baldonnel on the outskirts of Dublin on Saturday morning and was expected to touch back down in Ireland on Sunday evening, with it “presently in Dubai.”
The BBC said Kinahan was arrested in Dubai under a warrant issued by the Irish courts in April and that his appeals have been unsuccessful, with him expected to be flown back to Ireland on Sunday.
The Irish Times said gardaí left Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel, Co Dublin, on Saturday morning bound for Dubai on a Dassault Falcon 6X, and that Kinahan would be handed over to gardaí by UAE authorities.
The BBC added that on Kinahan’s return to Ireland he would then be taken to the Special Criminal Court in Dublin, after RTÉ said a large security operation would be in place and the prison service had upgraded facilities in the maximum-security Portlaoise Prison.
Security and legal process
The Irish Times described the Defence Forces flight leaving at 10.30am with an anticipated flight time of around seven hours, and said the strategic reach jet would not need to stop for refuelling.
It also said a major security operation, involving armed gardaí and military personnel travelling in convoy, would be in place on Sunday to escort Kinahan from Baldonnel to the courthouse and then to Portlaoise Prison, Co Laois.
RTE said the Government’s new Dassault Falcon 6X left Baldonnell and arrived in the UAE shortly after 7pm Irish time, and that it is expected to transport Kinahan to Ireland tomorrow where he will then be taken to the Special Criminal Court.
The Irish Times said Kinahan will be kept in the A5 unit in the A block in Portlaoise Prison, and that his close associate, Sean McGovern, is serving a 24-year sentence at the jail for directing the cartel’s activities in Dublin.
The BBC said an extradition agreement is in place between the UAE and Ireland and that it was used to extradite Sean McGovern, a “senior lieutenant” in the organised crime group.
Sanctions, feud, and stakes
The BBC said the US government imposed sanctions on Kinahan in April 2022 after he and other members of his family were identified as leaders of the Kinahan organised crime cartel.
“The US government imposed sanctions on him in April 2022”
It also said the Hutch-Kinahan feud has so far cost 18 lives after an attempt was made on Kinahan’s life on 5 February 2016, when the Regency Hotel shooting left one associate David Byrne shot dead and two others shot and injured.
Sky News said the Kinahan cartel was involved in a feud with the rival Hutch crime gang in Ireland, which began in 2015 and resulted in 18 deaths, and it noted that in 2022 US authorities issued a reward of up to $5m (£3.7m) for Kinahan’s arrest.
The Irish Mirror said Kinahan told James English, “I reckon the security is going to be crazy,” as the operation to bring him back to Ireland got underway.
The BBC added that a reward of up to $5m (£3.84m) has also been offered by the US for information on the three most senior Kinahan gang members—Daniel, his father Christopher Snr, 65, and brother Christopher Jnr.
