Agreements to facilitate the first extraditions from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Ireland, including that of Kinahan cartel leading figure Sean McGovern, will be signed today by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee in Abu Dhabi.
She has moved quickly to travel to the UAE after Cabinet last week agreed to the new legal arrangements between the two jurisdictions.
Dubliner McGovern was arrested the week before last at his home in Dubai, on foot of an extradition request from Ireland, and other leading Irish crime figures are also based there.
They include Kinahan cartel founded Christy Kinahan snr and his sons, and cartel day-to-day leaders Daniel Kinahan and Christopher Kinahan snr. A Donegal drugs trafficker, who is a key target of the Garda, is also based there.
The Department of Justice said Ms McEntee was in Abu Dhabi on Monday “to sign bilateral treaties” with the UAE authorities on “extradition and mutual legal assistance” following Government approval last Friday.
“These two agreements will further improve the effectiveness of co-operation between Ireland and the UAE in fighting crime and facilitating extradition,” it added.
The move follows intense diplomatic efforts between the Government and authorities in UAE, including the Garda working more closely with Dubai police and Garda Commissioner Drew Harris visiting Dubai in recent months. Ms McEntee has been liaising with the Emirati minister of justice, Abdullah Bin Sultan Bin Awad Al Nuaimi.
Last Wednesday week Interpol issued a Red Notice for McGovern, which is effectively a request to international law enforcement to locate and arrest a suspect wanted to face charges in another jurisdiction. He was arrested at his home by Dubai police the following day, more than two years after it emerged his extradition was being sought to Ireland.
McGovern was one of seven men at the apex of the Kinahan cartel who had financial and travel sanctions imposed on them by US law enforcement in April 2022. He is regarded as a key figure in the cartel’s inner circle and is especially close to Daniel Kinahan.
The DPP in Ireland directed McGovern should face charges relating to the murder of Noel Kirwan (62) in Dublin in 2016 as part of the Kinahan-Hutch feud. He is also charged with directing organised crime.
The extradition agreement between Ireland and UAE is expected to significantly reduce the potential legal hurdles in extraditing the gang leaders. It is also hoped it will result in Dubai being less attractive to senior Irish criminals who have effectively fled there, believing they were out of reach of Irish law enforcement because no extradition arrangements with Ireland were in place.
While the three Kinahans remain the most significant targets for the Garda, they could only be extradited if the DPP in Ireland first directs they face charges here. Last year the Garda completed a major criminal investigation into them, with a file sent to the DPP and directions in the case still awaited.
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