Daniel Kinahan, the leader of the Kinahan cartel, is expected to be held in the State’s maximum security facility in Portlaoise following any extradition to Ireland.
The plan for his incarceration will likely see Kinahan be placed in unit A5 of Portlaoise Prison, sources with knowledge of the prison service’s operations have indicated.
A Block is the highest-security wing of Portlaoise Prison and is often used for those set to appear before the Special Criminal Court.
This falls in line with the existing practice in the service, whereby Kinahan gang members are typically imprisoned in Mountjoy Prison, with Hutch members placed in Wheatfield Prison. The highest-risk gang leaders are then separated and placed in Portlaoise Prison.
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It is understood that the Prison Service has no concerns about the imprisonment of Kinahan, having built up experience processing high-risk, high-profile inmates previously.
Asked about the plans at Portlaoise for Kinahan’s imprisonment, the director general of the Irish Prison Service Caron McCaffrey said she could not “discuss an individual prisoner or what security measures we may or may not have in place”.
“Portlaoise Prison is our maximum security prison, and the security in that prison is kept under ongoing review.”
All prisoners are subject to individualised risk assessments, she said, citing a “strong record” in dealing with high-risk prisoners.
In relation to the security of such prisoners during transport, McCaffrey said the service has “managed a broad category of people within our prisons, including subversives and major gangland criminals”.
[ Attempted murder of Gerry Hutch to be included in case against Daniel KinahanOpens in new window ]
She said the service engages closely with An Garda Síochána in relation to prisoner escorts.
Kinahan, a member of the European “super cartel”, was arrested as part of a secret joint operation between the Garda and authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) earlier this month.
He was taken into custody on foot of an extradition request from the Irish authorities and it is understood he will face charges in Ireland.
Kinahan will go on trial before the Special Criminal Court, assuming efforts to extradite him from Dubai are successful.
The extradition comes as the number of gangs operating in Irish prisons is on the rise.
McCaffrey told members of the press at the annual Prison Officers Association (POA) conference that the number of recognised criminal gangs operating in the system has increased by 15 to 34 over a single year.
The number of gang members in the prison service has also risen by a quarter to 172 members across the State, but McCaffrey said this makes up less than 3 per cent of the prison population.
