Daniel Kinahan has failed in his final appeal against his extradition from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the Republic.
The 49-year-old, a leader of the Kinahan cartel, has been in custody in Dubai since April.
He was arrested as part of a joint operation between the Garda and authorities in UAE on foot of an extradition request from the Irish authorities. He will face charges in the Special Criminal Court on his return to the State.
It was previously thought the extradition process could run until the end of the year. However, it concluded faster than expected after Kinahan lodged his final appeal earlier this month.
READ MORE
Sources in the Republic with knowledge of the extradition process on Thursday confirmed reports that Kinahan’s appeal had been unsuccessful. Final approval for his extradition must now be granted by UAE minister for justice Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, who is expected to sign off on the court’s decision.
The departments of Justice and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Air Corps, Garda and Defence Forces, are co-operating to prepare a big security operation in advance of Kinahan’s return, which is expected in the coming months.
He will be brought back on an Air Corps C295 aircraft which will land at Casement Aerodrome. He will likely be brought straight to the Special Criminal Court to be charged with directing the activities of an organised crime group.
Kinahan is expected to be transported in a new armoured prisoner transport vehicle equipped with ballistic protection, which was bought by the Irish Prison Service (IPS) in advance of his possible extradition. The IPS declined to comment on this.
The service has beefed up its security for high-profile prisoner transports. It awarded a two-year tender for the supply of 71 custodial vehicles, worth up to €10 million, earlier this year.
Kinahan was arrested in Dubai in April, having lived openly there for almost a decade, from where he allegedly directed the Kinahan cartel. He also allegedly co-directed the European “super cartel”, an international mafia coalition, whose leaders have been based in Dubai, that is estimated to control about a third of the European cocaine market.
His arrest followed a sustained campaign by Irish and US authorities to dismantle the Kinahan gang and bring its leaders to justice. This included a $15 million reward offered by the United States for information on the gang’s leaders and wide-ranging sanctions targeting the group.
The Republic has been building diplomatic and police relations with the UAE which resulted in a formal extradition treaty being signed last year.
Responding to queries, An Garda Síochána declined to confirm the reports and directed “any questions on the arrest and detention” to UAE authorities.
A Garda spokesman reiterated a previous statement that the force was aware of the “arrest and ongoing detention of an Irish national in the United Arab Emirates on foot of an arrest warrant issued by the Irish courts on alleged serious organised crime offences”.
The Department of Justice declined to comment.
The Garda’s first big success in targeting the Kinahan gang’s leadership came last month when Sean McGovern was jailed for 24 years for directing the group’s crimes in Dublin almost 10 years ago at the height of the Kinahan-Hutch feud, which claimed about 20 lives.
McGovern was also based in Dubai and was arrested there in October 2024, becoming the first Kinahan cartel member to be detained there and the first to be extradited to the Republic. An Air Corps plane was used when he was extradited last year.
Kinahan is expected to be held at the State’s maximum security facility in Portlaoise following his extradition. A Block is the highest-security wing of the prison and is often used for those set to appear before the Special Criminal Court.
This falls into line with 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.
