Daniel Kinahan extradition jet heads to Dubai, RTE says

Daniel Joseph Kinahan, an Irishman alleged by US and European authorities to have led a transnational cartel, was expected to be flown from Dubai to Ireland after an Irish government jet left to collect him, Irish national broadcaster RTE reported Saturday.

RTE reported that the government plane took off Saturday morning and was expected to return with Kinahan on Sunday. Ireland’s justice ministry declined to comment, and Garda police told AFP they would not comment on media reports. Garda police said Kinahan’s case remained a matter for authorities in the United Arab Emirates.

Kinahan, 49, was arrested in Dubai in April after a warrant was issued in Ireland for alleged serious organised crime offences. He lost appeals against extradition.

RTE reported that, on arrival in Ireland, Kinahan was expected to be taken to the Special Criminal Court in Dublin amid a large security operation.

US and European authorities have linked the Kinahan Organised Crime Group to drug smuggling and money laundering. Irish police estimate the group’s wealth at more than 1 billion euros, or £856 million.

Kinahan would be the second senior figure in the cartel to be extradited from Dubai. Sean McGovern, described by a judge as a senior lieutenant in the cartel, was extradited after his arrest in 2024. In June, he was sentenced to 24 years in prison in Ireland after pleading guilty to directing organised crime and attempted murder. The case related to a long-running violent feud between the Kinahan cartel and the Dublin-based Hutch gang.

The US government imposed sanctions in 2022 on Kinahan and other family members it identified as cartel leaders. The US Treasury said Daniel Kinahan was believed to run the cartel’s day-to-day operations, while his brother Christopher was also designated. It said their father, also named Christopher and known as “the Dapper Don”, oversaw the gang’s property.

The US government offered up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of the father and sons. Europol also designated the three men as “high value targets”.