UAE extradites alleged international crime boss Daniel Kinahan to Ireland

The United Arab Emirates has extradited alleged Irish cartel boss Daniel Kinahan, with the 49-year-old expected to appear in court in Dublin charged in connection with running a transnational criminal organisation.

Kinahan left Dubai aboard an Irish government jet on Sunday and is expected to appear before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin later in the day.

His extradition followed a final ruling by the Dubai Court of Cassation and was carried out under an extradition treaty between the UAE and Ireland, according to a joint statement by the justice ministers of both countries.

Kinahan was arrested in Dubai in April on an Irish warrant for alleged serious organised crime offences. He had lived openly in the emirate for about a decade.

In 2022, the United States named Kinahan as one of three leaders of the Kinahan Organised Crime Group KOCG, which US and European authorities have linked to drug trafficking, money laundering, firearms trafficking and murder. The group is alleged to have risen from the streets of Dublin to become one of the world’s largest international crime organisations, with links to South American cartels, Chinese mafia groups and Hezbollah, among others.

US authorities imposed sanctions on Kinahan as well as other family members and offered a $5m reward for information leading to their arrests.

“Kinahan is considered one of the most wanted individuals in cases related to transnational organised crime,” Sunday’s joint Emirati-Irish statement said.

“He has been accused of leading an organised criminal group, murder and illicit trafficking of narcotics, pursuant to an official request submitted by the Irish authorities,” it added.