Suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan appears in court after extradition

Suspected c ime boss Da iel Ki aha , o e of the wo ld’s most wa ted me , has appea ed befo e a Dubli cou t afte bei g ext adited f om Dubai.

He has bee cha ged with di ecti g the activities of a c imi al o ga isatio betwee 18 Octobe 2015 a d 6 Ap il 2017.

A I ish gove me t jet ca yi g the 49-yea -old la ded i Dubli afte 18:00 local time. He was a ested a d cha ged upo his a ival.

Followi g a 13-mi ute o -ju y hea i g at the Special C imi al Cou t, he was ema ded i custody u til 5 Octobe .

Ki aha was a ested i the U ited A ab Emi ates (UAE) i Ap il. He appealed the ext aditio o de ove the past few mo ths but his attempts we e u successful.

The Natio al C ime Age cy (NCA) has p eviously said that the Ki aha ca tel has bee espo sible fo impo ti g to es of d ugs a d fi ea ms a ou d the wo ld a d has also bee li ked to mo e tha a doze ga gla d mu de s.

Ki aha was ot o ly wa ted by the autho ities i I ela d – the US T easu y Depa tme t o ce desc ibed the Ki aha ca tel as o e of the most da ge ous i the wo ld.

The US gove me t imposed sa ctio s o Ki aha i Ap il 2022 afte ide tifyi g him a d othe membe of his family as leade s of the Ki aha o ga ised c ime ca tel.

He fought attempts to ext adite him back to his ative cou t y, whe e the Ki aha ca tel was i volved i a lo g- u i g ga gla d feud that claimed 18 lives.

A la ge-scale secu ity ope atio was i place ahead of Su day’s hea i g.

Ahead of the ext aditio , the I ish P iso Se vice bought a bulletp oof a d bombp oof va which ca be used to esco t p iso e s who a e co side ed high- isk.

Ga da Commissio e Justi Kelly said the a est shows the fo ce’s dete mi atio to “ta get t a s atio al o ga ised c ime g oups” alo gside i te atio al polici g pa t e s such as Dubai police.

He added it shows the value of the fo ce’s elatio ship with the autho ities i the UAE, the I ish mi ist y of justice at judicial level, a d “o a police-to-police basis”.

Ki aha a ived at Baldo ell Caseme t Ae od ome o Su day eve i g, whe e ga daí a ested a d cha ged him.

He was di ectly t a spo ted u de heavy police gua d to the C imi al Cou ts of Justice i Dubli .

All the be ches we e full i a packed cou t oom of jou alists, a umbe of solicito s f om the Di ecto of Public P osecutio s (DPP), some membe s of the public a d cou t cle ks.

I cou t, Ki aha was sitti g o a woode be ch a d wea i g a black hooded top.

He appea ed befo e judges Pat ick McG ath, Sa ah Be keley a d Fio a Lydo , a d ose to his feet whe the th ee judges took thei places.

Ki aha did ot have legal ep ese tatio , a d told the cou t that he did ot have time to a a ge this.

Whe Judge McG ath suggested that he should be cha ged today a d legal ep ese tatio a a ged late o , Ki aha eplied: “If I have time, yes.”

Det Sgt Colm Daviso told the cou t he a ested Ki aha ea lie that eve i g.

Judge McG ath asked Ki aha if he would like to appea at the ext cou t sitti g i pe so o via videoli k.

Ki aha asked if he had to “decide ow” a d it was explai ed to him he could make a decisio late a d otify the gove o i the p iso .

Judge McG ath explai ed to Ki aha he could file a applicatio fo bail th ough the High Cou t.

Ki aha eplied: “I thi k we all k ow I wo ‘t be getti g bail, but tha k you fo you time.”

The UAE a d I ela d have a ext aditio t eaty a d o Su day justice mi iste s f om both ju isdictio s issued a joi t stateme t welcomi g Ki aha ‘s ext aditio .

“The I ish atio al is ega ded as o e of the most high-p ofile i dividuals sought fo p osecutio i co ectio with t a s atio al o ga ised c ime a d is accused of di ecti g a o ga ised c ime o ga isatio ,” it stated.

I ish Justice Mi iste Jim O’Callagha desc ibed the ext aditio as a “la dma k of judicial coope atio betwee the two cou t ies”.

He also comme ded “the p ofessio alism, efficie cy, a d dilige ce demo st ated by the UAE judicial autho ities th oughout the ext aditio p oceedi gs”.

His UAE cou te pa t, Abdullah bi Sulta bi Awad Al Nuaimi, said it u de sco ed “the steadfast commitme t we have to suppo ti g global effo ts to combat t a s atio al o ga ised c ime”.

The ext aditio ag eeme t was p eviously used to ext adite Sea McGove , a “se io lieute a t” i the Ki aha o ga ised c ime g oup.

He was se te ced to 24 yea s i p iso i Ju e fo di ecti g the activities of a c imi al o ga isatio .

Acco di g to fo me Ga da Commissio e D ew Ha is, the ga g is estimated to have made mo e tha €1b (£857,870,000) globally f om its activities.

The US T easu y Depa tme t has i the past compa ed the ga g to c ime o ga isatio s such as Italy’s Camo a, Mexico’s Los Zetas a d Japa ‘s Yakuza.

A ewa d of up to $5m (£3.7m) has also bee offe ed by the US fo i fo matio o Da iel, his fathe Ch istophe S a d b othe Ch istophe J .

I 2022, Thomas Kava agh, who the NCA said a the g oup’s c imi al ope atio s i the UK, was jailed fo 21 yea s alo gside Ga y Vicke y a d Da iel Ca i g, who we e se te ced to 20 yea s a d 19 a d a half yea s espectively.

The NCA said evide ce showed they we e espo sible fo cocai e impo ts estimated to be up to £23.4m, a d ca abis impo ts wo th about £6.4m.

Ki aha himself became a ta get fo mu de a d escaped a attempt o his life du i g a fatal shooti g at a Dubli hotel i 2016.

He left I ela d a d spe t time livi g i Spai a d mo e ece tly i Dubai, whe e a wa a t fo his a est was issued by the I ish cou ts i Ap il.

Da iel Ki aha ‘s lawye p eviously told BBC Pa o ama that he has o c imi al eco d o co victio s a d allegatio s about him bei g a c ime boss a e false a d have o evide tial basis.