Everything we find out about Daniel Kinahan bust – from 48 hour sting to ‘going through life behind bars’
Suspected Irish cartel boss Daniel Kinahan was arrested last week in Dubai after nearly 10 years on the run. He was nicked by armed police at his home in the UAE on Wednesday, April 15, with the 48-year-old merely “standing still and surrendering”, according to witnesses.
The arrest came after a meticulous joint operation between Ireland’s gardai police force and Dubai officials. Following almost a decade as a fugitive in Dubai, Kinahan is now being held in custody over his alleged involvement in an organised crime network that trafficked firearms throughout Europe.
He had escaped to the continent in 2016 alongside his father, Christy Kinahan Sr, where they had been residing on the Costa del Sol in Spain, after the assassination of gang rival David Byrne at the Regency Hotel.
Byrne’s death ten years ago triggered a vicious and savage conflict with fellow Irish crime syndicate the Hutch Gang, which resulted in 18 fatalities over the following three years and brought broad daylight shootings to Dublin’s streets.
The Irish authorities had been pursuing the father-son pair for years, and they were also sought in the US, where the duo had $5million (£3.7million) bounties placed on their heads after the Kinahan family cartel, estimated at approximately €1billion (£864million), allegedly trafficked ‘deadly narcotics, including cocaine, to Europe’.
But the Kinahans’ influence extends much wider: alongside an extensive property portfolio centred on their Dubai ‘refuge’, they have even allegedly collaborated with the Iranian-backed terrorists Hezbollah.
Kinahan’s arrest
In the 48 hours leading up to Kinahan’s arrest, cops surveilled the suspected gangster from two key vantage points in Dubai.
According to reports, a local shopping centre and nearby Indian restaurant not far from the Burj Khalifa served as the main hubs for surveillance on the alleged kingpin.
Ed Caesar, a journalist who spent nearly a year investigating the alleged cartel boss, told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday: “He was arrested very easily. That wasn’t the difficult part. He was living openly so they just knocked on his door.
“The prosecutor – or DPP – in Ireland had eventually delivered its files and there were charges awaiting him in Ireland and they simply asked for the Emirati police to arrest him and he’s now awaiting extradition.”
Dubai police said: “The arrest followed the receipt of a judicial file from Irish authorities detailing the suspect’s alleged crimes and his involvement in an international criminal organisation. Based on the file, Dubai Public Prosecution issued an arrest warrant to initiate legal procedures ahead of his extradition.
“Specialised teams immediately launched intensive search and surveillance operations, leading to the suspect’s capture within 48 hours of the warrant being issued.”
Could not be free until his 70s
Kinahan allegedly received the keys to his family’s suspected crime empire from his father.
The alleged cartel he led was estimated by gardai to be worth €1 billion and if he is extradited to Ireland and convicted before the Special Criminal Court, it is possible he won’t be free until he is in his 70s.
If found guilty of directing organised crime, for instance, he could be looking at a life sentence.
A life tariff in the Republic typically equates to 20 to 25 years behind bars, although in exceptional cases it can be extended. No one has ever received a life sentence for directing organised crime.
Kinahan’s family
Kinahan’s father, Christy, and brother, Christopher Jr, remain on the run in Dubai. Ian Dixon and Bernard Clancy, two alleged high-ranking cartel figures also sanctioned by the US, continue to be based there too.
It is believed they possess the resources to depart the Emirates and move elsewhere.
The suspected cartel has access to private jets and boats, and their vast fortune is stored in offshore accounts and property investments around the world.
One intelligence source said yesterday: “The remaining members of the cartel now have a window of opportunity to leave the UAE. There is a ceasefire between the US and Iran so they can travel by sea. They can also travel overland or by private jet. Whether they use the opportunity to flee remains to be seen.”
What happens next?
It is understood the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has instructed that Kinahan be charged in connection with directing a criminal organisation. The instruction follows an exhaustive and painstaking investigation by gardai that resulted in the file being submitted over two years ago.
Sources indicate he will now be processed through Dubai’s court system and is being detained at a local prison until a hearing in the coming days. He is anticipated to contest his extradition, which will probably mean the procedure will continue for several months.
Kinahan is entitled to legal representation and to fight the extradition, as Sean McGovern did. If successfully extradited he is expected to face charges upon arrival in Dublin with directing a criminal organisation. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Senior Cartel figure McGovern, who last summer became the first individual to be extradited to Ireland from the United Arab Emirates, admitted guilt at the Special Criminal Court to directing a criminal organisation in March.
McGovern appeared via videolink before the non-jury court last month, when prosecution counsel Dominic McGinn SC said the defendant could be arraigned on two charges.
