Kinahan cartel member Sean McGovern appears in court charged with murder following extradition from Dubai
Sean McGovern, one of the most senior figures in the Kinahan cartel, has appeared before the Special Criminal Court in Dublin charged with murder and directing organised crime following his extradition from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday.
McGovern (39) was extradited after being in detention there since late last year. The Dubliner was on a Defence Forces flight - Air Corps Airbus C295 - on Wednesday evening.
The flight left Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai at 8pm Irish time and arrived at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel on Thursday evening after a number of stops to refuel.
McGovern was then taken immediately under armed escort to the Special Criminal Court in Dublin where he arrived around 7.15pm.
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By that stage, there was already a significant Garda presence, some of whom had their faces masked.
There was dozens of Garda members sitting in the public gallery of Court 11, where the Special Criminal Court sits, from about 7pm.
McGovern appeared before Ms Justice Karen O'Connor, Judge Elma Sheahan and Judge Gráinne Malone just after 7.40pm where he sat impassively, dressed in blue trousers, a light grey tshirt, and runners.
He appeared relaxed, had a shaved head, stubble, and a light tan. He spoke briefly to a member of the Garda before exiting the court at the end of the hearing.
Giving evidence, Detective Sergeant Donal Daly told the court he arrested McGovern at 6.38pm at Casement Aerodrome on foot of an arrest warrant.
He further met McGovern at 7.27pm in a holding cell at the Criminal Courts of Justice where he said he explained the nature of the charges to him in 'ordinary language'.
McGovern, who spoke only once to confirm his name, was charged with five offences.
He was charged with the December 2016 murder of Noel Kirwan (62) on St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin. He was also charged with directing a criminal organisation and enhancing the capacity of a criminal organisation in relation to the Kirwan murder.
Separately, he was charged with directing a criminal organisation in relation to the surveillance of Dubliner James Gately in preparation for the commission of an indictable offence.
He was further charged with facilitating a criminal organisation engaged in a conspiracy to murder Mr Gately between October 2015 and April 2017.
McGovern was remanded in custody to appear before the same court on June 5th where he will appear by video link from Portlaoise Prison.
McGovern was the highest risk extradition since John Gilligan was brought back from the UK to Ireland 25 years ago to face charges of murdering journalist Veronica Guerin and drug dealing.
Arrested in the early hours of October 10th at his home in Dubai, McGovern had been living openly there for several years, apparently in the belief he would not be detained by the UAE authorities who have been slow to move against westerners.
McGovern was injured in the Regency Hotel shooting in 2016. He was also one of seven leading figures in the Kinahan cartel sanctioned by the US authorities in 2022.
He was described by the US Department of the Treasury as 'Daniel Kinahan's adviser and closest confidant'. It further stated that 'evidence indicates that all dealings with Daniel Kinahan go through Sean McGovern'.
He had also 'managed communications on behalf of Daniel Kinahan, and he sells multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine'. He had just one known passport at the time, which was Irish, and the only one address listed in Dubai.
A European arrest warrant had been issued for him and he was described by Interpol as one of Ireland's most wanted criminals.
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