Fall of House of Kinahan? Dubai no longer criminal safe haven after Sean McGovern extradition
Sean McGovern
was whisked away from the
Special Criminal Court
in Dublin's north inner city on Thursday night, destined for a cell in Portlaoise Prison, following his
extradition from the UAE
. The Republic's only maximum security jail will be his home at least until he goes on trial.
The regime in Portlaoise couldn't be much further from the high-roller lifestyle he has enjoyed in the sunshine of Dubai in recent years. His liberty is gone, at least for now; displaced by a dreary life behind high prison walls run on a strict timetable set by prison staff.
The State alleges his Dubai lifestyle was derived from organised crime. And in the name of reaching for the top of that world, it is alleged McGovern murdered one man, conspired to murder another, and directed and enhanced the activities of an organised crime group.
It will be up to the trial judges of the juryless Special Criminal Court to decide, probably later this year, if McGovern is guilty of any of the five charges, the most serious of which is murder. If convicted of the
Kinahan-Hutch feud gun murder of Christopher 'Noel' Kirwan
(62) in Clondalkin, Dublin, in 2016 , McGovern would face a mandatory life term of between 20 and 30 years.
READ MORE
However, he enjoys the presumption of innocence. The charges against him are no more than allegations. At Thursday's evening sitting of the Special Criminal Court, barrister Olan Callanan, for McGovern, said his client was reserving his position in relation to the 'lawfulness of his arrest' and the jurisdiction of the court.
The 39-year-old Dubliner – originally from Drimnagh – and father of two is the first alleged member of the
Kinahan cartel
to be arrested in Dubai. He is also the first Irish person ever extradited to the Republic from UAE, where the authorities have historically been unwilling to co-operate with western countries in law enforcement matters.
This is all uncharted legal territory. Asked by the media on Thursday evening what McGovern's extradition may mean for other Irish fugitives based in Dubai, Acting Garda Commissioner Shawna Coxon said his was 'a precedence-setting case'.
Though she didn't say, everyone knows that 'precedence' is all about the Dubai-based Kinahans; cartel founder
Christy Kinahan snr
and his two sons,
Daniel
and
Christopher jnr
.
Sean McGovern. Photograph: Garda
The UAE authorities' willingness to assist Ireland by arresting McGovern in Dubai last year, agreeing to his extradition this week and having since signed a permanent extradition treaty with the Republic appears to clear the way for the Kinahans to follow on.
However, one crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. Suspects can only be extradited from one country to another for the purpose of going on trial. And the charges must be serious. Extraditions cannot be sought for the purpose of arresting a suspect for questioning, or to otherwise aid an ongoing inquiry. The investigation into them must be completed, with charges approved by the DPP, as they were in relation to McGovern more than three years ago.
At present, no charges have been approved in Ireland, or in any other country, against the Kinahans. That is why they are living openly in Dubai. It is not a case of the authorities, in Dubai or Ireland being unable to find the Kinahans to arrest them. Dubai police know exactly where they are. But no police force has come up with evidence against them strong enough to base serious criminal charges on.
Three years have passed since the US joined Ireland's fight against the Kinahans, offering rewards of $5 million for information that would lead to their arrest and conviction. But nothing has emerged to suggest anyone with strong incriminating evidence to offer up has come forward.
Against that background, is McGovern's extradition really going to keep the Kinahans awake at night?
A number of Garda sources pointed to the fact files had been submitted to the DPP recommending charges against them. The Irish Times revealed almost two years ago that a file had been sent to the DPP for consideration after an investigation into the Kinahans, including for directing organised crime in Ireland. A file is also with the DPP in relation to the 2016
Kinahan-Hutch feud murder of Eddie Hutch
. A group of men are under suspicion for a range of offences, from murder to more minor crimes that supported the murder conspiracy. Daniel Kinahan is one of those men.
[
DPP directions still awaited on Eddie Hutch snr murder case, coroner's court told
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]
Many Garda members believe the legality of McGovern's arrest and extradition will be tested in the Special Criminal Court. If the extradition arrangements between UAE and Ireland are put under pressure, and withstand that legal test, the Kinahans will be next, they suggest. It remains to be seen if future events will unfold as neatly as hoped.
Former Garda assistant commissioner Michael O'Sullivan said the extradition of McGovern and that of the Kinahans' once Dubai-based close allies demonstrated the UAE was no longer the safe haven it was once regarded. Dutch Moroccan Ridouan Taghi (47) and Italian Raffaele Imperiale (50) were members of the European super cartel, alongside Daniel Kinahan, controlling almost a third of Europe's cocaine market. In recent years they have been extradited or deported from Dubai and jailed in the Netherlands and Italy.
[
Kinahan cartel member Sean McGovern charged with murder following extradition from Dubai
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]
O'Sullivan, the former head of the Garda's drug squad, said the UAE had now undergone a 'change of heart' around its willingness to extradite major criminal figures, under pressure from the US and because it was keen to enhance its global reputation.
Although the Kinahans could relocate to other countries with no extradition treaty with Ireland, O'Sullivan wonders how likely, or easy, that would be.
'If the Americans lean on a given country and say 'we want this guy back' ... short of Putin (in Russia), nobody will say 'no, you can't'. And even with Putin ... he has exchanged people in the past.'
O'Sullivan points to the case of
Viktor Bout
, a Russian arms dealer who was jailed in the US in 2011 after conviction on charges, including conspiring to kill US citizens. He has been accused of supplying arms to al-Qaeda, the Taliban and rebels in Rwanda. Sentenced to 25 years in the US in 2011, he was freed in 2022
in exchange for the release of US star basketball player Brittney Griner
. She had been arrested in Moscow airport in 2022 when cartridges containing cannabis oil were found in her bag.
O'Sullivan said if the Kinahans fled Dubai and relocated to another country, especially one on the fringes of the international community, they could become fodder for an international deal that country may want to put in place, especially with the US, in the next few years.
[
Ireland's post-Kinahan drugs trade: Names and faces change but methods remain all too familiar
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]
'They're in Dubai for a reason. For them it's been a civilised, wealthy place to do business, and with no extradition. It's western-style, with all the comforts of home and the sunshine. It has everything going for it. What's the next step for the Kinahans, 'let's move to Botswana'? Well, see how they get on with that, bringing your kids up there, what quality of life would you have there?'
John O'Brien, a retired Garda detective chief superintendent, was head of the 'international liaison protection section' of the Garda and national head of Interpol and Europol. He believes with the comfort blanket of the UAE's former extradition-shy status now whipped away, and some of their key allies extradited, the Kinahans will 'try to relocate to a friendlier jurisdiction'.
'But there are very few of those places left. Frankly, you'd be talking about a 'narco' state, if any still exist, or something similar. The avenues for them are fairly narrow,' he said.
'Another feature for them in relocating is the assets they have buried in places like Dubai and other locations. You might physically be able to pop on a plane to wherever you want to go. But your control of the money, and your ability to control the empire, would be extremely limited.'
But he also stresses that, in order to seek their extradition, investigations must be completed in Ireland to the point where they have a case to answer, relating to serious criminal charges.
'You must have sitting inside that [extradition] process a full case that's strong and that doesn't require any further investigation. That's a high bar.'
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