Sean McGovern is in ‘complete isolation' in Irish jail after feud murder charge
'For now he is not allowed to interact with any other prisoners – he is in a single cell in a contained area where he will stay for 23 hours a day.'
Kinahan chief Sean McGovern is on a 'complete isolation' regime in Portlaoise Prison where he was remanded to last night by the Special Criminal Court.
The Sunday World has learnt that he is at the 'number one level of threat' within the entire Irish prison system and everything he does is being constantly monitored by prison officers.
'He is in a special area of Ireland's highest security prison –in time he will be moved to a different area within the jail but not out of Portlaoise,' a source explained.
News in 90 Seconds - May 30th
'For now he is not allowed to interact with any other prisoners – he is in a single cell in a contained area where he will stay for 23 hours a day.
'He will be allowed one hour of exercise on his own if he wishes to take that up – this will be highly supervised and again he will not be given the opportunity to interact with other prisoners when this happens.
'What jail authorities are dealing with here are two very serious issues – one is the perceived threat against the individual from his enemies – namely the Hutch organised crime gang.
'His personal safety within the jail system is of profound importance to the State when you consider the magnitude and significance of the criminal charges he is facing.
'The other big issue here is that it has to be ensured that the individual is given absolutely no chance to embark on any criminal activity while in custody.
'In simple language he is in the most secure place within Ireland's most secure prison,' the source said.
When contacted by the Sunday World a spokesman for the Irish Prison Service said: 'We cannot comment on individual prisoners cases.'
Crumlin man McGovern (39) was extradited from Dubai and landed in Dublin on a military plane last night before being brought to the Special Criminal Court last night.
He is the alleged highest ranking member of the Kinahan cartel to face charges here.
He is charged with the murder of Christopher - aka Noel - Kirwan on St Ronan's Drive in Clondalkin, Dublin on 22 December 2016.
He is also charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with Kirwan's murder between 20 October and 22 December 2016, and facilitating Kirwan's murder.
Separately, McGovern is charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in relation to the monitoring of the activity of James Gately between 17 October 2015 and 6 April 2017, both dates inclusive.
He is also charged with participating in activity with conspiracy to murder senior Hutch gangster James Gately between those dates.
McGovern was extradited from the United Arab Emirates via an Irish Air Corps CASA aircraft last night.
He was detained in Dubai in October last year. It followed the issuing of an Interpol Red Notice.
A warrant had been issued for McGovern's arrest in connection with the murder of Noel Kirwan in December 2016.
The gang's leadership continues to reside in the emirate, although there are concerns that they could now move to a state more hostile to Western interests on the back of Mcgovern's extradition.
The Irish Independent previously highlighted the cartel's close links to Iran.
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