1 week Ago By [email protected] (Michael O'Toole)
Kinahan cartel bosses will try to flee their desert bolt hole after the Government agreed an extradition treaty with the UAE, investigators fear. Dapper Don Christy Kinahan, 67, and his sons Daniel, 47, and Christopher, 43, had been safe in Dubai for more than seven years. But yesterday’s bombshell announcement of the extradition treaty by Justice Minister Helen McEntee means that they could be sent back to Ireland to face trial.
Last night a source said: “They would be fools to stay. There is no doubt this is a major blow to the Kinahans, but they have the wherewithal to get out of Dubai and they will probably try.” Read more: Interpol statement confirms arrest of 'Ireland’s most wanted' man Sean McGovern Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
Gardai are working on charging all three with serious crimes and the extradition treaty with the desert state means a major obstacle to them being brought to justice has been cleared. All that remains now is for the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide that there is enough evidence for the trio to stand trial and give gardai permission to charge them. Sources say that means it is simply too risky for the Kinahans to stay in Dubai.
The source added: “They are really depending on the DPP deciding not to charge them, and the Kinahans are far too smart to rely on that happening. “There are several places they could get on a plane to. The odds are they will.
” Sources said possible destinations included Russia, Iran, or countries like Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in central Asia. News of the extradition treaty, which will be live in a matter of weeks, came just a few days after Dubai authorities arrested key Kinahan associate Sean McGovern, 38, after a request by gardai. Although there is no current treaty, Dubai agreed to arrest him and now plan to send him back to Ireland to stand trial for alleged murder and organised crime offences.
But an extradition treaty will make the process smoother and Justice Minister McEntee warned Irish gangsters in Dubai that their days were numbered. She said: “This will apply to any criminal who is in the UAE. There are quite a number of senior members of particular organised crime groups in the UAE.
“They have moved there to evade this type of treaty and engagement with other European countries. What I am saying very clearly today is no matter where you go we will follow you. “What we are doing here is tightening the net, and there are many countries including in the EU, the UK, America, Australia and beyond where we have these types of agreements.
The more agreements we reach the tighter the net is.” When challenged if announcing the deal would tip off the Kinahans and allow them to leave Dubai, Ms McEntee said: “My message is very clear, if you are trying to evade the law we will do everything in our power, working closely with An Garda Siochana and our counterparts right across the globe to continue to tighten that net, to make sure that you do not evade justice and that you are brought home to Ireland to face justice for the crimes you have committed here.” And she added: “Many organised crime gangs think that they can evade justice by crossing borders.
They cannot and they will not.” Under the treaty, Ireland can seek the extradition of a person from the UAE for any crime punishable by a sentence of a year or more. This includes crimes such as murder and attempted murder.
Irish citizens will not be allowed to be extradited to the UAE nor will UAE citizens be extradited to Ireland. Ms McEntee said that there are grounds for refusal of an extradition request, which include punishing a person based on their race, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, language, political opinion, sex or status. The deal also involves a mutual legal assistance treaty allowing gardai to seek assistance from the UAE for criminal investigations, prosecutions and other proceedings.
It will not apply to anyone currently detained. Asked whether the main purpose of the extradition treaty was to target the Kinahans, Ms McEntee said: “The overall objective is to make sure that irrespective of who you are, that criminals know that they cannot evade justice. “Obviously the Kinahan family and organisation have been based there for a number of years.
” Tanaiste Micheal Martin said the agreement with UAE was “an important milestone”. He added: “I don’t want to get into any specific, particular applications of the treaty. “It’s a broad treaty that I think is an important milestone.
” Dublin MEP Barry Andrews said the treaty with the United Arab Emirates was “good news for Dublin and Ireland”. He continued: “It has become blatantly obvious that those who are most responsible for much of the crime and violence that we see on our streets in Dublin are using Dubai as a hideout.” For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage .
Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice ..
