Gardai meet police in Dubai to discuss extradition of Kinahan cartel leader Sean McGovern – The Irish Times

High level Garda the delegation visited the police in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to discuss extradition details Kinahan– Feud murder suspect Hutch and senior Kinahan cartel figure Sean McGovern.

The arrest of a Dubliner in Dubaiand the charges brought against him in the Republic preceded the signing of an extradition agreement last week between Ireland and the UAE. This means McGovern’s extradition cannot take place under a new, non-retroactive deal and must be treated as a special one-off process.

Because of this, the Garda, the Government and the DPP are now very keen to ensure that Ireland’s extradition request for McGovern meets all the legal criteria that must be met before the UAE agrees to send the accused murderer back to the Republic for trial.

The Garda delegation that visited the UAE last week was led by Superintendent Seamus Boland, head of the Garda National Bureau of Drugs and Organized Crime. It was also attended by senior officers from the Guard’s Organized and Serious Crime Unit, as well as members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Guard’s Serious Crime Unit.

After the delegation returned to Dublin on Friday, Garda headquarters released a statement saying that officers met with senior Dubai police officers to “discuss continued police cooperation” to “relentlessly pursue organized crime groups such as Ireland and abroad.” “.

The Irish Times understands that the main item on the agenda was to put into action plans to extradite McGovern, who lives openly in Dubai despite being one of seven people at the top of the Kinahan cartel, which was sanctioned by the US authorities two and a half years ago.

The Dubai meeting was also attended by a senior official from Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon, France, and a Garda liaison officer based in the UAE.

“The recent signing of extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties between Ireland and the UAE is a very welcome development,” Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said in a statement on Saturday. “(It) demonstrates the continued commitment of international law enforcement agencies and governments to the fight against transnational organized crime.

“In particular, this is another example of the significant police, political and diplomatic efforts being made to pursue transnational organized crime groups and other individuals to bring them to justice.”

McGovern, 38, was arrested at his home in Dubai on October 10, some 2.5 years after it emerged that Irish authorities were seeking his extradition on serious charges approved by the DPP.

McGovern was wounded in a shooting at the Regency Hotel in 2016 and is now wanted in the Republic to face charges of murdering Noel Kirwan (62) in Dublin in December 2016 and running organized crime. Mr. Kirwan was an innocent man who was shot during the Kinahan-Hutch feud because he was associated with the Hutch family, some of whom were his friends.

In recent years, McGovern has lived openly in Dubai, apparently believing he would not be arrested. However, he has now become the first person involved in the Kinahan cartel to be arrested in the UAE and remains in custody there.

In 2022, the US Treasury named McGovern, whose home in Crumlin, Dublin, was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, as an “adviser and closest confidant of Daniel Kinahan”. He added: “The evidence points to all the Daniel Kinahan dealings going through Sean McGovern.”